Python Day-to-Day Utility Programs

1. File Backup Script

This script copies all files from a source directory to a backup directory, adding a timestamp to the folder name.

import shutil
import os
from datetime import datetime

def backup_files(source_dir, dest_dir):
    # Create a timestamped folder name
    timestamp = datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S')
    backup_folder = os.path.join(dest_dir, f"backup_{timestamp}")

    try:
        shutil.copytree(source_dir, backup_folder)
        print(f"Backup successful! Saved to: {backup_folder}")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Backup failed: {e}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    SOURCE = "./important_docs"
    DESTINATION = "./backups"
    backup_files(SOURCE, DESTINATION)

2. Website Status Checker

This script checks a list of websites to see if they are up (return status code 200).

import requests

websites = [
    "https://www.google.com",
    "https://www.github.com",
    "https://www.nonexistent-website-example.com"
]

def check_status(urls):
    for url in urls:
        try:
            response = requests.get(url, timeout=5)
            if response.status_code == 200:
                print(f"[UP] {url}")
            else:
                print(f"[DOWN] {url} (Status: {response.status_code})")
        except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
            print(f"[ERROR] {url} - {e}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    check_status(websites)

3. Log Parser (Find Errors)

This script reads a log file and prints lines containing the word "ERROR".

def parse_logs(log_file):
    if not os.path.exists(log_file):
        print("Log file not found.")
        return

    with open(log_file, 'r') as f:
        for line_number, line in enumerate(f, 1):
            if "ERROR" in line:
                print(f"Line {line_number}: {line.strip()}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    parse_logs("application.log")

4. JSON Formatter

This script reads a messy JSON file and saves it as a pretty-printed version.

import json

def format_json(input_file, output_file):
    try:
        with open(input_file, 'r') as f:
            data = json.load(f)

        with open(output_file, 'w') as f:
            json.dump(data, f, indent=4)

        print(f"Formatted JSON saved to {output_file}")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error: {e}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    format_json("data.json", "data_pretty.json")