GitHub Repository Backup Tool ^v0.2.1

• Complete Backup — Downloads all repositories and gists as .zip archives in a single operation
• Parallel Downloads — Speeds up the process by downloading multiple items simultaneously, automatically using available CPU cores
• Detailed Reporting — Generates quality reports with success rates, sizes, and actionable insights after each backup
• System Automation — Optionally schedules computer shutdown or reboot after backup completes
• Robust Error Handling — Implements retry logic, handles network timeouts, and protects against failed downloads
• Secure Token Management — Stores GitHub token securely in system's configuration directory

Prerequisites

• Python 3.7+
• curl command-line tool
• GitHub Personal Access Token with repo and gist scopes

Installation & First Run

git clone https://github.com/aixandrolab/github-repos-downloader.git
cd github-repos-downloader
python app.py -t  # Set your GitHub token

Basic Usage

• python app.py -r — Download all repositories
• python app.py -g — Download all gists
• python app.py -r -g — Download both repositories and gists
• python app.py -r --verbose — Download with detailed output
• python app.py -r --shutdown — Download and shutdown computer when done

Note: --shutdown and --reboot are mutually exclusive.

What Gets Backed Up?

The tool creates snapshot .zip archives of your code at a specific point in time (without full Git history).

• Repositories — Saved as [repository-name].zip in the repositories/ folder
• Gists — Saved as [gist-id].zip in the gists/ folder

File Structure

~/[your_github_username]_github_downloads/
├── repositories/
│   ├── project-one.zip
│   └── project-two.zip
├── gists/
│   ├── a1b2c3d4.zip
│   └── e5f6g7h8.zip
└── reports/
    └── backup_report_20251215_143022.txt

Post-Backup Archiving

By default, after downloading, the entire folder is compressed into a single .zip file and saved to your home directory. Use --no-archive to skip this step.

Optimizing Download Speed

• Automatic parallel processing for batches larger than 5 items
• Worker count = CPU cores minus 1 for optimal performance
• For large backups (50+ items): use --timeout 120
• For maximum performance: python app.py -r -g --timeout 180

Handling API Rate Limits

• Authenticated users have 5,000 requests per hour
• Automatic exponential backoff on rate limit errors
• Modify max_workers parameter if needed

Troubleshooting

• "Failed to authenticate" — Run python app.py -t to update token, ensure repo and gist scopes
• "Download timeout" — Re-run with higher timeout: --timeout 120
• "curl" command not found — Install curl: apt install curl (Ubuntu) or equivalent

• Summary — Counts of successful/failed downloads for repos and gists
• Statistics — File sizes and success percentages
• Top Lists — Your 10 largest repositories and gists with the most files
• Failure Analysis — List of items that couldn't be downloaded
• Insights & Recommendations — Actionable advice based on backup results

• Token Storage — GitHub token stored securely at ~/.config/github_repos_downloader/github_token.json
• No Data Sent Elsewhere — Tool only communicates with GitHub's API
• Clean Operations — Temporary files deleted after use, failed downloads cleaned up

• Language: Python 3.7+
• Dependencies: requests, concurrent.futures
• External Tools: curl
• Platform: Linux / macOS / Windows
• License: BSD 3-Clause