🔄 Nautilus Backup Extension

Easy Right-Click Backups for Ubuntu & Linux

Never lose files again. Just right-click → Backup. No terminal needed!

Features • Installation • Usage • Documentation • Contributing

✨ What's New in v1.2.0

🎯 "Backup As..." Fixed! - File chooser dialog now works reliably on all systems
♻️ Restore from Backup - Right-click backup files to restore originals
🔍 Compare with Original - View differences between backup and current file
📜 View Backup History - Browse all backups of a file
🗑️ Auto-Cleanup Old Backups - Keep only last N backups per file (configurable)
⏳ Progress Notifications - Visual feedback for large file operations
📊 Backup Statistics - Track total backups created and space used
🐛 Critical Bug Fixes - GTK 4 dialog handling and stability improvements

🎯 The Problem

On Linux, backing up files is unnecessarily complicated:

❌ The Old Way

Open terminal
Remember cp command syntax
Type out full paths
Add timestamps manually
Create archives for folders

✅ The New Way

Right-click file
Select "Backup"
Done! ✨

🚀 Features

⚡ Quick Backup

Creates timestamped backup in the same folder

document.pdf
  ↓
document_backup_2024-12-22_14-30-00.pdf

Perfect for quick "save before editing"

💾 Backup As...

Choose custom name and location (Now Fixed!)

Full file chooser dialog
Rename on backup
Save anywhere you want
Just like "Save As"
Works reliably on all systems!

🗂️ Backup to ~/Backups

Organized backup folder

All backups in one place
Easy to find later
Timestamped automatically
Opens from settings

📁 Folder Support

Automatic .tar.gz compression

project/
  ↓
project_backup_2024-12-22.tar.gz

Preserves all permissions & structure

♻️ Restore from Backup

Right-click any backup file

Automatically detects backup files
Restores to original location
Confirmation dialog
Safe overwrite protection

🔍 Compare with Original

See what changed

Uses meld or diff
Visual side-by-side comparison
Perfect before restoring
Automatic fallback to text diff

📜 View Backup History

Browse all backups of a file

See all versions
Sorted by date
Open backup location
Restore any version

🗑️ Auto-Cleanup

Keep only recent backups

Configurable limit (keep last N)
Per-file cleanup
Automatic old backup removal
Saves disk space

More Features

🔔 Desktop Notifications - Visual feedback for every action
⏳ Progress Indicators - For large file/folder operations
📊 Statistics Tracking - Monitor total backups and space used
⚙️ Settings Panel - Configure backup folder and preferences
🎨 Native GNOME Integration - Beautiful, consistent UI
🚀 Fast & Lightweight - Instant backups, no performance impact
🔒 Safe & Reliable - Preserves file permissions and metadata

📦 Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/strabo231/nautilus-backup-extension.git
cd nautilus-backup-extension

# Run installer (automatically detects your Nautilus version)
./install.sh

That's it! The installer handles everything:

✅ Detects Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04, or 24.04
✅ Checks for Nautilus 3.x or 4.x
✅ Installs dependencies if needed
✅ Sets up the extension
✅ Restarts Nautilus

Manual Installation

Click to expand manual installation steps

1. Install Dependencies:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install python3-nautilus

# Fedora
sudo dnf install nautilus-python

# Arch
sudo pacman -S python-nautilus

2. Install Extension:

mkdir -p ~/.local/share/nautilus-python/extensions
cp nautilus-backup.py ~/.local/share/nautilus-python/extensions/
chmod +x ~/.local/share/nautilus-python/extensions/nautilus-backup.py

3. Restart Nautilus:

nautilus -q
nautilus &

Verify Installation

Right-click any file in Nautilus. You should see 🔄 Backup in the menu!

🎮 Usage

Basic Usage

Right-click any file or folder in Nautilus
Look for 🔄 Backup in the context menu
Choose your option:
- ⚡ Quick Backup - Instant timestamped backup in same folder
- 💾 Backup As... - Choose custom name and location
- 🗂️ Backup to ~/Backups - Organized central storage
- ♻️ Restore from Backup - (On backup files) Restore original
- 🔍 Compare with Original - (On backup files) View differences
- 📜 View All Backups - See all backups of this file
- ⚙️ Backup Settings - Configure preferences

Real-World Examples

Before Editing Important Files

Scenario: About to edit a config file

1. Right-click /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
2. Backup → Quick Backup
3. Edit safely! Original is backed up as:
   nginx.conf_backup_2024-12-22_14-30-00
4. If something breaks:
   - Right-click the backup
   - Restore from Backup

Creating Project Archives

Scenario: Archiving a project folder

1. Right-click ~/Projects/myapp/
2. Backup → Backup As...
3. Choose: ~/Archive/myapp_v1.0.tar.gz
4. Share or store the compressed archive

Regular Backup Routine

Scenario: Daily backup of important files

1. Select multiple files (Ctrl+Click)
2. Right-click → Backup → Backup to ~/Backups
3. All files backed up with timestamps
4. Check ~/Backups anytime to find them
5. Old backups auto-deleted if limit set

Comparing File Versions

Scenario: Check what changed since backup

1. Right-click report_backup_2024-12-20.docx
2. Compare with Original
3. See differences side-by-side in meld
4. Decide if you want to restore

💻 System Requirements

✅ Supported Systems

Ubuntu LTS (Officially Tested):

🟢 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble) - Nautilus 46
🟢 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy) - Nautilus 42
🟢 Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal) - Nautilus 3.36

Other Distros (Should work):

Debian 11+
Fedora 35+
Pop!_OS 22.04+
Linux Mint 20+
Arch Linux (current)

🔧 Requirements

Software:

Python 3.8 or higher
Nautilus 3.x or 4.x
python3-nautilus package
GTK 3.24+ or GTK 4.x

Desktop:

GNOME (with Nautilus/Files)
Any GNOME-based environment

Hardware:

Minimal (runs on any system that runs Nautilus)

Optional:

meld - For visual file comparison

📸 Screenshots

Right-Click Menu

┌─────────────────────────┐
│ Open                    │
│ Open With...            │
│ ────────────────        │
│ Cut                     │
│ Copy                    │
│ Paste                   │
│ ────────────────        │
│ 🔄 Backup             ▶ │ ┌──────────────────────────────┐
│ ────────────────        │ │ 📜 View All Backups           │
│ Properties              │ │ ─────────────────────────     │
└─────────────────────────┘ │ ⚡ Quick Backup (Same Folder) │
                             │ 💾 Backup As...               │
                             │ 🗂️ Backup to ~/Backups       │
                             │ ─────────────────────────     │
                             │ ⚙️ Backup Settings            │
                             └──────────────────────────────┘

Backup File Context Menu

Right-click on any file with "_backup_" in the name:

┌─────────────────────────┐
│ 🔄 Backup             ▶ │ ┌──────────────────────────────┐
└─────────────────────────┘ │ ♻️ Restore from Backup        │
                             │ 🔍 Compare with Original      │
                             │ ─────────────────────────     │
                             │ ⚡ Quick Backup (Same Folder) │
                             │ 💾 Backup As...               │
                             │ 🗂️ Backup to ~/Backups       │
                             │ ─────────────────────────     │
                             │ ⚙️ Backup Settings            │
                             └──────────────────────────────┘

Backup As Dialog (Fixed!)

╔═══════════════════════════════════╗
║         Backup As...               ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════╣
║                                   ║
║  Save in: /home/user/Documents  ▼ ║
║                                   ║
║  Name: report_backup_2024-12-...  ║
║                                   ║
║  ┌─────────────────────────────┐ ║
║  │ document.pdf                │ ║
║  │ image.png                   │ ║
║  │ report.docx                 │ ║
║  └─────────────────────────────┘ ║
║                                   ║
║          [Cancel]  [Save]         ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════╝

Settings Panel

╔════════════════════════════════════╗
║       Backup Settings              ║
╠════════════════════════════════════╣
║                                    ║
║  Backup Folder:                    ║
║  /home/user/Backups         [📁]   ║
║                                    ║
║  Auto-Cleanup Old Backups:         ║
║  ☑ Keep only last [10▼] backups   ║
║     per file                       ║
║                                    ║
║  Statistics:                       ║
║  Total backups created: 127        ║
║  Total space used: 2.4 GB          ║
║                                    ║
║  Features:                         ║
║   ⚡ Quick Backup - Timestamped    ║
║   💾 Backup As - Custom location   ║
║   🗂️ Backup to ~/Backups           ║
║   ♻️ Restore - From backup files   ║
║   🔍 Compare - View differences    ║
║   📜 History - View all backups    ║
║   📁 Folder support (.tar.gz)      ║
║   ⏳ Progress - For large ops      ║
║   🗑️ Auto-cleanup - Save space     ║
║   📊 Statistics - Track usage      ║
║   🔔 Desktop notifications         ║
║                                    ║
║   [Open Backups Folder]  [Close]   ║
╚════════════════════════════════════╝

🎯 Use Cases

Scenario	Solution
📝 Before editing config files	Quick Backup → Edit safely → Restore if needed
💼 Version control for documents	Backup As → `document_v1.docx`, `document_v2.docx`
📦 Project archiving	Backup folder → Auto-compressed `.tar.gz`
🔄 Regular backups	Backup to ~/Backups → Auto-cleanup old versions
🚀 Before system updates	Backup configs → Compare/Restore if issues
📤 Sharing with USB/cloud	Backup As to USB/Dropbox folder
🔍 Check file changes	Compare with Original → See what changed
♻️ Undo unwanted changes	Restore from Backup → Get original back

🔧 Troubleshooting

Menu Not Appearing?

1. Check dependencies:

python3 -c "import gi; gi.require_version('Nautilus', '3.0')"
# Or for Nautilus 4.x:
python3 -c "import gi; gi.require_version('Nautilus', '4.0')"

2. Restart Nautilus:

nautilus -q
nautilus &

3. Check installation:

ls ~/.local/share/nautilus-python/extensions/nautilus-backup.py

4. Check permissions:

chmod +x ~/.local/share/nautilus-python/extensions/nautilus-backup.py

Extension Not Loading?

Check Nautilus logs:

nautilus -q
NAUTILUS_EXTENSION_DEBUG=1 nautilus 2>&1 | grep -i backup

Verify Python path:

python3 -c "import sys; print('\n'.join(sys.path))"

"Backup As..." Dialog Not Showing?

This was fixed in v1.2.0! Make sure you have the latest version:

cd nautilus-backup-extension
git pull
./install.sh

If still having issues:

nautilus -q
NAUTILUS_EXTENSION_DEBUG=1 nautilus 2>&1 | grep "backup_as"

Backup Fails?

Common causes:

❌ Permission denied → Try backing up to ~/Backups
❌ No space left → Check disk: df -h
❌ Folder too large → May take time to compress (watch for progress notification)

Check logs:

journalctl -xe | grep -i backup

Compare Feature Not Working?

Install meld for visual comparison:

sudo apt install meld

Without meld, the extension falls back to text diff.

Still Having Issues?

Open an issue with:

Your Ubuntu version (lsb_release -a)
Nautilus version (nautilus --version)
Python version (python3 --version)
Error messages from logs

📚 Documentation

📖 Quick Start Guide - Get started in 2 minutes
📘 User Guide - Comprehensive usage guide
✨ Features - Detailed feature documentation
🤝 Contributing - How to contribute
📋 Changelog - Version history
🔧 Technical Details - Dialog fix implementation

🗑️ Uninstallation

./uninstall.sh

Your backup files in ~/Backups are NOT deleted - only the extension is removed.

Manual Uninstall

rm ~/.local/share/nautilus-python/extensions/nautilus-backup.py
rm -rf ~/.config/nautilus-backup
nautilus -q

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Current roadmap:

Completed in v1.2.0:

Restore from backup feature
Compare file with backup (diff view)
Auto-cleanup old backups (keep last N)
Progress bars for large operations
Backup history view
Statistics tracking
Fix "Backup As..." dialog

Still wanted:

Backup scheduling
Incremental backups
Cloud storage integration (Dropbox, Google Drive)
Port to other file managers (Nemo, Caja)

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

🌟 Show Your Support

If this extension makes your life easier:

⭐ Star this repo - Helps others discover it!
🐛 Report bugs - Help make it better
💡 Suggest features - Tell us what you need
📢 Share it - Tell your Linux friends
☕ Sponsor - Support development

📊 Project Stats

📜 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

What This Means

✅ You can:

Use it commercially
Modify the code
Distribute it
Use it privately

❌ You must:

Include the license
Include copyright notice

❌ No warranty - Provided "as is"

💖 Acknowledgments

Nautilus Python Extension Framework - For making extensions possible
GNOME Community - For excellent documentation
All Contributors - Thank you for making this better!
Linux Community - For feedback and support

Special thanks to everyone who:

Reported bugs
Suggested features
Starred the repo
Shared with others

🔮 Roadmap

v1.3.0 (Planned)

📅 Scheduled backups (cron integration)
🔄 Incremental backup support
🌐 Multi-language support

v2.0.0 (Future)

☁️ Cloud storage integration
🎨 Theme customization
🔌 Plugin system
🗂️ Support for other file managers (Nemo, Caja)

💬 Community

Issues: GitHub Issues
Discussions: GitHub Discussions
Reddit: r/Ubuntu
Discord: Coming soon

📞 Contact

GitHub: @strabo231
Issues: Report a bug
Email: Via GitHub profile

⭐ Star Us on GitHub!

If you find this extension useful, please consider giving it a star.
It helps others discover the project and motivates continued development!

Made with ❤️ for the Linux community

🔝 Back to Top

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 20 Commits
.github		.github
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
FEATURES.md		FEATURES.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
QUICKSTART.md		QUICKSTART.md
README.md		README.md
RELEASE_NOTES_v1.2.0.md		RELEASE_NOTES_v1.2.0.md
USER_GUIDE.md		USER_GUIDE.md
install.sh		install.sh
nautilus-backup.py		nautilus-backup.py
uninstall.sh		uninstall.sh

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🔄 Nautilus Backup Extension

Easy Right-Click Backups for Ubuntu & Linux

✨ What's New in v1.2.0

🎯 The Problem

🚀 Features

⚡ Quick Backup

💾 Backup As...

🗂️ Backup to ~/Backups

📁 Folder Support

♻️ Restore from Backup

🔍 Compare with Original

📜 View Backup History

🗑️ Auto-Cleanup

More Features

📦 Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

Manual Installation

Verify Installation

🎮 Usage

Basic Usage

Real-World Examples

💻 System Requirements

✅ Supported Systems

🔧 Requirements

📸 Screenshots

🎯 Use Cases

🔧 Troubleshooting

Still Having Issues?

📚 Documentation

🗑️ Uninstallation

Manual Uninstall

🤝 Contributing

🌟 Show Your Support

📊 Project Stats

📜 License

What This Means

💖 Acknowledgments

🔮 Roadmap

v1.3.0 (Planned)

v2.0.0 (Future)

💬 Community

📞 Contact

⭐ Star Us on GitHub!

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