Excel Backup Manager Skill

Safe Excel file backup and restore functionality

Overview

This skill automates Excel file backup management following CLAUDE.md safety protocols.

Key features:

• Automatic timestamped backups: file.xlsm → file.backup.20251211_143000.xlsm
• Backup listing: View all available backups
• Selective restore: Restore from any previous backup
• Cleanup: Remove old backups while preserving recent ones

When to Use

• Before modifying VBA code: Always create a backup first
• After errors: Restore from a previous working version
• Testing Excel changes: Keep safe checkpoints
• Data protection: Prevent accidental data loss
• Auditing: Track modification history

Usage

# Create a backup
conda run -n excel python script/backup_excel.py backup perturb_inform.xlsm

# List all backups
conda run -n excel python script/backup_excel.py list perturb_inform.xlsm

# Restore from backup
conda run -n excel python script/backup_excel.py restore file.backup.20251211_143000.xlsm

# Clean up old backups (keep 5 most recent)
conda run -n excel python script/backup_excel.py cleanup perturb_inform.xlsm --keep 5

Output

Backup Command

Creates backup in same directory:

perturb_inform.backup.20251211_143000.xlsm

List Command

Shows all backups with sizes and timestamps:

Available backups for perturb_inform.xlsm:
1. perturb_inform.backup.20251211_143000.xlsm (170.5 KB) - 2025-12-11 14:30:00
2. perturb_inform.backup.20251211_140000.xlsm (170.5 KB) - 2025-12-11 14:00:00
3. perturb_inform.backup.20251210_180000.xlsm (170.3 KB) - 2025-12-10 18:00:00

Cleanup Command

Removes old backups, keeps specified count:

✓ Removed 3 old backups
✓ Keeping 5 most recent backups

Integration with VBA Modification

from backup_manager import create_backup

# Always backup before modifying
backup_file = create_backup('perturb_inform.xlsm')
# backup_file = 'perturb_inform.backup.20251211_143000.xlsm'

# Now safe to modify VBA
try:
    modify_vba_code(...)
except Exception as e:
    restore_backup(backup_file)  # Rollback if failed

Files

• backup_manager.py: Core backup logic
• CLI: script/backup_excel.py

Related Skills

• excel-vba-modifier: Uses backups for safety
• excel-inspector: Analyze before backup

Safety Features

✓ Timestamped naming prevents collisions ✓ Backup verification (file integrity check) ✓ Automatic cleanup (configurable retention) ✓ No overwrites (immutable backups) ✓ Works with any .xlsx/.xlsm files