dsh-backup-migrator

September 20, 2026 · View on GitHub

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dsh-backup-migrator

Backup and migrate your DeepSeek Harness plugin environment via a git repository on GitHub — VSCode settings-sync style.

  • One command backup — environment and you: ①plugin environment (per-profile manifests + load order, ~/.dsh/dsh-*.json configs, locally-developed plugins packed into tarballs); ②assets outside the plugin system (helper scripts under ~/.dsh/scripts + com.dsh.*.plist launchd timers); ③the user-content layer~/.agents/skills, ~/.dsh/.agent-presets, ~/.dsh/adapters, ~/.dsh/AGENTS.md, ~/.dsh/settings.yaml, ~/.mnemon/runtime (memory) and ~/.mnemon/documents (distilled notes) — then git commit + git push. Missing entries are skipped, so it works on anyone's machine.
  • One command restore: on a new machine, pull/clone the same repo, reinstall every plugin by source (npm/github reinstall online; local sources install offline from the packed tarballs), write back dsh.profile.bundles, the user patch layer cordis.patch.yml and the config files, then drop the scripts/plists back in place (source-machine home paths and the node interpreter are rewritten, and plists are launchctl loaded automatically).
  • Optional built-in scheduler: switch on autoBackup and backups run on an interval (daily by default) — no manual button and no external launchd job; windows missed while the machine slept are caught up on the next start.
  • Backup history = git history (rollback any day).

Why tarballs for local plugins?

DSH plugins come from four sources: npm registry, github:user/repo#commit, link:<local path> and file:<tgz>. On a new machine the link:/file: local paths do not exist — without packing them, those plugins would be lost. This plugin detects them and npm packs each into the backup repo.

Why also back up "scripts + launchd timers"?

Some DSH side-services deliberately live outside the plugin system — TickTick deferred sync is the canonical example: its launchd timer must keep flushing the staged queue into TickTick while the DSH GUI is closed, so it cannot be a plugin bundle. Those files are scattered:

  • ~/.dsh/scripts/ticktick-pending.mjs (script — invisible to the plugin manifest)
  • ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.dsh.ticktick-deferred-sync.plist (timer — under the home dir)
  • ~/.dsh/dsh-ticktick-pending.json (queue + threshold config — already captured as a dsh-*.json config)

A plugin-environment-only backup silently dropped the script and the timer on migration. They now travel in the repo's aux/ directory: on restore the recorded source home is rewritten to the target home (/Users/alice/Users/bob), the node interpreter falls back to this machine's node when the recorded one is absent, files land at their original locations, and plists are launchctl load -wed.

The same registry also carries blog sync (created 2026-09-19, after a task-board cron silently skipped for days):

  • ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.dsh.blog-sync.plist (21:00 main + 09:00 fallback + RunAtLoad)
  • ~/dsh-blog-sync/after-blog-sync.sh (the real entry point: article sync with retry → card refresh)
  • ~/dsh-blog-sync/sync_blog_notion.mjs (current Node fetch sync), sync_blog_notion.py (legacy, kept for rollback)
  • ~/dsh-blog-sync/sync_now.mjs + now.config.json (refresh the "what I'm doing" card)

Timer and scripts must be backed up together: a plist without its scripts fires on schedule but fails every run — a different flavour of silent failure.

Compatibility

Requires DeepSeek Harness ≥ 0.1.5-rc.1 (declared as dsh.engines.dsh in the package manifest, so the DSH plugin marketplace can report it) and is verified against 0.1.5-rc.1. This build carries the DSH 0.1.5 adaptations: the strict tool-result contract (lossless-JSON snapshot, additionalProperties: false schema validation, and output.render returning ContentBlock[]) plus executable resolution that survives a launchd-started host whose PATH is only /usr/bin:/bin.

Install

dsh plugin --profile web add github:zhengjy01/dsh-backup-migrator
# or local dev:
# from npm (published package)
dsh plugin --profile web add dsh-backup-migrator

# or local development
dsh plugin --profile web add link:/path/to/dsh-backup-migrator

Restart the GUI (dsh web) to load the plugin.

Setup (one time)

  1. Create an empty (private recommended) repo on GitHub.
  2. Configure via dshbackup_config:
dshbackup_config backupDir: ~/Documents/DSH-Backup   # local git repo dir (clone it on new machines)
dshbackup_config repoUrl: git@github.com:user/dsh-backup.git

Usage

ToolPurpose
dshbackup_backupscan profiles → build manifest + configs + packed local plugins + aux (scripts/timers) → commit → push
dshbackup_restorepull/clone the backup repo → reinstall all plugins → restore configs + scripts/timers
dshbackup_verifypreflight before backup or restore (source reachability, git remote, secrets, aux presence)
dshbackup_listbackup history (git log) + latest manifest summary
dshbackup_configview/change backupDir, repoUrl, includeSecrets, includeAux, autoBackup, backupIntervalMinutes, backupRetryMinutes, autoBackupPush; also reports scheduler state when called without arguments

Config is stored at ~/.dsh/dsh-backup-migrator.json (mode 0600).

Built-in scheduled backup

No button to remember and no external launchd job needed: turn the switch on and the plugin runs a backup identical to the manual one (same code path) from inside the host process, on an interval.

dshbackup_config autoBackup: true                 # master switch (off by default)
dshbackup_config backupIntervalMinutes: 1440      # minutes, minimum 15, default 1440 (daily)
dshbackup_config backupRetryMinutes: 30           # retry gap after a failure, minimum 5, default 30
dshbackup_config autoBackupPush: false            # optional: local commits only, never push
  • Missed windows are caught up: due-ness is computed from "last attempt + interval", so after the machine slept or DSH was closed the next check on startup/wake runs the missed backup (the loop wakes about once a minute).
  • Config changes apply immediately — the switch and interval are re-read on every check; no GUI restart.
  • Failures retry — and are never reported as success: a run only counts as successful when it fully lands (build, commit and push). A failed run retries after backupRetryMinutes (default 30) instead of waiting a whole interval, so a network blip does not push your backup to tomorrow; 3 consecutive failures are called out in the log. (The first release counted a failed push as ok: true and reset the failure counter — i.e. silently losing backups; fixed.)
  • Never concurrent: if a backup is still running, the check is skipped.
  • Observable: dshbackup_config (no args) and GET /status both report last attempt / last success / consecutive failures / next expected run. State lives in ~/.dsh/dsh-backup-migrator-state.json (machine-local runtime state, never backed up).

A scheduled run pushes the credentials it finds in your configs (when includeSecrets: true). Make sure the backup repo is private; if unsure, set autoBackupPush: false first so runs only commit locally.

HTTP surface (loopback-only, for external agents / verification tooling)

  • GET /api/dsh-backup-migrator/probe — liveness probe returning { ok, plugin, version }
  • GET /api/dsh-backup-migrator/status — read-only: current config + latest backup summary (incl. the aux list) + scheduler state

Backup repo layout

<backupDir>/
├── manifest.json                # machine + profile + plugin + config + aux index
├── README.md                    # human-readable summary (auto-generated)
├── profiles/<name>/cordis.patch.yml   # user patch layer (if any)
├── profiles/<name>/packages/*.tgz     # locally-sourced plugins (npm pack)
├── configs/...                  # ~/.dsh/dsh-*.json + dsh-* dirs (0600)
└── aux/                         # assets outside the plugin system, by kind:
    ├── scripts/                 #   helper scripts (0755)
    ├── launchagents/            #   com.dsh.*.plist timers (macOS)
    ├── files/                   #   single-file user content (AGENTS.md, settings.yaml)
    └── dirs/<id>/               #   directory trees (skills, agent-presets, adapters, memory, notes)

On a new machine

1. install DSH, launch once (web/headless profiles are auto-created)
2. install this plugin, then:
   dshbackup_config backupDir: <same local dir>
   dshbackup_config repoUrl: <same repo url>
   dshbackup_restore        # clone + reinstall + configs + scripts/timers
3. restart the GUI (launchd timers need no restart — restore already loaded them)

5-minute restore of TickTick deferred sync

Prerequisite: the backup repo already has an aux/ section (one new-version dshbackup_backup run on the old machine).

# 1) on the new machine, install DSH + this plugin, then one command
dshbackup_config backupDir: ~/dsh-backup
dshbackup_config repoUrl:   https://github.com/<you>/dsh-backup.git
dshbackup_restore                 # clone → reinstall plugins → configs → scripts/plist → launchctl load

# 2) verify (10 seconds)
node ~/.dsh/scripts/ticktick-pending.mjs status       # prints queue/threshold/idle = script OK
launchctl list | grep com.dsh.ticktick-deferred-sync   # any output = timer loaded

# 3) stage once for real
node ~/.dsh/scripts/ticktick-pending.mjs stage --by "migration-check" \
  --json '[{"title":"migration check","content":"source: migration; why: verify deferred sync; done: visible in status"}]'
node ~/.dsh/scripts/ticktick-pending.mjs status

If step 1 reports a launchctl load failure (e.g. blocked by a sandbox), add it manually:

launchctl load -w ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.dsh.ticktick-deferred-sync.plist

The queue/threshold config ~/.dsh/dsh-ticktick-pending.json and credentials ~/.dsh/dsh-ticktick.json are restored as configs (needs includeSecrets: true + a private repo). Without credentials the timer still runs but skips writing to TickTick.

Security

  • Plugin configs often contain API keys/tokens (flomo, ticktick, npm...). includeSecrets defaults to trueuse a private backup repo, or set includeSecrets: false to exclude secret-flagged files. dshbackup_verify lists which files are secret-flagged.
  • Config files keep mode 0600.

License

MIT