qbak - Quick Backup

A single-command backup helper for Linux and POSIX systems written in Rust.

Overview

qbak creates timestamped backup copies of files and directories with zero configuration. It's designed for quick, safe backups with sensible defaults.

qbak example.txt        → example-20250603T145231-qbak.txt
qbak photos/            → photos-20250603T145232-qbak/

Why qbak?

Have you ever found yourself editing important files or directories and wanting to create a quick local backup first? You know the routine: cp myconfig.conf backup-myconfig.conf or something similar. But then you realize your backup naming lacks consistency-no timestamps, no predictable convention, just ad-hoc names that become meaningless over time.

That's exactly where qbak comes in. It's a super simple tool designed for lightning-fast local backups with a consistent, timestamped naming convention. Nothing more, nothing less. Just the backup utility you wish you'd had all along.

Features

• Zero-config - runs with sensible defaults; no config files required
• Safe & atomic - never overwrite existing data; fail loudly on errors
• Security-hardened - comprehensive protection against path traversal, disk exhaustion, and race condition attacks
• Cross-platform - primary target is Linux; works on macOS and Windows (WSL) too
• Tiny static binary - single executable with no dependencies
• Smart progress indication - automatic progress bars for large operations with adaptive terminal layouts

Installation

From GitHub Releases (Recommended)

Download the latest release from GitHub Releases:

# Download the latest release for Linux x86_64
wget https://github.com/andreas-glaser/qbak/releases/latest/download/qbak-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
tar -xzf qbak-linux-x86_64.tar.gz

# Install system-wide (requires sudo)
sudo cp qbak /usr/bin/

# Or install for current user only
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
cp qbak ~/.local/bin/

# Check if it is installed correctly
qbak --version

Available releases:

• qbak-linux-x86_64.tar.gz - Linux x86_64 (glibc)
• qbak-linux-x86_64-musl.tar.gz - Linux x86_64 (musl, static binary)
• qbak-linux-arm64.tar.gz - Linux ARM64 (glibc, for Raspberry Pi 4/5, ARM64 servers)
• qbak-linux-arm64-musl.tar.gz - Linux ARM64 (musl, static binary)
• qbak-linux-armv7l.tar.gz - Linux ARMv7l (glibc, for Raspberry Pi 2/3, ARMv7 devices)
• qbak-macos-x86_64.tar.gz - macOS x86_64 (Intel)
• qbak-macos-arm64.tar.gz - macOS ARM64 (Apple Silicon)
• qbak-windows-x86_64.zip - Windows x86_64

From Source

git clone https://github.com/andreas-glaser/qbak.git
cd qbak
cargo build --release
sudo cp target/release/qbak /usr/bin/

Prerequisites

• Rust 1.71 or later (for building from source)

Usage

Basic Usage

# Backup a single file
qbak important.txt

# Backup multiple files
qbak file1.txt file2.txt config.json

# Backup a directory
qbak my-project/

# Backup multiple directories
qbak docs/ src/ tests/

Command Line Options

qbak [OPTIONS] [TARGET]...

Arguments:
  [TARGET]...      Files or directories to back up

Options:
  -n, --dry-run        Show what would be backed up without doing it
  -v, --verbose        Show detailed progress information
  -q, --quiet          Suppress all output except errors
      --progress       Force progress indication even for small operations
      --no-progress    Disable progress indication
      --dump-config    Display current configuration settings and exit
  -h, --help           Print help
  -V, --version        Print version

Examples

# Dry run to see what would be backed up
qbak --dry-run important.txt
# Output: Would create backup: important-20250603T145231-qbak.txt (1.2 KB)

# Verbose output for detailed information
qbak --verbose my-project/
# Output: 
Processed: my-project/
  → my-project-20250603T145232-qbak/
  Files: 42
  Size: 15.3 MB
  Duration: 0.12s

# Quiet mode (only errors)
qbak --quiet *.txt

# Force progress indication for small operations
qbak --progress single-file.txt
# Output: Shows progress bar even for small files

# Disable progress indication for large operations
qbak --no-progress large-directory/
# Output: No progress bars, even for operations that normally show them

# Check current configuration
qbak --dump-config
# Output: Shows config file location, all settings, and example backup names

Progress Indication

qbak automatically shows progress bars for large backup operations to keep you informed during lengthy transfers.

Smart Auto-Detection

Progress indication is automatically enabled when operations meet any of these thresholds:

• ≥50 files to process
• ≥10 MB total data size
• Operations taking longer than expected

The progress display adapts to your terminal:

• Wide terminals (≥120 cols): Full progress with file details, transfer rates, and ETA
• Normal terminals (≥80 cols): Compact progress with essential information
• Narrow terminals: Minimal progress indication

Two-Phase Progress

For directory backups, qbak shows progress in two phases:

1. Scanning Phase: Discovers files and calculates total size

   ⠋ Scanning files... 127 files found, current: photo.jpg
   

2. Backup Phase: Copies files with detailed progress

   [████████████████████████████████] 127/127 files (100%) • 45.2 MB/45.2 MB • 12.3 MB/s • ETA: 0s • Processing: document.pdf
   

Manual Control

• --progress: Force progress indication even for small operations
• --no-progress: Disable progress indication entirely
• Configuration file settings override auto-detection

Interactive vs Non-Interactive

Progress bars are only shown in interactive terminals. In CI environments, scripts, or when output is redirected, progress indication is automatically disabled to avoid cluttering logs.

Naming Scheme

Backup files follow the pattern:

<stem>-YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS-qbak[-N].<ext>

• ISO-8601 timestamp (basic format, sortable, Windows-safe)
• Original extension preserved so applications recognize file type
• Collision counter (-1, -2, etc.) if backup with same timestamp exists

Examples:

• report.pdf → report-20250603T145231-qbak.pdf
• data.tar.gz → data.tar-20250603T145231-qbak.gz
• makefile → makefile-20250603T145231-qbak

Configuration

Optional configuration file: ~/.config/qbak/config.ini

[qbak]
# Timestamp format for backup names (ISO-8601 basic format)
timestamp_format = YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS

# Suffix added to backup filenames  
backup_suffix = qbak

# Preserve original file permissions and timestamps (true/false)
preserve_permissions = true

# Follow symbolic links (copy target) or preserve as symlinks
follow_symlinks = true

# Include hidden files when backing up directories  
include_hidden = true

# Maximum filename length before showing error (filesystem limit: 255)
max_filename_length = 255

# Progress indication settings
[progress]
# Enable/disable progress indication (true/false)
enabled = true

# Force progress indication regardless of thresholds (true/false)  
force_enabled = false

# Minimum number of files to show progress
min_files_threshold = 50

# Minimum total size to show progress (in bytes)
min_size_threshold = 10485760  # 10 MB

# Minimum expected duration to show progress (in seconds)
min_duration_threshold = 2

Safety Features

• Never overwrites existing files - uses collision counters instead
• Atomic operations - temporary files ensure no partial backups
• Input validation - rejects dangerous paths and filenames
• Permission preservation - maintains original file permissions and timestamps
• Error recovery - continues with other files if one fails

Target Audience

• Linux system administrators
• Server operators
• DevOps engineers
• Command-line power users
• Automation scripts

Platform Support

• Linux (primary target)
• macOS
• Windows (via WSL)

Development

Building

git clone https://github.com/andreas-glaser/qbak.git
cd qbak
cargo build

Testing

cargo test -- --test-threads=1

The project has comprehensive unit tests covering all modules and edge cases.

Release Build

cargo build --release

This creates an optimized binary at target/release/qbak (~849KB).

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file.

Author

Andreas Glaser andreas.glaser@pm.me

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please feel free to submit issues and pull requests.

Development Branch: Active development happens on the dev branch. Please submit pull requests against dev rather than main. See CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed guidelines.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for detailed release notes and version history.