sync with webdav

Archive local files or directories into tar/tar.gz and upload them to a WebDAV endpoint, with optional notifications. Use when the user asks to back up a folder, sync files to WebDAV on a schedule, or update archive exclusions and remote paths. Trigger when user asks->'Sync this folder to WebDAV every night', 'Back up this directory to WebDAV and notify me'. Capabilities->(1) Create deterministic archives with exclude rules, (2) create remote WebDAV directories and upload via PUT, (3) integrate with wrappers and scheduled jobs, (4) evolve sync rules safely over time.

WebDAV Sync

Overview

Run scripts/webdav_sync.py to package local content as .tar or .tar.gz and upload it to a WebDAV target defined in an env file. Prefer this skill for repeatable backups and scheduled sync tasks.

Core Logic

1. Read WebDAV credentials from an env file using WEBDAV_SITE, WEBDAV_USERID, and WEBDAV_PWD.
2. Create archives with explicit exclude patterns instead of implicit ignores.
3. Prefer explicit paths in cron jobs and wrappers.
4. Keep notification delivery outside the archive payload. Use the host messaging path after upload success or failure.
5. When changing sync scope, update both the wrapper script and any scheduled job that invokes it.
6. Record every confirmed improvement or compatibility fix in maintenance.log.

Execution Patterns

Direct run

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/webdav_sync.py \
  --source /path/to/folder \
  --archive-prefix backup \
  --remote-subdir backups \
  --notify-channel <channel> \
  --notify-target <target> \
  --exclude 'folder/.trash' \
  --exclude 'folder/.trash/*' \
  --exclude 'folder/tmp' \
  --exclude 'folder/tmp/*'

Wrapper usage

Keep stable wrappers in a project-level scripts directory for cron or one-command execution. Use a thin wrapper that pins the interpreter and passes host-specific paths as arguments.

Guardrails

• Keep the script stdlib-only except for external binaries already present on the host (curl, optional messaging CLI).
• Do not print credentials.
• Do not pass WebDAV credentials through command-line arguments; use a temporary credential file with 0600 permissions and delete it after the request finishes.
• Accept WebDAV MKCOL responses 201, 301, and 405 as non-fatal directory-ready states.
• Accept upload responses 200, 201, and 204 as success.
• If the user asks for pure .tar, set --compression none; otherwise prefer gz.
• For future sync targets, add explicit exclude patterns instead of broad hidden-file stripping.

Resources

• Read references/operations.md for env keys, wrapper layout, and scheduling notes.
• Run scripts/webdav_sync.py --help for the CLI surface.