Git-Drive: A Git-Inspired Backup Tool for Google Drive

📌 Project Description

Git-Drive is my hands-on journey to understand the core logic behind version control systems like Git. By building a file synchronizer from scratch, I am learning how to detect file changes, manage state, and interact with external APIs. This script uses the Google Drive API to create an intelligent backup system that mirrors a local folder to the cloud.

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✨ Features

✅ Git-like Change Detection: Intelligently detects which files are new, modified, or have been deleted since the last sync.
✅ Efficient Syncing: Only uploads or updates files that have actually changed, saving bandwidth and time.
✅ State Management: Keeps a local state.json file to remember the last synced state of every file.
✅ Secure Authentication: Uses the official Google API OAuth 2.0 flow to securely connect to your Google account without ever storing your password.

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⚙️ How It Works

The script operates in a cycle:

1. Scan Local: Scans the target local directory to build a "current state" map of all files and their last-modified times.
2. Load Previous State: Loads the "last known state" from the state.json file.
3. Compare & Diff: Compares the current state to the last known state to create three lists: ADDED, MODIFIED, and DELETED files.
4. Act on Changes: Connects to the Google Drive API and performs necessary actions:
   • Uploads new files.
   • Updates modified files.
   • Trashes deleted files on Google Drive.
5. Save New State: Saves the "current state" to state.json, making it the "last known state" for the next run.

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🚀 Setup and Usage

1. Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or newer
• pip (Python’s package installer)

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2. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/your-username/Git-Drive.git
cd Git-Drive

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3. Install Dependencies

Install the necessary Google Client libraries:

pip install google-api-python-client google-auth-oauthlib

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4. Get Google Drive API Credentials

This is the most important setup step:

1. Go to Google Cloud Console.
2. Create a new project.
3. Enable the Google Drive API for your project.
4. Go to Credentials, click + CREATE CREDENTIALS, and choose OAuth client ID.
5. Select Desktop app as the application type.
6. Click DOWNLOAD JSON. Rename the downloaded file to credentials.json and place it in the root of this project folder.

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5. Configure the Script

Open the main Python script (e.g., sync_script_step2.py) in a text editor and change the following variable to point to the folder you want to back up:

# The local directory you want to sync.
DIRECTORY_TO_TRACK = "path/to/your/folder"

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6. Run the Script

Execute the script from your terminal:

python your_script_name.py

• First Run: Your web browser will open, asking you to log in to your Google Account and grant permission. Click Allow. This will create a token.json file in your project folder, which securely stores your login for future runs.
• Subsequent Runs: The script will use the token.json file to authenticate automatically without opening the browser.

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📈 Project Status & Roadmap

This project is currently in development. The core logic for detecting and uploading new files is complete.

Next Steps:

• Implement logic to update modified files
• Implement logic to trash deleted files on Google Drive
• Replicate local folder structure on Google Drive
• Create a simple command-line alias (like drive-update) for easy execution

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📄 License

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

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✍️ Author

Cyber Knight – Git-Drive Developer

Feel free to ⭐️ the repo if you find it helpful!