configsync

README

ConfigSync

ConfigSync is a command line tool to backup configuration files and command-line outputs into a git repo.

How it Works

ConfigSync takes ownership of the work_dir you specified by initializing a git repository there, and checking out a branch with the hostname of the system.

For each file you specify, ConfigSync will make a 1-to-1 clone of that file in the work directory. If the file already exists, it will only update it if the files differ by hash. If a glob pattern is specified, it expands and syncs each file that matched the pattern.

For each command that is specified the command_line is executed (within a shell) and the resulting combined output (both stdout and stderr) is written to file_path. If the output of the command matches an existing file in file_path, then the file is not updated. The command is executed every time ConfigSync runs, so it's important that this command produces consistent output.

Once all files and commands have been synced it will check to see if there have been any changes to the git directory, and if so it will commit the changes. If git remote is enabled, the changes are pushed to the remote.

How to Use It

ConfigSync is not a daemon or any kind of background application, it is designed to be run on a set schedule - such as with a crontab.

For example, you may wish to use:

0 */4 * * * /root/configsync

Which will run ConfigSync every 4 hours.

Requirements

• A Linux, BSD, or Darwin host
• Git 1.8 or newer
• (Optional) Passwordless authentication for a Git Remote (SSH keys or cached HTTP credentials)

Configuration

ConfigSync uses a config file to define global options, with files and commands being defined within a configuration directory. This allows you to define a default set of "base" files and additional files that may be specific to the function of the host.

For example, you may have a base set of files for a Linux install, and an additional set of files for a PostgreSQL server.

ConfigSync Options

By default, the configsync binary looks for a file named configsync.conf in the current directory. You can specify the path to the config file by providing it as the one and only argument.

Example Config:

conf_include = "./conf.d"
workdir = "/root/configuration_files"

[git]
path = "/usr/bin/git"
remote_enabled = true
remote_name = "origin"

Option	Type	Required	Description
conf_include	string	Yes	The directory were file lists and commands are specified.
workdir	string	Yes	The directory where synced files are saved. This will be a local git repository.
verbose	boolean	No	If true, more information is printed to the terminal and log file.
git.path	string	No	The absolute path to the git binary. If omitted it will try and find it using $PATH.
git.author	string	No	The author of commits. Will default to the hostname of the machine.
git.remote_enabled	boolean	No	If there is a git remote that our local copy should be pushed/pulled to.
git.remote_name	string	No (Yes if remote_enabled is true)	The name of the remote.
git.branch_name	string	No	The name of the branch to use. Defaults to the hostname of the machine.

File Lists

ConfigSync builds a list of glob patterns based on file lists inside the directory specified in conf_include.

File lists must have the extension of ".files" and must only contain one glob pattern per line, separated by UNIX line terminator. Lines beginning with # are ignored, and can be used for comments.

Example Config:

# Users and Groups
/etc/passwd
/etc/group
/var/spool/cron/*

# Network Interfaces
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-*

Commands

Commands are specified by a single configuration file that defines the command to run, and the virtual file path to save that output to. Command configuration files must inside the directory specified in conf_include and have the extension of ".cmd".

Example Config:

file_path = "/etc/zpool.yml"
exe_path = "/usr/sbin/zdb"
arguments = [ "-C" ]

Option	Type	Required	Description
file_path	string	Yes	The pseudo file path where the output of command_line will be saved in the work dir.
exe_path	string	Yes	The absolute path to the binary to execute.
arguments	[]string	No	List of arguments to pass to the executable.
work_dir	string	No	The working directory to start the executable in.
env	[]string	No	Environment variables to provide the executable.
uid	number	No	Run the executable as a specific user. Will also set ownership of the outputted file to this UID.
gid	number	No	Run the executable as a specific group. Will also set ownership of the outputted file to this GID.

Work Directory Setup

If you are not using a remote (remote_enabled is set to false), then you do not need to prepare the work directory. ConfigSync will create the directory if needed, and initialize a git project if it has not already.

If you are using a remote, you need to clone the repository first. A remote with the name specified in remote_name must already exist for ConfigSync to work - it will not create it for you.

In either case, ConfigSync will always work in a branch named of the hostname of the system.

Documentation

Index

• func Start(workDir string, filePatterns []string, commands []CommandType, ...)
• type CommandType
• type GitOptionsType

Functions

func Start

func Start(workDir string, filePatterns []string, commands []CommandType, gitOptions GitOptionsType)

Start beging the sync process

Types

type CommandType

type CommandType struct {
	FilePath  string   `toml:"file_path"`
	ExePath   string   `toml:"exe_path"`
	Arguments []string `toml:"arguments"`
	WorkDir   string   `toml:"work_dir"`
	Env       []string `toml:"env"`
	User      uint32   `toml:"uid"`
	Group     uint32   `toml:"gid"`
}

CommandType describes a command object

type GitOptionsType

type GitOptionsType struct {
	Path          string `toml:"path"`
	Author        string `toml:"author"`
	RemoteEnabled bool   `toml:"remote_enabled"`
	RemoteName    string `toml:"remote_name"`
	BranchName    string `toml:"branch_name"`
}

GitOptionsType describes the configuration type for git