changed

This project is in Pre-Release, and is subject to changes or instability.

changed is a lightweight system tuning changelog for systemd-based Linux systems.

It keeps a readable history of config changes while a dedicated daemon is running, with separate user and system scopes, line-numbered diffs for tracked files, and systemd service integration for long-running use.

It helps to answer:

• What did I change over time?
• Which changes mattered for CPU, GPU, boot, services, shell, or build tuning?
• What do I need to carry forward to a new install or new hardware?

Who it's for:

• System tuners
• Desktop tinkerers
• People who frequently adjust shell, boot, service, CPU, GPU, or build config
• Anyone who wants a readable changelog of config edits

It is not a backup, rollback, recovery, or snapshot tool.

Current Release

The main feature set is in place today:

• user and system scoped tracking
• event-driven changedd daemon
• readable journal output with line-numbered changed-only diffs
• changed setup for first-run preset seeding
• changed status for operational diagnostics
• changed service for local/dev unit management
• diff and redaction controls per tracked path

Still planned:

• package event tracking
• service-state event tracking
• CLI config management and setup refinement

Quick Start

Packaged installs already ship both systemd unit files. After installing the package, a normal first run looks like this:

sudo changed setup
systemctl --user enable --now changedd.service
sudo systemctl enable --now changedd.service
changed status -U
sudo changed status -S

If you only want private per-user tracking, start only the user service:

sudo changed setup
systemctl --user enable --now changedd.service
changed status
changed list

The default read behavior is user-scoped:

• changed list reads current-user history
• changed status reads current-user diagnostics
• -SU is the explicit merged read across system plus current-user scope

Common Commands

changed list
changed list -U -a
changed list -P
sudo changed list -S -a
changed status -P
changed track -U ~/.config/fish/config.fish
sudo changed track -S /etc/makepkg.conf
changed diff -U enable ~/.config/fish/config.fish
changed redact -U enable ~/.config/fish/config.fish
changed history clear -U
sudo changed history clear -SU

For packaged installs, enable services with systemctl directly. For local or non-packaged installs, changed service install can generate scoped unit files that point at the current binary location.

Development

With two binaries in the workspace, local cargo runs should be explicit:

cargo build
cargo run --bin changed -- --help
cargo run --bin changedd -- --help

Typical local flow:

cargo run --bin changed -- init -U
cargo run --bin changed -- init -S
sudo cargo run --bin changed -- setup
cargo run --bin changedd -- --user --once
sudo cargo run --bin changedd -- --system --once

Documentation

• Getting started
• Operations and behavior
• Default tracked paths
• Scope model
• Category definitions
• Packaging workflow
• CLI help reference
• Man page source
• Planned improvements
• Pre-release checklist

Packaging

This repo includes a local-source PKGBUILD plus packaged systemd units under:

• packaging/systemd/system/changedd.service
• packaging/systemd/user/changedd.service

Packaged upgrades do not restart either scope automatically. Restart the scope you use explicitly after reinstalling or upgrading:

systemctl --user restart changedd.service
sudo systemctl restart changedd.service