Scheduled Backup or Export
Build a scheduled, idempotent backup/export routine that snapshots data (files, a database, or an app export) to a timestamped, optionally compressed destination, prunes old backups by a retention policy, and verifies each backup is restorable. Locks what to back up, the destination layout, the retention policy, and the integrity check FIRST, then builds the snapshot-write-verify-prune routine, then verifies a fresh backup is created, integrity-checked, and that retention deletes only what it should. Defining retention and an integrity check up front is the wisdom that turns backups from a false sense of safety into a tested recovery path.
Steps
Entry step: scope. Each step names the specialist role it wants; the full working prompt is expandable.
- Scope the backupplannerentry
sources, destination layout, retention, integrity check
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Define the backup contract before building. Step 1: list exactly what to back up (which directories / which database / which export endpoint) and what to exclude. Step 2: define the destination and naming layout (e.g. backups/{name}-{YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS}.tar.gz) and whether to compress and/or checksum. Step 3: define the retention policy precisely (e.g. keep last N, or keep dailies 7d + weeklies 4w) and confirm it can never delete the only/most-recent backup. Step 4: define the integrity check that proves a backup is restorable (verify the archive lists/extracts, the checksum matches, or a row-count/sentinel survives a test restore). Step 5: write an acceptance-criteria checklist ('a fresh timestamped backup is produced each run', 'backup passes the integrity check', 'retention prunes only out-of-policy backups and never the newest', 'run is idempotent and logs each backup', 'a failed source aborts with a non-zero status, no silent empty backup'). Call write_task_note with sources + layout + retention + integrity + checklist and write notes/scope.md. No code yet. - Build the routinedeveloper
snapshot, write, integrity-check, prune, log
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Implement the backup routine to the locked contract. Step 1: snapshot the sources into a timestamped artifact at the destination (compress/checksum as scoped); fail loudly with a non-zero exit if a source is missing or empty rather than writing a hollow archive. Step 2: run the integrity check immediately after writing (list/extract the archive, verify the checksum) and mark the backup verified only if it passes. Step 3: apply the retention policy — compute which backups are out-of-policy and delete only those, with a hard guard that never removes the most-recent verified backup. Step 4: append a backup-log entry (timestamp, size, checksum, verified, pruned list). Step 5: write the routine as a cron-friendly runnable module. Call write_task_note with the module path, the destination layout, and how integrity + retention are enforced.
- Verify the routinereviewer
fresh backup, integrity, safe retention, idempotency
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Verify the routine against scope. Step 1: confirm a run produces a fresh timestamped backup at the destination. Step 2: confirm the integrity check actually runs and that a corrupted/empty backup would be caught (the verified flag is meaningful). Step 3: confirm retention deletes only out-of-policy backups and that the newest verified backup is protected even at the retention boundary. Step 4: confirm idempotency and failure handling — a re-run does not clobber prior backups, and a missing source causes a non-zero exit with no hollow archive written. Step 5: confirm each backup is logged. Write PASS/FAIL per criterion to notes/verify.md and task notes; on failure, name it and loop back to build.
- Evaluatereviewer
Grade the deliverable against every acceptance criterion. All pass → finish; any fail → loop back and fix the gap.
Show working prompt
Run backup.sh in a scratch location (or trace it) and verify every criterion from notes/scope.md: a fresh timestamped backup is created, the integrity check runs and is meaningful, retention prunes only out-of-policy backups and never the newest verified one, a missing source aborts non-zero with no hollow archive, runs are idempotent, and each backup is logged. Write PASS/FAIL per criterion; on any failure, name it and loop back to build. Then route — this is the whole point of the loop: - **Every criterion PASSES →** call `advance_task_step({ ref, stepId: "evaluate", next: "finish" })`. - **Any criterion FAILS →** write the specific gaps to notes, then call `advance_task_step({ ref, stepId: "evaluate", next: "build" })` to loop back. The builder fixes exactly those gaps. Never route to `finish` while any criterion is unmet. The build phase's completion gate already blocked a grossly-incomplete deliverable; your job is the judgment an automated check cannot make (does it actually work, read well, look right). After ~3 unproductive loops, stop and report DONE_WITH_CONCERNS so the user can step in. - Finishdeveloper
All acceptance criteria met. Stamp a short summary and report DONE.
Show working prompt
Every acceptance criterion passed. Write a one-paragraph DONE summary to task notes via `write_task_note`: what was built, the deliverable path(s), and a one-line confirmation that each criterion is met. Then report DONE.
Triggers
Phrases that suggest this craftbook to a crew.
- set up a backup
- scheduled export
- automate backups
- backup my database
- nightly backup routine
Source
View this craftbook on GitHub · MIT license