Avoid rewriting unchanged JSON files for labels, milestones, releases…#455
Merged
josegonzalez merged 1 commit intojosegonzalez:masterfrom Nov 30, 2025
Merged
Avoid rewriting unchanged JSON files for labels, milestones, releases…#455josegonzalez merged 1 commit intojosegonzalez:masterfrom
josegonzalez merged 1 commit intojosegonzalez:masterfrom
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…, hooks, followers, and following
This change reduces unnecessary writes when backing up metadata that changes
infrequently. The implementation compares existing file content before writing
and skips the write if the content is identical, preserving file timestamps.
Key changes:
- Added json_dump_if_changed() helper that compares content before writing
- Uses atomic writes (temp file + rename) for all metadata files
- NOT applied to issues/pulls (they use incremental_by_files logic)
- Made log messages consistent and past tense ("Saved" instead of "Saving")
- Added informative logging showing skip counts
Fixes josegonzalez#133
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Fixes #133 - Avoid rewriting unchanged JSON files
When backing up labels, milestones, releases, hooks, followers, and following, compare existing file content before writing and skip the write if content is identical, preserving file timestamps.
Added
json_dump_if_changed()helper that reads existing files, compares content, and only writes if changed using atomic operations (temp file + rename). If the comparison can't be performed, it conservatively writes anyway.As issues/pulls already use incremental logic and always fetch fresh data they are untouched. No point reading the file when we know it will be written anyway.
Example running backup twice on unchanged repository:
First run:
Second run (nothing changed):
Added pytest test suite (9 tests) covering the new functionality.
Side note
Made log messages consistent and past tense ("Saved" instead of "Saving"/"Writing"). In my case I mount a s3fuse for saving to so there is overhead to read. However, testing against large repositories showed these files are small (largest: 47KB for 9,000+ followers, typical: <10KB), so the read cost is negligible compared unnecessary writes and not preserving timestamp.