Professional modular solution for automatic cloning and backup of GitHub repositories and gists with
v1.1.0, please report them in the Issues section and temporarily use the latest stable version v0.9.4 while we investigate.
- Complete Backup - Clone both public and private repositories/gists
- Smart Update System - Only updates repositories with recent changes (5-minute threshold)
- Resilient Retry Mechanism - Automatic retries for failed operations
- Archive Support - Create timestamped compressed ZIP archives in home directory
- System Control - Option to shutdown/reboot after completion (mutually exclusive)
- Real-time Monitoring - Progress tracking with detailed statistics
- Cross-platform - Works on Windows, Linux, macOS and Termux (Android)
- Configurable Timeout - Set custom timeout for Git operations (
--timeout N) - Security - Path traversal attack protection and secure token storage
- Detailed Reporting - Comprehensive success/failure reports
- Instant Process Termination - Single Ctrl+C stops all operations immediately
- Git Repository Health Checks - Prevents broken clones with integrity validation
- Git Health Verification - Automatic detection and repair of broken repositories
- Verbose Numbering - Clear progress tracking with item counters in debug mode
- Python: 3.8+
- Git: 2.20+
- SSH client (for authentication)
- Storage: 100MB+ free space (varies by repository size)
- Network: Stable internet connection
git clone https://github.com/smartlegionlab/github-repos-backup-tools.git
cd github-repos-backup-toolspython app.py -r -gThe application will guide you through token setup on first run.
- Visit GitHub Tokens
- Select permissions:
- ✅
repo(full repository access) - ✅
gist(gist access)
- ✅
- Generate and copy token
# Generate SSH key
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@example.com"
# Add to ssh-agent
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
# Add to GitHub account
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub # Copy this output
# Paste at https://github.com/settings/keys
# Verify connection
ssh -T git@github.com| Command | Description |
|---|---|
-r |
Backup repositories |
-g |
Backup gists |
-t |
Update token |
--archive |
Create compressed backup archive |
--verbose |
Detailed debug output |
--timeout N |
Git operation timeout (seconds) |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
--shutdown |
Shutdown after completion |
--reboot |
Restart after completion |
Note: --shutdown and --reboot are mutually exclusive.
# Basic repository backup
python app.py -r
# Complete backup (repos + gists)
python app.py -r -g
# Backup with archive creation
python app.py -r -g --archive
# Backup with system shutdown
python app.py -r -g --shutdown
# Backup with system reboot
python app.py -r -g --reboot
# Debug mode with custom timeout
python app.py -r --verbose --timeout 60
# Update token
python app.py -t~/
├── [username]_github_backup/ # Main backup directory
│ ├── repositories/ # All cloned repositories
│ └── gists/ # All cloned gists
└── github_[username]_YYYY-MM-DD_HH_MM_SS.zip # Auto-generated archive
- Compares local commit dates with GitHub
pushed_attimestamps - 5-minute threshold to avoid unnecessary
git pulloperations - Maintains data integrity while improving performance
- Secure token storage in user config directory
- Path traversal protection
- Input validation and sanitization
- Graceful error handling
- Selective Updates: Only updates repositories with changes >5 minutes old
- Immediate Retries: Failed operations automatically retried without delay
- Progress Tracking: Real-time feedback without verbose overhead
- Memory Efficient: Streamlined processing for large repository sets
Q: Authentication fails?
A: Verify token has repo and gist permissions and SSH key is properly set up. Use --verbose for details.
Q: Clone operations timeout?
A: Increase timeout: --timeout 60 for slower connections.
Q: Where is my token stored?
A: In OS-specific config directory: ~/.config/github_repos_backup_tools/
Q: How to cancel scheduled shutdown?
A: Use shutdown -c (Linux/macOS) or shutdown /a (Windows)
Q: SSH connection fails?
A: Verify SSH key is added to GitHub and test with ssh -T git@github.com
Author: Alexander Suvorov
License: BSD 3-Clause License
Support: GitHub Issues
Source: https://github.com/smartlegionlab/
This application:
- Stores tokens in user-specific config directories
- Validates all file paths to prevent directory traversal attacks
- Uses minimal required permissions (repo, gist)
- Does not transmit data to third parties
- Provides clear audit trails of all operations
Licensed under the terms of the BSD 3-Clause License
Copyright © 2025, Alexander Suvorov
All rights reserved.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. Use at your own risk. The authors are not responsible for data loss, system instability, or any other issues arising from software use. Always test with non-critical data first.
Legal Compliance: Users are responsible for ensuring their use of this software complies with:
- GitHub's Terms of Service and API guidelines
- Local laws and regulations regarding data backup and access
- Copyright and intellectual property rights
- Any applicable export control laws
Rate Limiting: This tool uses GitHub's API - respect rate limits and avoid excessive requests that may impact GitHub's services.
Data Responsibility: You are solely responsible for the data you backup, including its security, storage, and legal compliance.
📌 Development Status: This application is currently in active development. While we strive for stability, some features may not work as expected. We appreciate your feedback and bug reports to help improve the software.
⭐ Star this repo if you find it useful!
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----------------------- Github Repositories Backup Tools -----------------------
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🔧 Arguments Parsing:
Parsing command line arguments...
📋 Parsed arguments:
Backup: 📦 Repositories, 📝 Gists, 🗄 Archive
Timeout: 30s
Verbose: ❌ Disabled
Power: ❌ No action
⚙️ Configuration Setup:
Checking and setting up configuration directories
📁 Configuration directory: /home/user_name/.config/github_repos_backup_tools/github_token.json
🔑 Getting GitHub token:
✅ Token obtained successfully
🔑 GitHub Authentication:
Authenticating with GitHub...
🔄 Attempt 1/3 (timeout: 30s)... ✅ (0.5s)
✅ Authenticated as: user_name
📁 Directory Setup:
Creating backup directory structure...
📁 Main backup directory: /home/user_name/user_name_github_backup
✅ repositories/
✅ gists/
🔄 Repositories Operations:
Fetching and cloning/updating repositories...
🔄 Attempt 1/3 (timeout: 30s)... ✅ (2.0s)
🔄 Attempt 1/3 (timeout: 30s)... ✅ (2.1s)
🔄 Attempt 1/3 (timeout: 30s)... ✅ (2.1s)
🔄 Attempt 1/3 (timeout: 30s)... ✅ (0.5s)
✅ Found 100 repositories
📦 Processing 100 repositories...
[##########] 100.00% | 100/100 | Failed: 0 | Processing: user_name/repo_name_...
✅ Cloning/updating repositories completed successfully!
🔄 Gists Operations:
Fetching and cloning/updating gists...
🔄 Attempt 1/3 (timeout: 30s)... ✅ (0.5s)
🔄 Attempt 1/3 (timeout: 30s)... ✅ (0.4s)
✅ Found 1 gists
📝 Processing 1 gists...
[##########] 100.00% | 1/1 | Failed: 0 | Processing: a2e7733c3ba32963b7c0985e...
✅ Cloning/updating gists completed successfully!
✅ Verification:
Verifying that all repositories and gists are properly cloned/updated...
📊 Repositories verification:
Total: 100
Valid: 100
Missing: 0
📊 Gists verification:
Total: 1
Valid: 1
Missing: 0
✅ All items verified successfully!
📊 Report:
Generating backup report...
📦 REPOSITORIES:
Total: 100
✅ Successful: 100
❌ Failed: 0
🎉 All repositories processed successfully!
📝 GISTS:
Total: 1
✅ Successful: 1
❌ Failed: 0
🎉 All gists processed successfully!
💾 BACKUP LOCATION:
/home/user_name/user_name_github_backup
🎉 SUCCESS: All backup operations completed successfully!
============================================================
🗄️ Archive Creation:
Creating backup archive...
✅ Archive created successfully: /home/user_name/github_user_name_2025-11-19_18_11_46.zip
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---------------------- https://github.com/smartlegionlab/ ----------------------
--------------------- Copyright © 2025, Alexander Suvorov ----------------------
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