Filesystem Time Machine: File System Monitoring & OS Visualization

Apr 10 2025 • Muhammad Taha Nasir
Filesystem Time Machine Preview
Landing Page
File Watcher Interface
Event Panel
Snapshot Panel
Theme Toggle
API Documentation
Diff Viewer
Restore Interface
OS Concepts Visualization
Process Monitoring
Memory Management Visualization
Disk Scheduling Simulation
File System Tree
Snapshot Comparison
Drag & Drop Interface
Statistics Panel
Full size image
Source Code

Project Overview

Filesystem Time Machine is a powerful file system monitoring and version control application built with React and FastAPI. It provides real-time file watching, smart snapshot creation, time-travel restore capabilities, and interactive visualizations of operating system concepts like file system structure, process management, memory allocation, and disk scheduling.

Situation

Understanding and managing file system changes in real-time, along with learning complex operating system concepts, can be challenging without intuitive tools that combine monitoring, version control, and educational visualizations.

Task

Develop a user-friendly application that monitors file system changes in real-time, allows snapshot creation and restoration, and provides interactive visualizations of operating system concepts for academic and practical use.

Actions

  • Built a React-based frontend with Vite for fast development and responsive design.
  • Developed a FastAPI backend for real-time file system monitoring and API endpoints.
  • Implemented real-time file watching with event tracking for creation, modification, deletion, and movement.
  • Created a snapshot system for capturing and comparing file system states.
  • Designed a time-travel restore feature for recovering files and folders.
  • Integrated interactive visualizations for OS concepts using Chart.js and custom components.
  • Added drag-and-drop folder selection and theme toggling for enhanced UX.
  • Deployed the application using Docker, Vercel, and Railway for scalability.

Results

Filesystem Time Machine successfully provided a robust tool for file system monitoring, version control, and OS concept visualization. The project enhanced my skills in React, FastAPI, and system programming, delivering an intuitive and educational application for students and professionals.

Tech Stack

  • React: Frontend framework for building the interactive UI.
  • FastAPI: Backend framework for high-performance APIs.
  • Python: Core language for file system monitoring and backend logic.
  • Vite: Build tool for fast frontend development.
  • Chart.js: For interactive OS concept visualizations.
  • Tailwind CSS: Utility-first CSS for responsive design.
  • Docker: For containerized deployment.
Tools: