downloads_uploader/INSTALL.md

Installation

Prerequisites

1. Python 3

macOS includes Python 3. Verify with:

python3 --version

If missing: brew install python

2. rsync

macOS ships rsync 2.6.9 (2006), which has bugs with path handling. Install the current version:

brew install rsync

3. SSH key access to the remote host

The uploader runs unattended, so it must be able to reach the remote host without a password. This means SSH key-based authentication needs to be in place before you install.

If you don't already have an SSH key, generate one:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519

Then authorize it on the remote host:

ssh-copy-id filez@10.10.8.1

Confirm the connection works without any password prompt before continuing:

ssh filez@10.10.8.1 echo ok

If your key lives somewhere other than the default location (~/.ssh/id_rsa or ~/.ssh/id_ed25519), set the ssh_key_path field in downloads_uploader_config.json to its full path.

---

Install

cd ~/Downloads/uploader
./downloads_uploader_install.sh install

This will:

1. Create ~/.local/bin/downloads-uploader (a named symlink to python3 so macOS permission dialogs show a friendly name)
2. Write ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.downloads-uploader.plist
3. Load the agent — it runs immediately and then every 5 minutes

macOS may prompt for network/file access permissions the first time. Allow them.

---

Configure

Open downloads_uploader_config.json and set your remote destination:

{
  "remote_destination": "user@your-host:/path/to/remote/dir/",
  "ssh_key_path": "",
  "ssh_port": 22
}

Then trigger a fresh run:

./downloads_uploader_install.sh run

Check the output:

./downloads_uploader_install.sh status

---

Uninstall

./downloads_uploader_install.sh uninstall

This stops and removes the launchd agent and the symlink. Config, logs, and state files are left in place.

---

Troubleshooting

"rsync not found"

brew install rsync

SSH connects but find fails on remote The script uses GNU find -printf, which requires Linux. BSD/macOS remotes are not supported on the remote side.

Files keep re-uploading Size mismatch between local and remote. Check that the remote filesystem isn't silently modifying files (e.g. a torrent client moving them). You can inspect .uploader_state.json for the last recorded sizes.

Agent not running after reboot Verify the plist is in ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ and loaded:

launchctl list | grep downloads-uploader

If missing, re-run ./downloads_uploader_install.sh install.

See full logs

tail -f ~/Downloads/uploader/uploader_log.txt