Allow copying symlinks as links, rather than copying the target

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 ## WIP
 
+- Add optional support to copy symlinks as links, rather than copying the target (via @jamesrtnz)
 - Added support for DBeaver (via @or-tal-0)
 
 ## Mackup 0.8.40

doc/README.md

@@ -81,6 +81,19 @@ path = some/path in your/home
 path = /some path/in/your/root
 ```
 
+### Copying Symlinks as Links
+
+By default, when Mackup backs up the application configuration, any symbolic
+links to files results in the destination file being copied into the backup.
+
+You can optionally configure Mackup to ensure that any Symlinks are copied as
+Links, and not files:
+
+```ini
+[storage]
+copy_symlinks = true
+```
+
 ### Custom Directory Name
 
 You can customize the directory name in which Mackup stores your file. By

mackup/config.py

@@ -55,6 +55,9 @@ def __init__(self, filename=None):
         # Get the directory replacing 'Mackup', if any
         self._directory = self._parse_directory()
 
+        # Get the copy_symlinks value
+        self._copy_symlinks = self._parse_symlinks()
+
         # Get the list of apps to ignore
         self._apps_to_ignore = self._parse_apps_to_ignore()
 
@@ -129,6 +132,16 @@ def apps_to_sync(self):
         """
         return set(self._apps_to_sync)
 
+    @property
+    def copy_symlinks(self):
+        """
+        The copy_symlinks flag status.
+
+        Returns:
+            bool
+        """
+        return bool(self._copy_symlinks)
+
     def _setup_parser(self, filename=None):
         """
         Configure the ConfigParser instance the way we want it.
@@ -221,6 +234,21 @@ def _parse_path(self):
 
         return str(path)
 
+    def _parse_symlinks(self):
+        """
+        Parse the copy_symlinks setting in the config.
+
+        Returns:
+            bool
+        """
+        if self._parser.has_option("storage", "copy_symlinks"):
+            copy_symlinks = self._parser.getboolean("storage", "copy_symlinks", fallback=False)
+        else:
+            copy_symlinks = False
+
+        return bool(copy_symlinks)
+
+
     def _parse_directory(self):
         """
         Parse the storage directory in the config.

mackup/main.py

@@ -78,6 +78,8 @@ def printAppHeader(app_name):
     if args["--root"]:
         utils.CAN_RUN_AS_ROOT = True
 
+    utils.COPY_SYMLINKS = mckp._config._copy_symlinks
+
     dry_run = args["--dry-run"]
 
     verbose = args["--verbose"]

mackup/utils.py

@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@
 # Flag that control if mackup can be run as root
 CAN_RUN_AS_ROOT = False
 
+# Are we going to copy symlinks as links?
+COPY_SYMLINKS = False
 
 def confirm(question):
     """
@@ -98,18 +100,19 @@ def copy(src, dst):
     # We need to copy a single file
     if os.path.isfile(src):
         # Copy the src file to dst
-        shutil.copy(src, dst)
+        shutil.copy(src, dst, follow_symlinks=not(COPY_SYMLINKS))
 
     # We need to copy a whole folder
     elif os.path.isdir(src):
-        shutil.copytree(src, dst)
+        shutil.copytree(src, dst, symlinks=COPY_SYMLINKS)
 
     # What the heck is this?
     else:
         raise ValueError("Unsupported file: {}".format(src))
 
     # Set the good mode to the file or folder recursively
-    chmod(dst)
+    if COPY_SYMLINKS == False:
+        chmod(dst)
 
 
 def link(target, link_to):

tests/config_tests.py

@@ -35,6 +35,9 @@ def test_config_no_config(self):
         assert cfg.apps_to_ignore == set()
         assert cfg.apps_to_sync == set()
 
+        assert isinstance(cfg.copy_symlinks, bool)
+        assert cfg.copy_symlinks == False
+
     def test_config_empty(self):
         cfg = Config("mackup-empty.cfg")
 
@@ -53,6 +56,9 @@ def test_config_empty(self):
         assert cfg.apps_to_ignore == set()
         assert cfg.apps_to_sync == set()
 
+        assert isinstance(cfg.copy_symlinks, bool)
+        assert cfg.copy_symlinks == False
+
     def test_config_engine_dropbox(self):
         cfg = Config("mackup-engine-dropbox.cfg")
 
@@ -213,3 +219,9 @@ def test_config_apps_to_ignore_and_sync(self):
 
     def test_config_old_config(self):
         self.assertRaises(SystemExit, Config, "mackup-old-config.cfg")
+
+    def test_config_copy_symlinks(self):
+        cfg = Config("mackup-copy-symlinks.cfg")
+
+        assert isinstance(cfg.copy_symlinks, bool)
+        assert cfg.copy_symlinks == True

tests/fixtures/mackup-copy-symlinks.cfg

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+[storage]
+copy_symlinks = 1