Backasa
=======

::

    (sudo) pip install backasa

The goal of this tool is to provide a minimal CLI backup/mirroring tool
for Picasa Web Albums.

Usage
-----

Quickstart
~~~~~~~~~~

This will initiate or sync an existing backup of all picasa web albumns
for this user, into ``/target/of/backup``

::

    backasa -e your@gmail.com -p password1 -t /target/of/backup/ backup

Full Cycle
~~~~~~~~~~

1. **Setup** - Setup backup directory and store your credentials

   ::

       mkdir backup-target
       cd backup-target
       backasa setup

2. **Backup** - routinely run the backup (cron, etc..)

   ::

       cd backup-target
       backasa backup

3. **Cleanup** - Remove old versions of files and deleted files

   ::

       cd backup-target
       backasa cleanup

Options
~~~~~~~

-  ``--email`` or ``-e``

   -  Manually provide account email on the command line

-  ``--password`` or ``-p``

   -  Manually provide password on the command line

-  ``--limit`` or ``-l``

   -  Provide a time limit (in hours) to run.
   -  Accepts floating points (``-l 0.5`` for 30 minutes, etc..)
   -  This is helpful if you want to gradually catch up your backups
      during off peak times
   -  Ex. Cron job starts at 1 AM, using ``-l 4`` it will stop ~ 5 AM
   -  backasa will pick up where it left off for the next run

-  ``--target`` or ``-t``

   -  Specify the target backup directory
   -  Defaults to the current working directory

-  ``--notify`` or ``-n``

   -  Send an email to the account upon completion or failure
   -  includes job log

-  ``--help`` or ``-h``

   -  Built in help documentation

Authentication:
---------------

Backasa handles user authentication one of two ways, specified as
command-line arguments (``--email`` and ``--password``), or via a
``.config`` file in the backup directory generated by the ``setup``
action. This ``.config`` file is stored with the same level of security
as your private ssh keys.

If you are using Google 2-step Verification, you will need to create an
application specific password for backasa and use it in your setup.

Manual Garbage Collection
-------------------------

By default Backasa does not delete files. As new file versions come in
older versions are marked as ``.old`` and are left on the file system
along side their newer counterparts. Files deleted from picasa are left
as is in your backups. The ``cleanup`` action is used to remove old
versions of files and scan picasa for deleted files to remove from your
file system.
