backup

name	backup
description	Backup files or directories following standard naming conventions with CST timestamps and optional checksums. Use this skill before destructive operations.

Backup files and directories

When to use

Before any destructive operation, or when explicitly asked to create a backup.

Instructions

1. Read the full CoT: Load and follow ~/rules/cot/backup.md from line 1 to end
2. Generate timestamp: TS=$(TZ=America/Mexico_City date +"%Y-%m-%dT%H-%M-%S")
3. Name the backup: [name_without_ext]_[timestamp].[original_ext].bkp
4. For files: cp source.txt backups/source_${TS}.txt.bkp
5. For directories: tar --owner=0 --group=0 --numeric-owner -cf - dir/ | zstd -T0 -19 -o "dir_${TS}.tar.zst"
6. Checksum (if >= 100 MB): sha256sum backup_file > backup_file.sha256
7. Verify: Confirm the backup exists and is readable

Naming examples

• archivo.txt → archivo_2026-03-27T17-30-00.txt.bkp
• config.yaml → config_2026-03-27T17-30-00.yaml.bkp

Critical rules

• All timestamps use CST (Ciudad de México, UTC-6)
• Never overwrite previous backups
• Checksums (.sha256) required for files >= 100 MB
• Use zstd compression for directories

References

• Detailed CoT: ~/rules/cot/backup.md
• Rules: ~/rules/rulesets/BACKUPS.md
• Script: ~/rules/scripts/backup_file.sh