Forge

A powerful symlink management tool designed as a modern alternative to GNU Stow.

Overview

Forge provides comprehensive symlink management with clear, intuitive commands.

Global Flags

• -v, --verbose: Enable verbose output for debugging and troubleshooting. When set, Forge will print additional details about operations, errors, and internal state to help diagnose issues.

• -I, --interactive: Use interactive mode (TUI, under development).

• Stage: Temporarily track files for symlinking

• Link: Create permanent symlinks for tracked files

• Unlink: Remove symlinks but keep files in the forge folder

• Remove: Delete files from the forge folder but keep originals

• Delete: Completely remove files from the system

Features

• Profile System: Manage multiple configurations for the same target location
• Multi-Directory Support: Organize different types of symlinked content (dotfiles, scripts, etc.)
• Pack-and-Go System: Create portable configuration bundles for easy deployment and backup
• Recursive Directory Packing: Pack entire directory trees with depth control and dry-run preview
• BLAKE3 Integrity Verification: Cryptographic hash verification for all packed files
• Interactive Mode: Visual interface for managing symlink operations
• SQLite Backend: Reliable state tracking with transactional safety
• Modular Design: Core functionality with optional feature modules

Project Structure

The codebase is organized into modules following Rust conventions:

src/
├── main.rs             # Entry point and CLI definition
├── cli/                # CLI handling
│   ├── mod.rs          # CLI module exports
│   └── commands.rs     # Command implementations
├── config/             # Configuration handling
│   └── mod.rs          # Config struct and DB connection
├── dotfile/            # Core dotfile operations
│   ├── mod.rs          # DotFile struct definition
│   ├── backup.rs       # Backup functionality
│   ├── link.rs         # Linking functionality 
│   ├── list.rs         # Listing dotfiles
│   └── unlink.rs       # Unlinking functionality
├── scanner/            # Directory scanning
│   └── mod.rs          # Scanning functionality
├── symlink/            # Symlink operations
│   └── mod.rs          # Cross-platform symlink creation
└── utils/              # Utility functions
    ├── mod.rs          # Utils module exports
    └── path_utils.rs   # Path manipulation utilities

Use Cases

Forge excels at managing various symlink scenarios:

1. Dotfile Management: Organize configuration files with portable backup and deployment
2. Script Organization: Manage executable scripts in your PATH
3. Configuration Migration: Create portable bundles for moving setups between systems
4. Development Environment Setup: Package and deploy complete development configurations
5. Backup and Recovery: Create cryptographically verified configuration backups
6. AppImage Integration: Manage AppImages with desktop entry generation
7. Font Management: Organize and switch between font collections

Installation

# Install from crates.io (binary name will be 'forge')
cargo install forge-rs

Basic Usage

# Initialize current directory as a forge managed folder (uses directory name if no name provided)
forge init [--name dotfiles]

# Stage a file for symlinking (creates a temporary link)
forge stage nvim/init.lua

# Stage an entire directory with all its contents recursively 
forge stage --recursive ~/.config/nvim

# Stage a directory with contents up to a specific depth
forge stage --depth=2 ~/.config/i3

# Create permanent symlinks for all staged files
forge link

# Remove symlinks but keep files in the forge folder
forge unlink init.lua

# Remove files from forge folder but keep originals
forge remove init.lua

# Completely delete files from the system
forge delete init.lua

# List all tracked files
forge list

# List all available profiles
forge list --profiles

# Switch to a different profile
forge switch coding

Pack-and-Go System

Forge includes a powerful pack-and-go system for creating portable configuration bundles that can be easily deployed on new systems or used for backup and recovery.

Basic Pack-and-Go Workflow

# 1. Initialize a new pack
forge start packing my_dotfiles

# 2. Add individual files
forge pack ~/.vimrc ~/.bashrc ~/.gitconfig

# 3. Add entire directories recursively
forge pack --recursive ~/.config/nvim/ ~/.ssh/

# 4. Add directories with limited depth
forge pack --depth 2 ~/.config/i3/

# 5. Preview what would be packed (without actually packing)
forge pack --recursive --dry-run ~/.local/bin/

# 6. Seal the pack into a portable archive
forge seal

# The result is a timestamped ZIP file: my_dotfiles-2025-06-23.zip

Advanced Directory Packing

The pack system supports sophisticated directory handling:

# Pack entire directory trees while preserving structure
forge pack --recursive ~/.dotfiles/

# Limit recursion depth to avoid packing too much
forge pack --depth 3 ~/.config/

# Preview complex packing operations before execution
forge pack --recursive --dry-run ~/.home-configs/ ~/.work-configs/

# Combine different approaches in one pack
forge start packing mixed_environment
forge pack ~/.vimrc ~/.bashrc                    # Individual files
forge pack --recursive ~/.config/nvim/           # Full directory
forge pack --depth 1 ~/.local/bin/               # Limited depth
forge pack --dry-run --recursive ~/.scripts/     # Preview first
forge pack --recursive ~/.scripts/               # Then actually pack
forge seal

Deployment and Installation

# Preview pack contents and installation plan
forge explain my_dotfiles-2025-06-23.zip

# Preview installation to specific directory
forge explain my_dotfiles-2025-06-23.zip --install --target /home/newuser

# Install to current directory (safe default)
forge install my_dotfiles-2025-06-23.zip

# Install to specific target directory
forge install my_dotfiles-2025-06-23.zip --target /home/user/configs

# Install with automatic home directory mapping
forge install my_dotfiles-2025-06-23.zip --map-home

# Preview installation without making changes
forge install my_dotfiles-2025-06-23.zip --dry-run --target /tmp/test

# Force installation (overwrite existing files)
forge install my_dotfiles-2025-06-23.zip --force

# Skip existing files during installation
forge install my_dotfiles-2025-06-23.zip --skip-existing

Backup and Recovery

# Restore pack to original absolute paths (for backup recovery)
forge restore my_dotfiles-2025-06-23.zip

# Test restore to current directory (safe testing)
forge restore my_dotfiles-2025-06-23.zip --test

# Preview restore operation
forge restore my_dotfiles-2025-06-23.zip --dry-run

# Force restore (overwrite existing files)
forge restore my_dotfiles-2025-06-23.zip --force

Pack Management

# Update files in an existing pack
forge repack --scope my_dotfiles ~/.vimrc ~/.bashrc

# Update all files in a pack with current versions
forge repack --scope my_dotfiles

# Remove files from a pack
forge unpack --scope my_dotfiles ~/.old_config

# Remove and reseal
forge unpack ~/.deprecated_files
forge seal

Key Features

• Directory Structure Preservation: Recursive packing maintains full directory trees
• Depth Control: Limit recursion depth to avoid packing unwanted nested content
• Dry-Run Mode: Preview packing operations before execution
• BLAKE3 Integrity: All files are cryptographically hashed for integrity verification
• Flexible Deployment: Install to any directory with automatic path mapping
• Safe Testing: Preview and test operations before making permanent changes
• Conflict Detection: Identify file conflicts before installation

Profiles

Profiles allow you to maintain multiple configurations that target the same location:

# Create a new profile in a specific location
forge new --profile coding ~/dotfiles/coding

# List available profiles
forge list --profiles

# Switch to a profile
forge switch coding

# Initialize current directory as a new profile
forge init --name coding

Interactive Mode

Interactive TUI mode is under development. Launch with:

forge -I

Note: Interactive mode is currently a placeholder and will display a message indicating it's not fully implemented.

Requirements

• Rust (Minimum supported version: 1.65.0)
• GNU/Linux or other free operating system
• Standard system libraries

Note: Forge is developed exclusively for free operating systems. It is not officially tested or supported on proprietary platforms.

License

MIT License

Development Roadmap

Forge is under active development with the following milestones:

1. v0.1.x - Core CLI structure and basic functionality

   • Command-line interface with subcommands
   • Module structure implementation
   • Basic file operations (add, link, unlink)

2. v0.2.x - Basic profile system

   • Profile creation
   • Profile listing
   • Profile switching

3. v0.3.x - Enhanced state management

   • SQLite database for persistent storage
   • Managed folders concept
   • Complete file lifecycle (stage, link, unlink, remove, delete)
   • Confirmation prompts for destructive operations
   • File status tracking
   • Man page documentation
   • Transaction safety with rollbacks
   • Shell completion scripts

4. v0.4.x - Pack-and-Go System

   • Portable configuration bundles
   • BLAKE3 integrity verification
   • Recursive directory packing with depth control
   • Dry-run preview mode
   • Flexible deployment and restoration
   • Pack management (repack, unpack)
   • Interactive TUI mode
   • Real-time status updates
   • Profile management via TUI

5. v1.0.0 - Production release

   • Complete feature set
   • Comprehensive tests
   • Comprehensive documentation

Version Policy and crates.io Releases

This project follows semantic versioning (SemVer) for crates.io releases:

• Patch updates (0.1.0 → 0.1.1): Bug fixes and minor documentation updates
• Minor updates (0.1.0 → 0.2.0): New features that don't break compatibility
• Major updates (0.x.x → 1.0.0): Breaking changes or API redesigns

Publication Guidelines

• Documentation-only changes don't require a version bump
• The docs branch is used for documentation development
• Feature development occurs on dedicated feature/* branches
• Version bumps occur on the main branch before publication to crates.io

Troubleshooting and Error Handling

Forge is designed to handle errors gracefully and report issues to the user via standard error (stderr) and exit codes.

How Errors Are Reported

• Exit Codes: Forge exits with status 0 on success, and a nonzero code (>0) if an error occurs.
• Error Messages: Most errors are printed to stderr with a message describing the failure. Some errors may include additional context, but not all error messages are highly detailed.

Common Error Scenarios

• "Failed to create directory": The target directory could not be created, possibly due to permissions or a race condition if multiple processes are running Forge simultaneously.
• "No managed folders found. Please run 'forge init' first.": You must initialize a managed folder before using most commands.
• "Hash mismatch": Indicates a file integrity check failed during pack or restore operations.
• "File does not exist": The specified file or directory was not found at the given path.

Troubleshooting Steps

1. Check Permissions: Ensure you have read/write permissions for all involved files and directories.
2. Check Paths: Verify that all file and directory paths are correct and exist.
3. Run with Verbose Output: Use -v or --verbose flags for more detailed output. This will print additional information about what Forge is doing, including file operations, error context, and internal state.
4. Check for Concurrent Operations: Avoid running multiple Forge commands in parallel, as this may cause race conditions in directory creation.
5. Database Issues: If you encounter inconsistent state or missing data, it may be due to a failed operation. Currently, database operations are not transactional; rerun the command or re-initialize if needed.

Known Limitations

• Race Conditions: Directory creation is not atomic; rare failures may occur if multiple Forge processes run concurrently.
• Database Transactions: Some operations do not use database transactions, which could lead to inconsistent state if interrupted.
• Error Context: Some error messages may lack detailed context. If you encounter a cryptic error, please report it.

Reporting Bugs

If you encounter a bug or unexpected behavior:

• Check BUGS.md for known issues and status.
• Report new bugs or request help at: https://github.com/jwliles/rust-forge/issues

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.