Mackup™
Backup and keep your application settings in sync.
Table of contents
Quickstart
On macOS or Linux, if you want an easy install, you can install
Homebrew and do:
# Install Mackup
brew install mackup
# Launch it and back up your files
mackup backup
If not running macOS or Linux, or you don't like Homebrew, you can use pip.
# Install Mackup with PIP
pip install --upgrade mackup
# Launch it and back up your files
mackup backup
You're all set and can back up from now on.
Next, on any new workstation, do:
# Install Mackup
brew install mackup
# Launch it and restore your files
mackup restore
Done!
You can find more detailed instructions in INSTALL.md.
Usage
backup, restore, link install, link uninstall and link operate on all
of your configured applications by default. To limit a command to a single
application, add its name (the identifier shown by mackup list), e.g.
mackup backup vim. Naming an application overrides the
[applications_to_sync] / [applications_to_ignore] settings in your
.mackup.cfg, so you can act on any supported app without editing your config.
mackup backup [application]
Back up your application files. Copy your local config files into the Mackup folder.
Name an application to back up only that one, e.g. mackup backup vim.
mackup restore [application]
Restore your application settings on a newly installed workstation.
Copy config files from the Mackup folder to your home folder.
Name an application to restore only that one, e.g. mackup restore emacs.
mackup link install [application]
Move your local config files into the Mackup folder,
and link them to their original place.
Name an application to install only that one.
$${\color{red}warning}$$ the link strategy doesn't work correctly on macOS
mackup link [application]
On another workstation, links local config files from the Mackup folder.
Name an application to link only that one.
mackup link uninstall [application]
Copy back any synced config file to its original place.
Removes the links and copies config files from the Mackup folder back into your
home.
Name an application (e.g. mackup link uninstall git) to unlink only that one;
scoping to an application skips the global uninstall confirmation.
mackup list
Display the list of applications supported by Mackup.
mackup -h
Get some help, obviously...
What does it do
By only tracking pure configuration files, it keeps the crap out of your
freshly new installed workstation (no cache, temporary and locally specific
files are transferred).
Mackup makes setting up the environment easy and simple.
There are 2 modes of operations: copy mode and link mode.
Copy mode
Copy mode is used to back up and restore your files.
The files are backed up into the configured Mackup folder,
which can be in Dropbox, iCloud, or wherever you configure it.
It is covered by the 2 commands:
mackup backupmackup restore
Link mode
[!WARNING]
If you are using Mackup on a current version of macOS, link mode will BREAK
YOUR PREFERENCES. macOS Sonoma (macOS 14) and later don't support symlinked
preferences, see issue #2035 for
additional information. PR #2085
added copy mode, which should be used instead.
Link mode is used to move your config files into the Mackup folder,
and link them back to their original place.
This mode is useful if you are using multiple workstations,
and want to keep your application settings in sync at all times.
- Backs up your application settings in a safe directory (e.g. Dropbox)
- Syncs your application settings among all your workstations
- Restores your configuration on any fresh install in one command line
Let's take git as an example. Your settings for git are saved in your home
folder, in the .gitconfig file.
It is covered by the 3 commands:
mackup link installmackup linkmackup link uninstall
mackup link install
If you have Dropbox, these things happen when you launch mackup link install:
cp ~/.gitconfig ~/Dropbox/Mackup/.gitconfigrm ~/.gitconfigln -s ~/Dropbox/Mackup/.gitconfig ~/.gitconfig
Now your git config is always backed up and up to date on all your workstations.
mackup link
When you launch mackup link, here's what it's really doing:
ln -s ~/Dropbox/Mackup/.gitconfig ~/.gitconfig
That's it, you got your git config setup on your new workstation.
mackup does the same for any supported application.
mackup link uninstall
You can revert all your files to their original state.
# Just run this
mackup link uninstall
This will remove the symlinks and copy back the files from the Mackup folder in
Dropbox to their original places in your home. The Mackup folder and the files
in it stay put, so that any other computer also running Mackup is unaffected.
To revert a single application instead, name it, e.g.
mackup link uninstall git. Scoping the command to an application unlinks only
that app — the rest of your setup and the Mackup config itself are left in
place, and the global uninstall confirmation is skipped.
Supported Storages
See the README file in the doc directory for more info.
Unsupported Storages
Supported Applications
Can you support application X
We can with your help ;)
Personalization & configuration
Have an application that shouldn't be generally supported but that you use?
Or some personal files you want to sync, e.g. various config files in a ~/.config/
directory or your personal ~/.gitignore?
Why did you do this
Yesterday, I had a talk with Zach Zaro, complaining
about the pain it is to reconfigure our Macbook each time we get a new one or
install from scratch. That's a talk we have already had months ago.
I change my workstation every X months. Each time I either lose my apps'
configurations, or I just waste a bunch of hours getting setup like I was on my
old box. I also spend a lot of time reconfiguring the same stuff again on all my
workstations (home, work).
Boring...
Some people tried to solve the problem on the application layer, like
Github's Boxen,
but it solves a different problem, from my point of view. I don't spend a lot
of time installing or downloading stuff. I spend time configuring it.
For years, I've used a personal shell script that was copying known config
files into Subversion, Git or Dropbox, and linked them into my home. But I felt
a lot of us had the same problem: Making a more generic tool could help others
and I could get help from others to support more apps in the tool.
So here comes Mackup, the little tool that will sync all your application
configs to Dropbox (or Google Drive, or anything).
And it's GPL, of course.
What's up with the weird name
Mackup is just a portmanteau of Mac and Backup. It is simple, short, and easy to
remember, and it corresponds with the whole idea of Mackup: the simpler – the better!
(And I suck at naming stuff, but who doesn't.)
Architecture
Want to understand how Mackup works internally? Check out the
Architecture Guide which includes:
- Visual architecture diagram
- Component breakdown
- Data flow diagrams
- Design decisions
- Extension points for contributors
Perfect for contributors who want to understand the codebase or users
curious about how their configs are managed.
In the doc directory.
Mackup 会备份你的应用设置和配置文件（例如 dotfiles、编辑器和 shell 配置），并通过 Dropbox 或 iCloud 等云存储文件夹，在多台工作电脑之间保持同步。