Directory Sync & Conflict Logger

Project roadmap

1. 01

   Create test folders

   ~1h

   Write a setup-test.sh script that creates a source and a destination folder with sample files: some identical, some only on one side, some changed only in the source, and some changed differently on both sides. Running it again resets the folders. Done when: the script builds the same test folders every time.

2. 02

   Wrap rsync

   ~1h

   Write sync.sh with set -euo pipefail that takes a source and destination (checking both exist), and calls rsync -a to copy the source to the destination, with an option --dry-run that passes -n to rsync so nothing is changed. Print what rsync did using --itemize-changes. Done when: running sync.sh makes the destination match the source, and --dry-run changes nothing.

3. 03

   Detect conflicts

   ~2h

   After each sync, save a manifest file with the sha256sum of every file. Before the next sync, compare each file on both sides with the manifest: a file changed on both sides since the last sync, with different contents, is a conflict. Exclude conflicted files from rsync (with --exclude-from) so neither copy is overwritten. Done when: on the test folders, files changed on both sides are flagged and left untouched, and the rest sync normally.

4. 04

   Write structured logs

   ~1h

   Write a log function that appends lines in one format: ISO date, action (COPY, DELETE, SKIP or CONFLICT), file path and result, separated by tabs, to a log file (default sync.log). Log every rsync change and every conflict. Done when: the log has one well-formed line per action, easy to filter with grep.

5. 05

   Add a summary mode for cron

   ~1h

   Add --summary, which prints only a short digest: the number of files copied and deleted, and the list of conflicts with instructions to resolve them. Exit with code 2 when there are conflicts, so cron can email you. Add an example crontab line to README.md, with full paths, since cron runs with a minimal environment. Done when: --summary prints a short digest, and the exit code reflects conflicts.

6. 06

   Test it

   ~1.5h

   Write a test script (or use bats-core) that runs setup-test.sh, then sync.sh, and checks: synced files match, conflicts are detected and untouched, the log has the right lines, and a second run with no changes does nothing. Check the script with shellcheck. Done when: the tests pass, and shellcheck reports no warnings.

Resources

• Docsrsync(1) man page
• Docssha256sum(1) man page
• Docscrontab(5) man page
• DocsShellCheck
• Docsbats-core documentation