[Feature Request] CLI with JSON output for AI agent integration

[amdhelper]

Background

I use OpenClaw, an AI agent platform, and Timeshift for system backups on my Ubuntu desktop.

Current State

Timeshift has a CLI (timeshift) but its output is plain text and interactive, making it hard for automation tools to parse.

Feature Request

Add --json flag to all CLI commands:

1. Snapshot Management

   • timeshift --list --json — list all snapshots as JSON
   • timeshift --create --comments <text> --json — create snapshot, return JSON with snapshot ID
   • timeshift --delete --snapshot-id <id> --json — delete snapshot

2. Status & Config

   • timeshift --status --json — show current config (schedule, device, space used)
   • timeshift --check --json — check disk space and snapshot health

3. Restore Info

   • timeshift --list-files <snapshot-id> --json — list files in a snapshot
   • timeshift --restore --snapshot-id <id> --dry-run --json — show what would be restored

Use Case

An AI agent could:

• Monitor backup health and alert if no recent snapshots
• Suggest cleanup of old snapshots when disk is full
• Help restore specific files from snapshots
• Verify system state before/after updates

Implementation

Most data is already available internally. The main change is adding JSON serialization to the output formatter.

[ygerlach]

I think as a workaround your agent can just parse the /etc/timeshift/timeshift.json itself. And if thats not enough, mount the backup device and parse the existing info.json files.

But i guess json output is always usefull to have.