PasteBarApp/custom_db_location_plan.md

Plan: Implement Custom Data Location Feature

This document outlines the plan to implement the feature allowing users to specify a custom location for the PasteBar application's data.

1. Goals

• Allow users to specify a custom parent directory for application data via the settings UI.
• The application will create and manage a pastebar-data subdirectory within the user-specified location.
• This pastebar-data directory will contain the database file (pastebar-db.data), the clip-images folder, and the clipboard-images folder.
• Provide options to either move the existing data, copy it, or use the new location without moving/copying.
• Ensure the application uses the data from the new location after a restart.
• Handle potential errors gracefully and inform the user.
• Update the application state and backend configuration accordingly.

2. Backend (Rust - src-tauri)

2.1. Configuration (user_settings_service.rs)

• The UserConfig struct's custom_db_path: Option<String> will now be repurposed to store the path to the user-selected parent directory. The application logic will handle appending the /pastebar-data/ segment. This requires no change to the struct itself, only to how the path is interpreted.

2.2. Path Logic (db.rs and new helpers)

• We will introduce new helper functions to consistently resolve data paths, whether default or custom.
  • get_data_dir() -> PathBuf: This will be the core helper. It checks for a custom_db_path in the settings.
    • If present, it returns PathBuf::from(custom_path).
    • If None, it returns the default application data directory.
  • get_db_path(): This function will be refactored to use get_data_dir().join("pastebar-db.data").
  • get_clip_images_dir(): A new helper that returns get_data_dir().join("clip-images").
  • get_clipboard_images_dir(): A new helper that returns get_data_dir().join("clipboard-images").

2.3. New & Updated Tauri Commands (user_settings_command.rs)

• cmd_validate_custom_db_path(path: String) -> Result<bool, String>

  • No change in purpose. This command will still check if the user-selected directory is valid and writable.

• cmd_check_custom_data_path(path: String) -> Result<PathStatus, String>

  • A new command to check the status of a selected directory. It returns one of the following statuses: Empty, NotEmpty, IsPastebarDataAndNotEmpty.

• cmd_set_and_relocate_data(new_parent_dir_path: String, operation: String) -> Result<String, String> (renamed from set_and_relocate_db)

  • new_parent_dir_path: The new directory path selected by the user.
  • operation: Either "move", "copy", or "none".
  • Updated Steps:
    1. Get the source paths:
       • Current DB file path.
       • Current clip-images directory path.
       • Current clipboard-images directory path.
    2. Define the new data directory: let new_data_dir = Path::new(&new_parent_dir_path);
    3. Create the new data directory: fs::create_dir_all(&new_data_dir).
    4. Perform file/directory operations for each item (DB file, clip-images dir, clipboard-images dir):
       • If "move": fs::rename(source, destination).
       • If "copy": fs::copy for the file, and a recursive copy function for the directories.
       • If "none", do nothing.
       • Handle cases where source items might not exist (e.g., clip-images folder hasn't been created yet) by skipping them gracefully.
    5. If successful, call user_settings_service::set_custom_db_path(&new_parent_dir_path).
    6. Return a success or error message.

• cmd_revert_to_default_data_location() -> Result<String, String> (renamed and simplified)

  • Updated Steps:
    1. Call user_settings_service::remove_custom_db_path() to clear the custom data path setting.
    2. Return a success message indicating the setting has been removed.

3. Frontend (React)

• The UI has been updated to refer to "Custom Application Data Location" instead of "Custom Database Location".
• A third radio button option, "Use new location", has been added.
• The handleBrowse function now calls the cmd_check_custom_data_path command to analyze the selected directory and prompts the user accordingly.
• The settingsStore.ts has been updated to support the "none" operation.

4. User Interaction Flow (Mermaid Diagram)

graph TD
    subgraph User Flow
        A[User navigates to User Preferences] --> B{Custom Data Path Set?};
        B -- Yes --> C[Display Current Custom Path];
        B -- No --> D[Display Current Path: Default];

        C --> E[Show "Revert to Default" Button];
        D --> F[User Selects New Parent Directory];
        F --> G{Path Status?};
        G -- Empty --> H[Set Path];
        G -- Not Empty --> I{Confirm "pastebar-data" subfolder};
        I -- Yes --> J[Append "pastebar-data" to path];
        J --> H;
        I -- No --> H;
        G -- Is 'pastebar-data' and Not Empty --> K[Alert user existing data will be used];
        K --> H;
        H --> L[User Selects Operation: Move/Copy/None];
        L --> M[User Clicks "Apply and Restart"];
    end

    subgraph Backend Logic
        M --> N[Frontend calls `cmd_set_and_relocate_data`];
        N -- Success --> O[1. Create new data dir if needed];
        O --> P[2. Move/Copy/Skip data];
        P --> Q[3. Update `custom_db_path` in settings];
        Q --> R[Show Success Toast & Relaunch App];
        N -- Error --> S[Show Error Toast];

        E --> T[User Clicks "Revert"];
        T --> U[Frontend calls `cmd_revert_to_default_data_location`];
        U -- Success --> V[Move/Copy data back to default app dir & clear setting];
        V --> W[Show Success Toast & Relaunch App];
        U -- Error --> X[Show Error Toast];
    end

    D -- "Browse..." --> F;

5. Implementation Summary

The following changes have been implemented:

• packages/pastebar-app-ui/src/pages/settings/UserPreferences.tsx:
  • Renamed "Custom Database Location" to "Custom Application Data Location".
  • Added a third radio button for the "Use new location" option.
  • Updated the handleBrowse function to call the new cmd_check_custom_data_path command and handle the different path statuses with user prompts.
• packages/pastebar-app-ui/src/store/settingsStore.ts:
  • Updated the applyCustomDbPath function to accept the "none" operation.
  • Updated the revertToDefaultDbPath function to call the renamed backend command.
• src-tauri/src/commands/user_settings_command.rs:
  • Added the cmd_check_custom_data_path command.
  • Renamed cmd_set_and_relocate_db to cmd_set_and_relocate_data and updated its logic to handle the "none" operation and the new data directory structure.
  • Renamed cmd_revert_to_default_db_location to cmd_revert_to_default_data_location and updated its logic.
• src-tauri/src/db.rs:
  • Refactored the get_data_dir function to no longer automatically append pastebar-data.
  • Added get_clip_images_dir and get_clipboard_images_dir helper functions.
• src-tauri/src/main.rs:
  • Registered the new and renamed commands in the invoke_handler.
• src-tauri/Cargo.toml:
  • Added the fs_extra dependency for recursive directory copying.
• src-tauri/src/services/items_service.rs and src-tauri/src/services/history_service.rs:
  • Updated to use the new get_clip_images_dir and get_clipboard_images_dir helper functions.