gzg-idea.md

gzg

gzg helps you use git, tar, and gpg to keep a folder of text files synced across your devices using a server you have SSH access to. Each client has a git repo containing the unencrypted text files. All the server has is the encrypted, gzipped, tar'd, bare git repo in a single file called gzg.git.tar.gz.gpg. There is also a gzg.git.tar.gz.gpg.sha1 file used for the clients to check whether their version of the git repo is outdated.

Here's how you would set up a notes directory:

$ mkdir notes
$ cd notes
$ vim TODO.txt
$ gzg init jeremy@mydomain:git/notes.gzg

This would:

• Make a .gzg folder in notes/
• Init a bare git repo at .gzg/gzg.git
• Store the string jeremy@mydomain:git/notes.gzg into a .gzg/remote file
• Run git init in the notes/ directory
• Add /.gzg to .gitignore
• Add path to .gzg/gzg.git as a git remote
• Add all untracked files and make a commit
• Push to the .gzg/gzg.git remote
• Run tar on the .gzg/gzg.git folder, producing .gzg/gzg.git.tar.gz
• Run gpg on that, producing .gzg/gzg.git.tar.gz.gpg
• Run shasum on that, producing .gzg/gzg.git.tar.gz.gpg.sha1
• scp the last two files to the git/notes.gzg folder on the server

Then, you'd want to run clone on your other devices:

$ gzg clone jeremy@mydomain:git/notes.gzg notes
$ cd notes
$ vim TODO.txt

This would:

• Make a notes/ directory
• Make a .gzg folder in notes/
• Store the string jeremy@mydomain:git/notes.gzg into a .gzg/remote file
• scp the git/notes.gzg/gzg.git.tar.gz.gpg file from the server into .gzg
• Decrypt and untar the file, so you have a git repo at .gzg/gzg.git
• Run git init in the notes/ directory
• Add path to .gzg/gzg.git as a git remote
• Run git pull

Then, whenever you make changes or want to update a device with the latest changes, run the sync command:

$ cd notes
$ vim TODO.txt
$ gzg sync

This would:

• scp the git/notes.gzg/gzg.git.tar.gz.sha1 file from the server
• Run shasum on the local .gzg/gzg.git.tar.gz file to see if it changed
• If so, scp the gzg.git.tar.gz.gpg file from the server and decrypt it
• tar xf the gzg.git.tar.gz file to get a gzg.git bare repo
• Add all files to the git index
• Make a commit
• Run git pull
• Handle any merge conflicts somehow
• Run git push
• tar czvf the gzg.git folder to get gzg.git.tar.gz
• Encrypt that to get gzg.git.tar.gz.gpg
• Run shasum on that to get gzg.git.tar.gz.gpg.sha1
• scp both those files to the server

Notes

• Maybe the .gzg folder could be contained within the .git folder, so we wouldn't have to worry about having a .gitignore? Or just make .gzg an exception when adding all untracked files, somehow.
• The user has to specify the GPG key they want to use, and it should be remembered.
• Only one device should sync at the same time. Access to the server's file should be locked somehow.