CopyFS 1.3M is a non-official branch of the CopyFS filesystem for FUSE. v1.3M should be considered an "advanced beta". As it is a FUSE filesystem, faults in the filesystem cannot cause a kernel panic and closed-file dataloss is nearly impossible. I use it aggressively 8-16 hours a day and haven't had a crash ever on the current version. YMMV.
The current CopyFS development is stalled, although the main developer is planning on moving to a shared development environment in the near future. I expect to be adding several more features to CopyFS, however I wanted to get this out in the interim. Links at the bottom.
CopyFS 1.3M adds the following on top of CopyFS 1.0:
- Text Diffs: Allows for the display of differences between different versions of text files.
- Interversion grep: Allows for matching a Perl regexp against every version of a text file.
- Version purging: Allows for the deletion of all versions of a file.
- Version culling: Allows for the deletion of an arbitrary number of "oldest versions" of a file.
Additionally, a CopyFS plugin for Eclipse is under development, to add copyFS-aware features to the File/Project Explorer areas.
,ad8888ba, 88888888888 ad88888ba
d8"' `"8b 88 d8" "8b
d8' 88 Y8,
88 ,adPPYba, 8b,dPPYba, 8b d8 88aaaaa `Y8aaaaa,
88 a8" "8a 88P' "8a `8b d8' 88""""" `"""""8b,
Y8, 8b d8 88 d8 `8b d8' 88 `8b
Y8a. .a8P "8a, ,a8" 88b, ,a8" `8b,d8' 88 Y8a a8P
`"Y8888Y"' `"YbbdP"' 88`YbbdP"' Y88' 88 "Y88888P"
88 d8'
88 d8'
A copy-on-write, versionned filesystem
Version 1.3M
By
Nicolas Vigier
Thomas Joubert
Contributions From:
Matthew Keller
CopyFS aims to solve a common problem : given a directory, especially one
full of configuration files, or other files that one can modify, and which
can affect the functionning of a system, or of programs, that may be important
to other users (or to the user himself), how to be sure that a person
modifying the files will do a backup of the working version first ?
This filesystem solves the problem by making the whole process transparent,
automatically keeping versionned copies of all the changes done to file under
its control.
It also allows a user to select an old version of the files, for example to
repair a mistake, and allows him/her to continue edition from this point.
System requirements
-------------------
You need a Linux-based system, with at least version 2.0 of the Fuse libraries
and kernel module. You can download Fuse at http://fuse.sourceforge.net. You
also need the support for filesystem extended attributes compiled in your
kernel.
How to install
--------------
Simply do :
copyfs-1.0 % ./configure
copyfs-1.0 % make all
copyfs-1.0 % su
Password:
copyfs-1.0 # make install
How to use
----------
To mount a CopyFS, you need to use the command 'fmount' : if you want to
mount a CopyFS at '/mnt/fs', whose version directory is at /var/versions, you
would use :
root # fmount /var/versions /mnt/fs
To unmount it, simply do :
root # umount /mnt/fs
As you would do for a normal filesystem.
Accessing old versions
----------------------
To know which versions are available, you can use the fversion tool :
cpy-fs $ fversion test
File test ('*' is active) :
v1.0 : -rw-r--r-- widan users 0 Fri Dec 10 14:17:47 2004
v2.0 : -rw-r--r-- widan users 21 Fri Dec 10 14:17:55 2004
v2.1 : -rwx------ widan users 21 Fri Dec 10 14:17:55 2004
v3.0 : -rwx------ widan users 29 Fri Dec 10 14:19:35 2004 [*]
You know there are 4 versions, with their associated information. In that state
you are viewing version 3.0 (ie the last one). If you want to see another one,
you can 'lock' it :
cpy-fs $ cat test
version 3.0
cpy-fs $ fversion -l 2.0 test
cpy-fs $ cat test
version 2.0
If you want to remove the version lock, and return to the latest version
available, use :
cpy-fs $ fversion -r test
Tagging files
-------------
Let's say you have the following file tree :
cpy-fs $ fversion somedir/file-1
File file-1 ('*' is active) :
v1.0 : -rw-r--r-- widan users 3 Fri Dec 10 14:21:41 2004
v2.0 : -rw-r--r-- widan users 3 Fri Dec 10 14:21:43 2004 [*]
v3.0 : -rw-r--r-- widan users 3 Fri Dec 10 14:21:45 2004
cpy-fs $ fversion somedir/file-2
File file-2 ('*' is active) :
v1.0 : -rw-r--r-- widan users 5 Fri Dec 10 14:21:51 2004 [*]
v2.0 : -rw-r--r-- widan users 5 Fri Dec 10 14:21:53 2004
cpy-fs $ fversion somedir/file-3
File file-3 ('*' is active) :
v1.0 : -rw-r--r-- widan users 5 Fri Dec 10 14:21:58 2004
v2.0 : -rw-r--r-- widan users 5 Fri Dec 10 14:22:03 2004 [*]
You have :
cpy-fs $ cat somedir/file-1
v2
cpy-fs $ cat somedir/file-2
2 v1
cpy-fs $ cat somedir/file-3
3 v2
Suppose you want to save all the "current" versions for the directory
'somedir', you can create a tag file with :
cpy-fs $ fversion -t tag-file somedir
Then you can edit the files as you want, and if you want to put all the files
back to the version they were at when you tagged them, simply do :
cpy-fs $ fversion -u tag-file somedir
Example :
cpy-fs $ echo "new 1" > somedir/file-1
cpy-fs $ echo "new 2" > somedir/file-2
cpy-fs $ cat somedir/file-{1,2,3}
new 1
new 2
3 v2
cpy-fs $ fversion -t tag-file-new somedir
cpy-fs $ fversion -u tag-file somedir
Restored somedir/file-1 to version 2.0
Restored somedir/file-2 to version 1.0
Restored somedir/file-3 to version 2.0
cpy-fs $ cat somedir/file-{1,2,3}
v2
2 v1
3 v2
cpy-fs $ fversion -u tag-file-new somedir
Restored somedir/file-1 to version 6.0
Restored somedir/file-2 to version 3.0
Restored somedir/file-3 to version 2.0
cpy-fs $ cat somedir/file-{1,2,3}
new 1
new 2
3 v2
Viewing the changes between version of text files
-------------------------------------------------
Example:
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ echo "Hello world" > testfile
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ echo "There's always room for JELLO" >> testfile
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ fversion testfile
File testfile ('*' is active) :
v1.0 : -rw-rw-r-- kellermg kellermg 12 Mon 13 Feb 2006 12:59:28 PM EST
v2.0 : -rw-rw-r-- kellermg kellermg 42 Mon 13 Feb 2006 12:59:55 PM EST [*]
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ fversion -d 1.0,2.0 testfile
2 -
2 + There's always room for JELLO
--------
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ cat testfile
Hello world
There's always room for JELLO
We will balk if you try to diff a binary file:
[kellermg@mlap2 copyfs]$ fversion -d 41.0,53.0 fcopyfs-daemon
I will not diff binary files
Searching (ala grep) for a pattern in all version of a text file
----------------------------------------------------------------
Example:
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ echo "Hello world" > testfile
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ echo "There's always room for JELLO" >> testfile
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ echo "Thanks for all the fish" >> testfile
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ echo "So long" >> testfile
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ echo "Blah Blah Blah" >> testfile
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ echo "Another fish" >> testfile
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ fversion -G fish testfile
Do not mess with this file... search in progress...
v3.0: Thanks for all the fish
v4.0: Thanks for all the fish
v5.0: Thanks for all the fish
v6.0: Thanks for all the fish
v6.0: Another fish
5 results.
You can also search for a regexp!:
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ fversion -G ^Blah testfile
Do not mess with this file... search in progress...
v5.0: Blah Blah Blah
v6.0: Blah Blah Blah
2 results.
Purging (Culling) old versions of files
---------------------------------------
Purging of folders not yet supported... maybe someday. The recursions necessary scares me.
Example:
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ fversion testfile
File testfile ('*' is active) :
v1.0 : -rw-rw-r-- kellermg kellermg 12 Mon 13 Feb 2006 12:59:28 PM EST
v2.0 : -rw-rw-r-- kellermg kellermg 42 Mon 13 Feb 2006 12:59:55 PM EST
v3.0 : -rw-rw-r-- kellermg kellermg 66 Mon 13 Feb 2006 01:03:24 PM EST
v4.0 : -rw-rw-r-- kellermg kellermg 74 Mon 13 Feb 2006 01:04:44 PM EST
v5.0 : -rw-rw-r-- kellermg kellermg 89 Mon 13 Feb 2006 01:04:56 PM EST
v6.0 : -rw-rw-r-- kellermg kellermg 102 Mon 13 Feb 2006 01:05:02 PM EST [*]
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ fversion -p 3 testfile
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ fversion testfile
File testfile ('*' is active) :
v4.0 : -rw-rw-r-- kellermg kellermg 74 Mon 13 Feb 2006 01:04:44 PM EST
v5.0 : -rw-rw-r-- kellermg kellermg 89 Mon 13 Feb 2006 01:04:56 PM EST
v6.0 : -rw-rw-r-- kellermg kellermg 102 Mon 13 Feb 2006 01:05:02 PM EST [*]
Or you can just kill the very existance of the file:
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ fversion -p A testfile
[kellermg@mlap2 workspace]$ fversion testfile
fversion: testfile: No such file or directory