Bump version to 4.3.0

paramiko's connect had no timeout, so a server that doesn't answer
made the program hang until the OS gave up (about 2 minutes). Give up
after 15 seconds and exit with code 5.

.gitignore

@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 .idea/
+__pycache__/
 test/

PKGBUILD

@@ -1,47 +1,38 @@
 # PKGBUILD
 
-# Maintainer: Daniele Fucini <dfucini@gmail.com>
+# Maintainer: Daniele Fucini <dfucini [at] gmail [dot] com>
 
 pkgname=simple_backup
-pkgver=3.1.2.r1.ga4c4b88
-pkgrel=1
 pkgdesc='Simple backup script that uses rsync to copy files'
+pkgver=4.2.0
+pkgrel=1
+url="https://git.shouldnt.work/fuxino/${pkgname}"
 arch=('any')
-url="https://github.com/Fuxino/simple_backup.git"
+license=('GPL-3.0-or-later')
-license=('GPL3')
 makedepends=('git'
              'python-setuptools'
              'python-build'
-             'python-installer'
+             'python-installer')
-             'python-wheel')
+depends=('python>=3.10'
-depends=('python'
+         'rsync')
-         'rsync'
+optdepends=('python-systemd: use systemd log'
-         'python-dotenv')
+            'python-dbus: for desktop notifications'
-optdepends=('python-systemd: use systemd log')
+            'python-paramiko: for remote backup through ssh')
-install=${pkgname}.install
+conflicts=('simple_backup-git')
-source=(git+https://github.com/Fuxino/${pkgname}.git)
+source=(git+${url}?signed#tag=${pkgver})
-sha256sums=('SKIP')
+validpgpkeys=('7E12BC1FF3B6EDB2CD8053EB981A2B2A3BBF5514')
-
+sha256sums=('6c674f7981e3e5222594bdb735d4fb02ca2fcc829de57ea8f92ce71e679853f9')
-pkgver() 
-{  
-   cd ${pkgname}
-   git describe --long --tags | sed 's/\([^-]*-g\)/r\1/;s/-/./g'
-}
-
-prepare()
-{
-   git -C ${srcdir}/${pkgname} clean -dfx
-}
 
 build()
 {
-   cd ${srcdir}/${pkgname}
+    cd ${srcdir}/${pkgname}
-   python -m build --wheel --no-isolation
+    python -m build --wheel --no-isolation
 }
 
 package()
 {
-   cd ${srcdir}/${pkgname}
+    cd ${srcdir}/${pkgname}
-   python -m installer --destdir=${pkgdir} dist/*.whl
+    python -m installer --destdir=${pkgdir} dist/*.whl
-   install -Dm644 ${srcdir}/${pkgname}/${pkgname}.conf ${pkgdir}/etc/${pkgname}/${pkgname}.conf
+    install -Dm644 ${pkgname}/${pkgname}.conf ${pkgdir}/usr/share/doc/${pkgname}/${pkgname}.conf
+    install -Dm644 man/${pkgname}.1 ${pkgdir}/usr/share/man/man1/${pkgname}.1
 }

README.md

@@ -20,28 +20,55 @@ The script uses rsync to actually run the backup, so you will have to install it
 sudo pacman -Syu rsync
 ```
 
+Optional dependencies are systemd-python to enable using systemd journal for logging, dbus-python for desktop notifications, and paramiko for remote backup.
+
 ## Install
 To install the program, first clone the repository:
 
 ```bash
-git clone https://github.com/Fuxino/simple_backup.git
+git clone https://git.shouldnt.work/fuxino/simple_backup.git
 ```
 
-Install tools required to build and install the package:
+Then install the tools required to build the package:
 
 ```bash
-pip install --upgrade build installer wheel
+pip install --upgrade build
 ```
 
-Then run:
+Finally, run:
 
 ```bash
 cd simple_backup
 python -m build --wheel
-python -m installer dist/*.whl
+python -m pip install dist/*.whl
 ```
 
-For Arch Linux, a PKGBUILD that automates this process is provided.
+For Arch Linux and Arch-based distros, two packages are available in the AUR (aur.archlinux.org):
+- **simple_backup** for the release version
+- **simple_backup-git** for the git version
 
-After installing, copy simple_backup.conf (if you used the PKGBUILD on Arch, it will be in /etc/simple_backup/) to $HOME/.config/simple_backup and edit is as needed.
+## Old backups
+The number of old backups to keep can be set with the --keep (or -k) argument (or in the configuration file).
+Old backups are only removed if rsync completes successfully, so that they are not deleted when the new backup may be incomplete.
+The only rsync error that is ignored is return code 24 (source files vanished during the transfer), which is common when backing up a live system.
 
+## Remote backup
+> **Warning**
+> This feature is experimental
+
+It's possible to use a remote server as destination for the backup. Just use the --ssh-user and --ssh-host arguments (or set them in the configuration file).
+For this to work, rsync must be installed on the server too.
+
+### Server authentication
+The best way to handle the authentication is to have an ssh agent running on your system, otherwise if a passphrase is necessary to unlock the ssh key, it will be necessary to enter it more than once.
+If needed, it's possible to specify the ssh key location with the --keyfile argument or in the configuration file.
+
+To be able to connect to the user's ssh agent when running simple_backup with sudo, make sure to preserve the SSH_AUTH_SOCK environment variable. For example:
+
+```bash
+sudo --preserve-env=SSH_AUTH_SOCK -s simple_backup [options]
+```
+
+or by editing the sudoers file.
+If SSH key authentication is not available, password authentication will be used instead.
+Check the man page for more details.

man/simple_backup.1

@@ -0,0 +1,216 @@
+.TH SIMPLE_BACKUP 1 2026-10-08 SIMPLE_BACKUP 4.3.0
+.SH NAME
+simple_backup \- Backup files and folders using rsync
+.SH SYNOPSIS
+.B simple_backup
+\-h, \-\-help
+.PD 0
+.P
+.PD
+.B simple_backup
+[\-c, \-\-config FILE]
+[\-i, \-\-input INPUT [INPUT...]]
+[\-o, \-\-output DIR]
+.PD 0
+.P
+.PD
+.RS 14 [\-e, \-\-exclude FILE|DIR|PATTERN [FILE|...]]
+[\-k, \-\-keep N]
+[\-\-ssh\-host HOSTNAME]
+[\-\-ssh\-user USERNAME]
+[\-\-keyfile FILE]
+.PD 0
+.P
+.PD
+[\-s, \-\-checksum]
+[\-z, \-\-compress]
+[\-\-remove\-before\-backup]
+.RE
+.SH DESCRIPTION
+.B simple_backup
+is a python script for performing backup of files and folders.
+.P
+It uses rsync to copy the files to the specified location. Parameters for the backup such as
+input files/directories, output location and files or folders to exclude can be specified
+in a configuration file (default location $HOME/.config/simple_backup/simple_backup.conf)
+or directly on the command line.
+.P
+Parameters specified on the command line will override those in the configuration file.
+.SH OPTIONS
+.TP
+.B \-h, \-\-help
+Print a short help message and exit.
+.TP
+.B \-c, \-\-config FILE
+Specify the configuration file, useful to specify a different one from the default.
+.TP
+.B \-i, \-\-input INPUT [INPUT...]
+Specify the files and directories to backup. Multiple inputs can be specified, just separate
+them with a space. If filenames or paths contain spaces, don't forget to escape them,
+or to use single or double quotes around them.
+.TP
+.B \-o, \-\-output DIR
+Specify the directory where the files will be copied. The program will automatically
+create a subdirectory called \(aqsimple_backup\(aq (if it does not already exist) and
+inside this directory the actual backup directory (using the current date and time, for example
+\(aq2026\-10\-08_17\-34\-47\(aq).
+.RS
+.P
+Backups are best stored on a Linux filesystem (e.g. ext4 or btrfs). FAT and exFAT filesystems
+are supported, but they don\(aqt support hard links, so each backup will be a full copy instead
+of only storing files that changed since the previous one. File ownership and permissions are
+not preserved either.
+.RE
+.TP
+.B \-e, \-\-exclude FILE|DIR|PATTERN [FILE|...]]
+Specify files, directories or patterns to exclude from the backup. Matching files and directories
+will not be copied. Multiple elements can be specified, in the same way as for the \-\-input option.
+.TP
+.B \-k, \-\-keep N
+Specify how many old backups (so excluding the current one) will be kept. The default behavior
+is to keep them all (same as N=\-1).
+Old backups are only removed if rsync completes successfully, to avoid deleting them when the
+new backup may be incomplete. rsync return code 24 (source files vanished during the transfer)
+is treated as success, while any other error (including return code 23, partial transfer due to error)
+will prevent old backups from being removed. This does not apply when using \-\-remove\-before\-backup.
+.TP
+.B \-u, \-\-user USERNAME
+Explicitly specify the user running the backup (in case it is needed for home directory expansion).
+.TP
+.B \-\-ssh\-host HOSTNAME
+Hostname of the server where to copy the files in case of remote backup through SSH.
+.TP
+.B \-\-ssh\-user USERNAME
+Username for connecting to the server in case of remote backup.
+.TP
+.B \-\-keyfile FILE
+Location of the SSH key for server authentication. 
+.TP
+.B \-s, \-\-checksums
+Same as rsync option \(aq\-\-checksum\(aq, use checksums instead of mod\-time and size
+to skip files.
+.TP
+.B \-z, \-\-compress
+Compress data during transfer (rsync \(aq\-\-compress\(aq option). Useful for remote backup
+if saving bandwith is needed.
+.TP
+.B \-\-remove\-before\-backup
+Remove old backups (if necessary) before creating the new backup. Useful to free some space
+before performing the backup.
+Default behavior is to remove old backups after successfully completing the backup.
+Note that if the backup fails after old backups have been removed, only the backups kept
+according to \-\-keep will be left, and the new backup may be incomplete. In particular, with
+\-\-keep 0 there will be no complete backup available until the next successful one.
+.TP
+.B \-\-no\-syslog
+Don't use systemd journal for logging.
+.TP
+.B \-\-rsync\-options OPTIONS [OPTION...]
+By default, the following rsync options are used:
+.RS
+.P
+    \-a \-r \-v \-h \-s \-H \-X
+.P
+Using \-\-rsync\-options it is possible to manually select which options to use. Supported values are the following:
+.P
+    \-a, \-l, \-p, \-t, \-g, \-o, \-c, \-h, \-D, \-H, \-X, \-s
+.P
+Options \-r, \-v, \-\-ignore\-missing\-args and \-\-mkpath are used in any case. Note that options must be specified without dash (\-), for example:
+.P
+.EX
+    simple_backup \-\-rsync\-options a l p
+.EE
+.P
+Check
+.BR rsync (1)
+for details about the options.
+.RE
+.TP
+.B \-\-remote\-sudo
+Run rsync on the remote server with sudo. This is needed if you want to preserve the owner of the files/folders to be copied (rsync \-\-owner option). For this to work the user used to login to the server obviously need to be allowed to use sudo. In addition, the user need to be able to run rsync with sudo without a password. To do this, /etc/sudoers on the server need to be edited adding a line like this one:
+.RS
+.P
+    <username> ALL=NOPASSWD:<path/to/rsync>
+.P
+To be able to remove old backups generated with \-\-remote\-sudo (see \-\-keep option), also
+.BR rm (1)
+needs to be allowed to run without password in the same way.
+.RE
+.TP
+.B \-\-numeric\-ids
+Use rsync \-\-numeric\-ids option. This causes rsync to use numeric uid/gid instead of trying to map uid/gid names from the local machine to the server.
+.SH CONFIGURATION
+An example configuration file is provided at \(aq/usr/share/doc/simple_backup/simple_backup.conf\(aq.
+Copy it to the default location ($HOME/.config/simple_backup) and edit it as needed.
+.SH REMOTE BACKUP
+It is possible to choose a directory on a remote server as destination for the backup. The files
+are copied by rsync through SSH. Server hostname and username must be specified, either in the
+configuration file, or on the command line (\(aq\-\-ssh\-host\(aq and \(aq\-\-ssh\-user\(aq options).
+.P
+The output directory is a path on the server. A leading \(aq~\(aq and relative paths refer to the
+home directory of the user on the server. On the command line, quote \(aq~\(aq so that the local
+shell doesn\(aqt expand it, for example:
+.P
+.EX
+    simple_backup \-\-ssh\-host server \-\-ssh\-user user \-o \(aq~/backups\(aq
+.EE
+.SS AUTHENTICATION
+For authentication, it is possible to use SSH key or password.
+.P
+When using SSH key, the best way to connect to the server is to have an SSH agent running.
+Otherwise, if the SSH key is encrypted, it will be necessary to enter the passphrase more
+than once. It is possible to specify the SSH key to use with the option \(aq\-\-keyfile\(aq,
+if necessary.
+.P
+When running
+.B simple_backup
+with
+.B sudo,
+in order to connect to the user\(aqs SSH agent it is necessary to preserve the \(aqSSH_AUTH_SOCK\(aq environment variable, for example:
+.P
+.EX
+    sudo --preserve-env=SSH_AUTH_SOCK -s simple_backup [options]
+.EE
+.P
+It is also possible to make this permanent by editing the
+.B sudoers
+file (see
+.BR sudoers (5))
+.P
+If SSH key authentication is not available, password authentication will be used instead.
+Note that in this case
+.B sshpass
+(if available) will be used to send the password to rsync, to avoid prompting the user for
+the password multiple
+times. This can pose some security risks, see
+.BR sshpass (1)
+for details. For this reason, use SSH key authentication if possible.
+.SH EXIT STATUS
+.TP
+.B 0
+The backup was completed without errors. This includes rsync return code 24 (some source files
+vanished during the transfer), which only logs a warning.
+.TP
+.B 1
+No valid inputs selected for backup.
+.TP
+.B 2
+Backup failed because output directory for storing the backup does not exist.
+.TP
+.B 3
+Permission denied to access the output directory.
+.TP
+.B 4
+rsync error (rsync returned a value other than 0 or 24).
+.TP
+.B 5
+SSH connection failed.
+.TP
+.B 6
+Bad configuration file or options (for example, only one of SSH host and SSH user specified).
+.SH SEE ALSO
+.BR rsync (1)
+.SH AUTHORS
+.MT https://git.shouldnt.work/fuxino
+Daniele Fucini
+.ME

pyproject.toml

@@ -1,3 +1,48 @@
 [build-system]
-requires = ['setuptools']
+requires = ['setuptools>=77']
 build-backend = 'setuptools.build_meta'
+
+[project]
+name = "simple_backup"
+dynamic = ["version"]
+description = "Simple backup script that uses rsync to copy files"
+readme = "README.md"
+requires-python = ">=3.10"
+license = "GPL-3.0-or-later"
+license-files = ["LICENSE"]
+authors = [
+  { name = "Daniele Fucini", email = "dfucini@gmail.com" }
+]
+maintainers = [
+  { name = "Daniele Fucini", email = "dfucini@gmail.com" }
+]
+classifiers = [
+  "Development Status :: 4 - Beta",
+  "Environment :: Console",
+  "Natural Language :: English",
+  "Operating System :: POSIX :: Linux",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14",
+  "Topic :: System :: Archiving :: Backup",
+]
+
+[project.optional-dependencies]
+JOURNAL = ["systemd-python"]
+NOTIFICATIONS = ["dbus-python"]
+REMOTE = ["paramiko>=3.2"]
+
+[project.urls]
+Homepage = "https://git.shouldnt.work/fuxino/simple_backup"
+
+[project.scripts]
+simple_backup = "simple_backup.simple_backup:simple_backup"
+
+[tool.setuptools]
+packages = ["simple_backup"]
+
+[tool.setuptools.dynamic]
+version = { attr = "simple_backup.__version__" }

setup.cfg

@@ -1,33 +0,0 @@
-[metadata]
-name = simple_backup
-version = attr: simple_backup.__version__
-description = Simple backup script using rsync
-long_description = file: README.md
-author = Daniele Fucini
-author_email = dfucini@gmail.com
-license = GPL3
-url = https://github.com/Fuxino/simple_backup
-classifiers =
-   Development Status :: 5 - Production/Stable
-   Environment :: Console
-   License :: OSI Approved :: GNU General Public License v3 (GPLv3)
-   Natural Language :: English
-   Operating System :: POSIX :: Linux
-   Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7
-   Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8
-   Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9
-   Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10
-   Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11
-   Topic :: System :: Archiving :: Backup
-
-[options]
-packages = simple_backup
-python_requires = >=3.7
-install_requires =
-   python-dotenv
-   systemd-python
-
-[options.entry_points]
-console_scripts =
-   simple_backup = simple_backup.simple_backup:simple_backup
-

simple_backup.conf

@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-#Example config file for simple_backup
-
-[default]
-#Input directories. Use a comma to separate items
-inputs=/home/my_home,/etc
-
-#Output directory
-backup_dir=/media/Backup
-
-#Exclude patterns. Use a comma to separate items
-exclude=.gvfs,.local/share/gvfs-metadata,.cache,.dbus,.Trash,.local/share/Trash,.macromedia,.adobe,.recently-used,.recently-used.xbel,.thumbnails
-
-#Number of snapshots to keep (use -1 to keep all)
-keep=-1

simple_backup.install

@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-post_install() {
-   echo "An example configuration file is found in /etc/simple_backup/simple_backup.conf."
-   echo "Copy it to ~/config/simple_backup/simple_backup.conf and modify it as needed"
-}
-
-post_upgrade() {
-   post_install
-}

simple_backup/__init__.py

@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 """Init."""
 
-__version__ = '3.2.2'
+__version__ = '4.3.0'

simple_backup/simple_backup.conf

@@ -1,14 +1,22 @@
-#Example config file for simple_backup
+# Example config file for simple_backup
 
-[default]
+[backup]
-#Input directories. Use a comma to separate items
+# Files and directories to backup. Multiple items can be separated using a comma (','). It is possible to use wildcards (i.e. '*' to match multiple characters and '~' for the user's home directory).
-inputs=/home/my_home,/etc
+inputs=/home/user
 
-#Output directory
+# Output directory. For remote backups, this is a path on the server ('~' and relative paths refer to the home directory on the server).
 backup_dir=/media/Backup
 
-#Exclude patterns. Use a comma to separate items
+# Files, directories and patterns to exclude from the backup. Multiple items can be separated using a comma.
-exclude=.gvfs,.local/share/gvfs-metadata,.cache,.dbus,.Trash,.local/share/Trash,.macromedia,.adobe,.recently-used,.recently-used.xbel,.thumbnails
+exclude=*.bak
 
-#Number of snapshots to keep (use -1 to keep all)
+# Number of old backups (i.e. excluding the one that's being created) to keep (use -1 to keep all)
-keep=-1
+keep=-1
+
+# Uncomment the following section to enable backup to remote server through ssh
+# [server]
+# ssh_host=
+# ssh_user=
+# ssh_keyfile=
+# remote_sudo=false
+# numeric_ids=false