SyncBackup v1.5 - Advanced Folder Synchronization and Backup Application

Author: Goran Zajec
Website: https://svejedobro.hr

📥 Download Latest Release

📦 Download SyncBackup v1.5 - True Incremental Backups & Major Improvements

📋 Overview

SyncBackup v1.5 is an advanced Python Tkinter application for folder synchronization and backup with true incremental backup system, automatic scheduling, chain-based retention policy, preserve deleted files, SQLite database, system tray functionality, comprehensive dashboard monitoring, and Windows Service support.

✨ Key Features

📊 Dashboard

Real-time Statistics: Total jobs, active jobs, backup sizes, success rates
Next Backup Info: Shows which job runs next and when
Recent Activity: Last 24 hours of job executions with status indicators
Auto-refresh: Updates every 30 seconds automatically

🔄 Job Types

Simple Job

Creates a complete copy of the source folder with datetime suffix
Each execution creates a new backup folder (e.g., folder_20251002_090326)
ZIP Compression: Option to compress backups as ZIP files for space saving
File Exclusion: Exclude specific files/folders using patterns (e.g., .git, node_modules)
Desktop Notifications: Optional notifications when jobs complete

Incremental Job ⭐ NEW in v1.5

True incremental backup system with smart change detection:

🎯 INICIAL Backup (First/Reset):
- Location: destination/source_folder_name_INCREMENTAL_INICIAL_20251108_140000/
- Purpose: Full backup with all files - serves as baseline
- Created: First run or after N incremental backups (chain reset)
- Contains: Complete copy of all source files
📦 Incremental Backups (Subsequent):
- Location: destination/source_folder_name_INCREMENTAL_20251108_150000/
- Purpose: Stores only changed or new files since last backup
- Behavior: Compares with last backup using modification time and file size
- Contains: Only files that were added or modified

Key Features:

Smart Change Detection: Only backs up files that actually changed
Reset Chain After N: Automatically create new INICIAL after N incrementals
Preserve Deleted Files: Marks deleted files with _DELETED suffix instead of removing them
File Exclusion: Exclude specific files/folders using patterns
Desktop Notifications: Optional notifications when jobs complete

Example Chain:

Day 1:  Project_INCREMENTAL_INICIAL_20251108_140000/  (5 GB - all files)
Day 2:  Project_INCREMENTAL_20251109_140000/          (50 MB - changed files)
Day 3:  Project_INCREMENTAL_20251110_140000/          (30 MB - changed files)
...
Day 31: Project_INCREMENTAL_INICIAL_20251208_140000/  (5.2 GB - new full backup)

⏰ Advanced Scheduler

Every X minutes: Run every X minutes
Every X hours: Run every X hours
Daily: Daily run at specified time
Weekly: Weekly run on specified day
Monthly: Monthly run on specified day

🖥️ GUI Interface

Dashboard: Statistics overview with job counts, backup sizes, success rates, and recent activity
Jobs List: TreeView with columns (Name, Type, Source, Destination, Schedule, Status, Running, Last Run, Next Run)
Log Viewer: Real-time log display with filter options
Backup Files: View and manage backup files
Settings: Configure application preferences, notifications, language, and Windows Service
Tab Interface: Organized display (Dashboard, Jobs, Logs, Backup Files, Settings)

🔧 Control Buttons

New Job: Create new job (always visible)
Edit Selected: Edit selected job (Jobs tab only)
Delete Job: Delete job (Jobs tab only)
Open Destination: Open destination folder in file explorer (Jobs tab only)
Activate Job: Activate job (green color, Jobs tab only)
Deactivate Job: Deactivate job (red color, Jobs tab only)
Run Selected: Run selected job (brown color, Jobs tab only)

Note: Job control buttons are only visible when the Jobs tab is active for better UI organization.

🗑️ Retention Policy ⭐ NEW in v1.5

Automatic cleanup of old backups:

For Simple Jobs:

Keep last N backups
Deletes oldest backup folders automatically
Example: Keep 5 → Only 5 most recent backups remain

For Incremental Jobs:

Keep last N full backups (chains)
Deletes entire chains (INICIAL + all incrementals)
Example: Keep 2 chains → Keeps 2 most recent INICIAL backups with all their incrementals
Prevents orphaned incremental backups

Benefits:

Automatic space management
No manual cleanup needed
Configurable per job
Runs after each backup

🔽 System Tray Functionality

Minimize to tray: Application minimizes to system tray
Tray menu: Show/Quit options
X button: Shows quit dialog before closing
Background operation: Application runs in background

🔒 Single Instance

File locking: Ensures only one application instance runs
Cross-platform: Works on Windows, Linux and macOS
Automatic cleanup: Automatic lock file cleanup

🚀 Installation

Prerequisites

pip install -r app/requirements.txt

Running

# Option 1: GUI mode (no console window)
double-click main.pyw

# Option 2: Console mode (with debug output)
python main.py

📁 File Structure

SyncBackup/
├── main.py                      # Main application (console mode)
├── main.pyw                     # Main application (GUI mode, no console)
├── service_manager.py           # Windows Service management helper
├── SERVIS_UPUTE.md             # Service troubleshooting (Croatian)
├── SERVICE_TROUBLESHOOTING.md  # Service troubleshooting (English)
├── app/
│   ├── database.py              # SQLite database manager
│   ├── tray_icon.py             # System tray functionality
│   ├── windows_service.py       # Windows Service implementation
│   ├── language_manager.py      # Multi-language support
│   ├── sync_backup.db           # SQLite database (created automatically)
│   ├── service.log              # Service log (created when service runs)
│   ├── languages/
│   │   ├── en.json              # English translations
│   │   └── hr.json              # Croatian translations
│   └── requirements.txt         # Dependencies
└── README.md                   # This file

⚙️ Additional Features

File Exclusion Patterns

Exclude specific files/folders from backup. Examples:

.git,node_modules,__pycache__
*.tmp,*.log,Thumbs.db
cache/*,temp/*

ZIP Compression

Available only for Simple jobs. Compresses backup as ZIP file for space saving.

Desktop Notifications

Shows notifications when job completes with three modes:

Immediate Mode: Show notification for each backup job as it completes
Batch Mode (Default): Group multiple notifications and show a summary every 5 minutes
- Prevents notification spam when many backups run while user is away
- Shows consolidated summary: "✅ 5 completed, ❌ 1 failed, ⏸️ 2 skipped"
Disabled: No notifications

Notification types:

Success: Green notification with file count
Error: Red notification with error description
Skipped: Yellow notification (no changes)

File Retention Policy

Automatic deletion of old backups:

Keep Count: Keep last N backups
Keep Days: Keep backups for N days
Keep Size: Keep up to N MB

⚙️ Settings Tab

Centralized configuration for application preferences:

Language Selection: Choose between Croatian (Hrvatski) and English
Notification Settings:
- Select notification mode (Immediate, Batch, or Disabled)
- Configure batch notification interval (60-3600 seconds)
Windows Service (Windows only):
- Install/uninstall application as Windows Service
- Run backups in background without user login
- Auto-start with Windows
- Requires administrator privileges

🔧 Windows Service Support

Run SyncBackup as a Windows Service for unattended operation:

Background Operation: Runs without user login
Auto-Start: Starts automatically with Windows
Service Management: Install, uninstall, and check status from Settings tab or command line
Requirements:
- Windows operating system
- Administrator privileges
- pywin32 package (install with: pip install pywin32)

Command Line Service Management

Use the service_manager.py helper script for easy service management:

# Run PowerShell as Administrator, then:

# Install service
python service_manager.py install

# Start service
python service_manager.py start

# Check status
python service_manager.py status

# Stop service
python service_manager.py stop

# Uninstall service
python service_manager.py uninstall

# Debug mode (run in console)
python service_manager.py debug

Important: Service must be installed and managed with Administrator privileges.

For detailed troubleshooting, see SERVIS_UPUTE.md (Croatian) or SERVICE_TROUBLESHOOTING.md (English).

🗃️ Database

The application uses SQLite database (app/sync_backup.db) for:

Job configurations
Hash values for change detection
Execution logs
Backup file tracking
Retention policy rules
Application settings
Notification queue (for batch mode)

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Job Not Running

Check if job is active
Check "Next Run" column
Look at logs for errors

Empty Backup

Check if source folder exists
Check read/write permissions
Check exclude patterns

Application Won't Start

Check if all modules are installed
Run from command prompt to see errors
Check Python version (3.7+)

Windows Service Issues

Service not visible in services.msc

Remove old service: sc delete SyncBackupService
Reinstall: python service_manager.py install
Check: python service_manager.py status

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'app'

This should be fixed in the latest version
If still occurs, check app\service_error.log
Try debug mode: python service_manager.py debug

Service won't start

Check logs: type app\service.log
Check error log: type app\service_error.log
Run in debug mode: python service_manager.py debug
Verify admin privileges

Access Denied errors

Run PowerShell as Administrator
Right-click → "Run as Administrator"

For detailed service troubleshooting, see:

SERVIS_UPUTE.md (Croatian)
SERVICE_TROUBLESHOOTING.md (English)

📝 Changelog

v1.4 (2025-11-03)

Settings Tab: New centralized settings interface
Notification Batching: Smart notification grouping to prevent spam
- Three modes: Immediate, Batch (default), and Disabled
- Configurable batch interval (1-60 minutes)
- Summary notifications show aggregated results
Windows Service Support: Run as Windows Service (optional)
- Background operation without user login
- Auto-start with Windows
- Service management from Settings tab and command line
- Fixed: Module import errors (ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'app')
- Fixed: Service registration issues (service not visible in services.msc)
- Added: service_manager.py helper script for easy command-line management
- Added: Comprehensive troubleshooting guides (SERVIS_UPUTE.md, SERVICE_TROUBLESHOOTING.md)
Language Selection: Choose between Croatian and English (UI labels to be translated)
Enhanced Database: New tables for settings and notification queue
Improved User Experience: Prevents notification overload when multiple backups complete

v1.2 (2025-10-02)

Dashboard Tab: New comprehensive statistics and monitoring interface
Real-time Statistics: Job counts, backup sizes, success rates
Activity Monitoring: Recent 24h activity with status indicators
Auto-refresh: Dashboard updates every 30 seconds automatically
Next Backup Info: Shows upcoming scheduled jobs with countdown
Open Destination: Quick access to destination folders from Jobs tab
File Exclusion Patterns: Exclude files/folders during backup (e.g., .git, node_modules, pycache)
Desktop Notifications: Optional notifications for job completion, errors, and skipped jobs
ZIP Compression: Compress Simple job backups as ZIP files for space saving
Conditional UI: Job control buttons only visible on Jobs tab for cleaner interface
Enhanced Job Dialog: Improved dialog size and layout for all new options

v1.1 (2025-10-02)

Database Migration: Migrated from JSON to SQLite database
Enhanced Logging: Database-based logging system with filtering
System Tray: Minimize to system tray functionality
Single Instance: Prevent multiple application instances
File Structure: Reorganized files into app/ directory
Multi-selection: Select and manage multiple jobs/backups
Missing Files Detection: Visual indicators for missing backup files
Executable Version: PyInstaller-based .exe distribution

📄 License

MIT License

🤝 Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

📞 Support

For problems or questions, open an issue on GitHub or contact the developer.