File Backup Utility For TiddlyWiki

Introduction

This browser add on is designed to let you easily save and backup TiddlyWikis. It is a file-based system for a single user. If you'd like your TiddlyWiki available over the network or in the cloud, please check out other options at "Getting Started With TiddlyWiki"[1].

This add on should work with any browser that supports web-extensions. So far it's been tested with FireFox 56 ... up to FF 74 beta (2020.03.10).

It will save TiddlyWiki5 and TiddlyWikiClassic files. For TiddlyWikiClassic the TW internal backup mechanism is switched off!

For an overview of this add on please see the introduction video: https://youtu.be/KVLtID8nElU

Installation

To install, go to: Mozilla AddOn Store

If you want to help with the AddOn development. Have a look at the Beta-versions.

File Storage Locations

Main File Limitations

To help keep you secure, most modern browsers limit writing files to only a few locations.

This means this add on can only write to your "Downloads" folder and its subdirectories.

For example on Windows 7 or newer, it's usually C:\Users\<name>\Downloads

It's a good idea to keep your TiddlyWiki in it's own subfolder. So, you'll end up with something like

• C:\Users\<name>\Downloads\myWikis\todo.html or
• C:\Users\<name>\Downloads\myWikis\notes.html

The Backup Folder (Optional)

The default backup folder is called twBackups. This can be changed in the options. It's set globally and is relative to the wiki location.

For example if your TiddlyWiki is C:\Users\<name>\Downloads\myWikis\notes.html the backup folder defaults to C:\Users\<name>\Downloads\myWikis\twBackups\notes(A).html

The Backup Strategy

The backups are created using a slightly modified "Tower of Hanoi" rotation strategy, similar to some tape based backup software.

The following table shows the numbering system, with 4 different files.

So the order will be: A, B, A, C, A, B, A, D, A, B, A, C, A, B, A, D, ...

As you can see:

• A will be overwritten with every 2nd save
• B will be written every 4th
• C 8th
• D 16th ...

The generic order is: 2 ^n-1.

Files can be restored from 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, ..., 2 ^n-1 saves ago!

Working with 11 files will result in 512 saves, before K is overwritten the first time. Then it will need another 1024 saves until it is overwritten again.

Eg: Starting with A, if you save your file twice a minute for eight hours, you will still have not overwriten K. K is save #1024 and 2 * 60 * 8 = 960.

The Modification

With the very first save, the plugin detects a new wiki, an "out of order" backup will be created. It looks like this: wiki-name(2019-08-13T11-54-07-179Z).html

News and History

• Information about the latest version can be found at: News/History
• Older versions: TODO

Links

[1] https://tiddlywiki.com/#GettingStarted
[2] Overview Releases

License

Copyright Mario Pietsch 2017-2020

CC-BY-NC-SA ... https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0