bkup

A small, cross-platform Go CLI for backing up your current working directory and quickly jumping between the original location and its backup.

bkup is designed to be:

• Simple – one binary, no config required
• Cross-platform – works on macOS, Linux, and Windows
• Safe by default – backups live in a single, predictable location under your home directory

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Features

• 📦 One-command backup of the current directory and all subfiles
• ♻️ Overwrite-safe – existing backups with the same name are replaced
• 🚀 Quick navigation into the backup via a subshell
• 🔙 Revert support – jump back to where you started
• 🧭 Shell-friendly mode for true cd integration

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How It Works

• All backups are stored in:

$HOME/.bkup/

• When you back up a directory named vii, it is copied to:

$HOME/.bkup/vii_backup/

• When using bkup go, your original directory is saved to:

$HOME/.bkup/prev.txt

This allows bkup revert to take you back later.

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Installation

Build from source

go build -o bkup .

Move it somewhere on your PATH:

# macOS / Linux
sudo mv bkup /usr/local/bin/bkup

On Windows, place bkup.exe somewhere in your %PATH%.

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Usage

Back up the current directory

bkup

Example:

cd /src/vii
bkup
# → creates $HOME/.bkup/vii_backup

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Back up and enter the backup directory

bkup go

This will:

1. Back up the current directory
2. Save the original location to prev.txt
3. Open a subshell inside the backup directory

Exit the shell to return to where you ran the command.

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Revert back to the previous directory

bkup revert

This opens a subshell in the directory saved by the last bkup go.

⚠️ You must run bkup go at least once before using bkup revert.

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Shell Integration (Recommended)

Because a program cannot permanently change your current shell’s working directory, bkup provides a --print mode so you can wrap it with shell functions.

Bash / Zsh

Add this to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

bkupgo() {
  cd "$(bkup go --print)"
}

bkuprv() {
  cd "$(bkup revert --print)"
}

Now you get true cd behavior:

bkupgo   # cd into backup directory
bkuprv   # cd back to original directory

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Notes & Behavior

• Backups overwrite existing directories with the same name
• File permissions and modification times are preserved best-effort
• Symlinks are preserved as symlinks
• No compression is used (this is a straight file copy)

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Backup Layout Example

~/.bkup/
├── vii_backup/
│   ├── main.go
│   ├── go.mod
│   └── ...
└── prev.txt

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License

MIT License © 2025

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Why bkup?

bkup is ideal for:

• Quick safety snapshots before refactors
• Experimenting without Git commits
• Jumping into backup copies instantly
• A lightweight alternative to full backup tools

If you want extensions like compression, timestamps, or multiple backup histories, this tool is intentionally small and easy to modify.

Happy hacking 🚀