Build a document revision tracker

Here’s a basic implementation of a Document Revision Tracker using Python. This script keeps a record of all changes made to a document by storing each version along with metadata like timestamp and description.

python
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import os
import json
from datetime import datetime

class RevisionTracker:
    def __init__(self, doc_name):
        self.doc_name = doc_name
        self.versions_dir = f"{doc_name}_versions"
        self.metadata_file = os.path.join(self.versions_dir, "metadata.json")

        if not os.path.exists(self.versions_dir):
            os.makedirs(self.versions_dir)
            with open(self.metadata_file, 'w') as f:
                json.dump([], f)

    def save_revision(self, content, description):
        timestamp = datetime.now().strftime("%Y%m%d_%H%M%S")
        version_filename = f"{self.doc_name}_{timestamp}.txt"
        version_path = os.path.join(self.versions_dir, version_filename)

        # Save the document content
        with open(version_path, 'w') as file:
            file.write(content)

        # Update metadata
        with open(self.metadata_file, 'r') as f:
            metadata = json.load(f)

        metadata.append({
            "version": version_filename,
            "timestamp": timestamp,
            "description": description
        })

        with open(self.metadata_file, 'w') as f:
            json.dump(metadata, f, indent=4)

        print(f"Saved revision: {version_filename}")

    def list_revisions(self):
        with open(self.metadata_file, 'r') as f:
            metadata = json.load(f)

        for entry in metadata:
            print(f"{entry['timestamp']} - {entry['version']}: {entry['description']}")

    def load_revision(self, version_filename):
        version_path = os.path.join(self.versions_dir, version_filename)
        if not os.path.exists(version_path):
            print("Version not found.")
            return None

        with open(version_path, 'r') as file:
            return file.read()


# Example Usage:
if __name__ == "__main__":
    tracker = RevisionTracker("project_doc")

    # Save a new revision
    tracker.save_revision("This is the initial draft of the document.", "Initial draft")

    # Save another revision
    tracker.save_revision("Added introduction and objectives.", "Added intro section")

    # List all revisions
    tracker.list_revisions()

    # Load a specific revision
    content = tracker.load_revision("project_doc_20250517_121500.txt")
    if content:
        print("nLoaded content:n", content)

Features:

• Stores each revision in a separate .txt file.

• Maintains a JSON metadata file for tracking versions.

• Allows loading specific revisions by file name.

• Easy to integrate into CLI or GUI applications.

Let me know if you need a web-based version, GUI interface, or a Git-like command line wrapper.