🔐 exfil-cli

Scan · Detect · Extract · Export — A professional CLI to find and export important local-only project files for safe migration.

Why?

When migrating to a new OS, reformatting, or switching machines, the files that aren't in version control are often the ones you need most:

• .env, .env.local, .env.production
• Private keys (.pem, .key, .p12)
• SSL certificates
• OAuth tokens and service-account JSONs
• IDE run-configurations & debug settings
• Docker overrides (docker-compose.override.yml)
• Database dumps, local scripts, build caches

exfil-cli recursively scans your project directories, detects 90+ file patterns across 14 categories, respects .gitignore, and copies everything into a neatly organised folder — ready to zip and carry.

Installation

# Global (recommended)
npm install -g exfil-cli

# Or with yarn
yarn global add exfil-cli

# Or run without installing
npx exfil-cli

Quick Start

# Interactive mode (guided wizard)
exfil

# Scan a project and see what's important
exfil scan --dir ~/projects/my-app

# Extract important files into an organised folder
exfil extract --dir ~/projects --output ./backup

# Scan → Extract → Zip in one shot
exfil zip --dir ~/projects --output ./backup.zip

Commands

| Command | Description | |---|---| | exfil | Launch interactive wizard (default) | | exfil scan | Scan directories and report findings | | exfil extract | Copy important files into organised output | | exfil zip | Scan, extract, and create a zip archive | | exfil init | Create a .extractorrc.json config file | | exfil rules list | Show all active rules (built-in + user) | | exfil rules builtin | Show full built-in detection rules table | | exfil rules add | Add a custom include/exclude rule | | exfil rules remove | Remove a user rule by index | | exfil rules reset | Reset config to defaults |

Common Options

-d, --dir <path>       Target directory to scan (default: current dir)
-o, --output <path>    Output directory or zip path
-p, --priority <level> Minimum priority: CRITICAL, HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW
-v, --verbose          Show detailed output during scan

What It Detects

exfil-cli ships with 90+ built-in rules organised into 14 categories:

| # | Category | Examples | |---|---|---| | 1 | 🔑 Environment Variables | .env, .env.local, .env.production | | 2 | 🔐 Crypto & Keys | *.pem, *.key, *.p12, *.jks, *.keystore | | 3 | 📜 Certificates | *.crt, *.cer, *.pfx, ca-certificates/ | | 4 | 🔒 Auth & Tokens | token.json, .netrc, .npmrc with tokens | | 5 | ☁️ Cloud Credentials | AWS credentials, GCP service accounts, Azure config | | 6 | 🗄️ Databases | *.sqlite, *.db, dumps, migration seeds | | 7 | 🐳 Docker Overrides | docker-compose.override.yml, .docker/ | | 8 | ⚙️ IDE & Editor | .vscode/launch.json, .idea/runConfigurations/ | | 9 | 🔧 Local Config | local.settings.json, *.local.js | | 10 | 📦 Build Artefacts | Signing keys, provisioning profiles | | 11 | 🛡️ CI / CD Secrets | .github/secrets, deploy keys | | 12 | 📝 Local Scripts | scripts/, shell scripts not in VCS | | 13 | 🗂️ Data Files | CSVs, JSON fixtures, seed data | | 14 | 📋 Miscellaneous | Licence keys, internal docs, notes |

Priority Levels

| Priority | Meaning | |---|---| | 🔴 CRITICAL | Secrets that would cause a security breach if lost | | 🟠 HIGH | Hard-to-recreate credentials and configs | | 🟡 MEDIUM | Useful local configurations | | 🟢 LOW | Nice-to-have files, notes, scripts |

Run exfil rules builtin to see every rule, or filter by priority:

exfil rules builtin --priority CRITICAL

Configuration

Initialise a config file in your project:

exfil init

This creates .extractorrc.json:

{
  "include": {
    "patterns": [],
    "filenames": [],
    "extensions": []
  },
  "exclude": {
    "patterns": [],
    "paths": [],
    "extensions": []
  },
  "priorityOverrides": {},
  "customRules": [],
  "scan": {
    "maxFileSizeMB": 50,
    "followSymlinks": false,
    "extraScanDirs": []
  },
  "output": {
    "defaultDir": "./extracted-files",
    "includeMetadata": true,
    "generateRestoreScripts": true
  }
}

Adding Rules via CLI

# Include extra patterns
exfil rules add include pattern "**/.secret-*"
exfil rules add include filename "my-custom-config.yml"
exfil rules add include extension ".bak"

# Exclude things you don't need
exfil rules add exclude pattern "**/test-fixtures/**"
exfil rules add exclude path "vendor/"
exfil rules add exclude extension ".log"

# Check what's active
exfil rules list

Output Structure

extracted-files/
├── my-app/
│   ├── CRITICAL/
│   │   ├── env-variables/
│   │   │   └── .env
│   │   └── crypto-keys/
│   │       └── server.key
│   ├── HIGH/
│   │   ├── cloud-credentials/
│   │   │   └── gcp-service-account.json
│   │   └── auth-tokens/
│   │       └── token.json
│   └── MEDIUM/
│       └── ide-editor/
│           └── .vscode/launch.json
├── another-project/
│   └── ...
├── MANIFEST.json          ← Full index of every extracted file
├── SUMMARY.txt            ← Human-readable overview
├── RESTORE.ps1            ← PowerShell script to put files back
└── RESTORE.sh             ← Bash script to put files back

Programmatic API

const { Scanner, Organizer, Zipper, Reporter } = require('exfil-cli');

// Scan
const scanner = new Scanner({ dir: './projects', minPriority: 'HIGH' });
const results = await scanner.scan();
Reporter.printScanReport(results);

// Extract
const organizer = new Organizer(results, { outputDir: './backup' });
const extraction = await organizer.organize();
Reporter.printExtractionReport(extraction);

// Zip
const zipper = new Zipper('./backup', './backup.zip');
const zipInfo = await zipper.zip();
Reporter.printZipReport(zipInfo);

Features

• ✅ 90+ built-in detection rules across 14 categories
• ✅ Priority classification — CRITICAL / HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW
• ✅ .gitignore-aware — focuses on files excluded from version control
• ✅ User-configurable include/exclude rules via .extractorrc.json
• ✅ Interactive wizard for guided extraction
• ✅ Restore scripts generated automatically (PowerShell + Bash)
• ✅ Manifest & summary for every extraction
• ✅ Crypto metadata sidecars for key/cert files
• ✅ Zip export with maximum compression
• ✅ Programmatic API for scripting and CI integration

Requirements

• Node.js ≥ 14.0.0

License

MIT