MoveAny

Safely relocate folders with files over Windows MAX_PATH limits — or any files, any platform.

User Guide | Developer Guide | API Reference

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graph TD
    moveany["moveany/ CLI and GUI"]
    agents[.agents/ Knowledge Base]
    docs[docs/ Documentation]
    tests[tests/ Test Suite]
    src["moveany/"]
    
    moveany --> agents
    moveany --> docs
    moveany --> tests
    
    subgraph "moveany/modules/"
        M1[batcher]
        M2[files]
        M3[mover]
        M4[paths]
        M5[repair]
        M6[reporting]
        M7[safety]
        M8[verify]
    end
    
    moveany --> M1
    moveany --> M2
    moveany --> M3
    moveany --> M4
    moveany --> M5
    moveany --> M6
    moveany --> M7
    moveany --> M8
    
    style moveany fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style agents fill:#bbf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px

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MoveAny is a cross-platform Python CLI (and desktop GUI) for moving directories safely with full verification, staged deletion, and SQLite operation history. No file is deleted until it has been independently verified at the destination.

Features

• Staged copy - Copy files to a staging area first, SHA-256-verify before any deletion
• Manual delete only - delete and move require --yes confirmation and re-verify each file
• Full audit log - Per-operation logs + SQLite history (queryable with moveany history)
• Cross-platform - Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• GUI interface - Tkinter-based desktop application with real-time log output
• Exclusion management - Configurable directory names to exclude from operations
• Dry-run mode - See what would happen without making any changes

Installation

Via pip (recommended)

# Basic install (CLI only)
pip install -e .

# With development dependencies (pytest + ruff)
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Without installing

python -m moveany --help

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• Tkinter for the GUI (standard on Windows and macOS; on Linux install python3-tk)

Quick Start

# Preview what would be copied (no changes)
moveany list-batches --source D:\Projects --dest E:\Backup

# Copy missing/different files (never deletes anything)
moveany copy --source D:\Projects --dest E:\Backup

# Verify both trees are content-identical
moveany verify --source D:\Projects --dest E:\Backup

# Full move workflow (copy + delete with confirmation)
moveany move --source D:\Projects --dest E:\Backup --yes

# Dry-run any command
moveany copy --source D:\Projects --dest E:\Backup --dry-run

GUI

Launch the graphical user interface:

moveany gui

The GUI walks you through the same staged workflow (Pick → Batch → Copy → Verify → Repair → Move → Delete) with real-time log output and confirmation dialogs before any destructive action.

flowchart TD
    A[Pick Source/Dest] --> B[Select Batch]
    B --> C[Copy files]
    C --> D{Verify Identical?}
    D -- Yes --> E[Proceed to Delete/Move]
    D -- No --> F[Repair Damaged Files]
    F --> C
    E --> G[Delete from Source]
    G --> H[Operation Logged in SQLite]
    G --> I[Abort - No Files Deleted]

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Safety Model

Guarantee	How
Copy first	The copy phase is non-destructive and never deletes.
Staged deletion	Every file is copied and SHA-256-verified before the source is removed.
Manual delete only	delete and move require --yes and re-verify each file just before deletion.
Abort on mismatch	Delete phase refuses to run if any source file is missing or differs.

flowchart TD
    A[Copy Phase] --> B[SHA-256 Verify]
    B --> C{Match?}
    C -- Yes --> D[Staging Area]
    C -- No --> E[Repair Damaged Files]
    E --> B
    D --> F[Manual Delete]
    F --> G[Delete Phase]
    G --> H[SQLite Log]
    F -- Abort --> I[No Files Deleted]

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| Full audit log | Per-category log files + SQLite operation history (queryable with moveany history). |

Exclusions

Default exclusions include build artifacts like node_modules, _build, and releases. .git is intentionally not excluded — repository history must be copied.

moveany exclude list                  # show effective exclusion set
moveany exclude add dist              # persist an addition
moveany exclude remove node_modules   # persist a removal
moveany exclude reset                 # reset to defaults

Commands

Command	Description
moveany copy	Scan + copy missing/different files to dest (non-destructive)
moveany move	Scan, copy, then delete from source in one workflow
moveany verify	Scan + compare contents; report a pass/fail verdict
moveany repair	Re-copy missing/damaged files from source to dest
moveany delete	Manual-only delete phase; re-verifies every file
moveany list-batches	Preview the batched plan without executing anything
moveany exclude	Manage exclusion directory names (add / remove / list / reset)
moveany history	Show recent operations from the SQLite log
moveany config	Inspect and manage persistent configuration

Development

# Run tests
python -m pytest tests/ -v

# Lint
ruff check moveany/ tests/

See the Developer Guide for more details on the engine modules, CLI architecture, and testing.

Project Layout

moveany/
  cli.py                  # CLI entry point (orchestration only)
  config.py               # CLI-level config
  gui.py                  # Tkinter GUI application
  cfg/                    # Config submodules (exclusions, state, SQLite storage)
  modules/                # Engine modules — reusable by the GUI
    batcher.py
    files.py
    mover.py
    paths.py
    repair.py
    reporting.py
    safety.py
    verify.py
  __main__.py             # Enables `python -m moveany`

tests/
  test_safety.py
  test_batcher.py
  test_paths.py
  test_cli.py

The engine logic in modules/ is deliberately decoupled from the CLI, using plain source/dest parameters so the GUI can import it directly without any CLI dependency.

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Generated documentation: User Guide, Developer Guide, API Reference