Windows Medium Backup

Automated Medium post backup to Markdown for Windows using Docker Desktop (Hyper-V), powered by ZMediumToMarkdown.

🗺️ How It Works

flowchart TD
    Build[Build-ZMediumDocker.ps1\n--Username] --> Image[Docker image built\nZMediumToMarkdown]
    Image --> Backup[Medium-Backup.ps1]
    Backup --> Firefox[Auto-extract cookies\nfrom Firefox\ncached with DPAPI]
    Firefox --> Docker{Docker Desktop\nrunning?}
    Docker -->|❌ Not running| Start[Auto-start Docker\nwait for engine]
    Start --> Run
    Docker -->|✅ Running| Run[Run container\nfetch all posts]
    Run --> MD[Markdown files\n+ images saved to Output/]
    MD --> Restructure[Restructure into\nper-article folders\nfix asset paths]
    Restructure --> OutDir[Output/ next to script]
    OutDir --> Toast[Windows toast\nnotification]
    Toast --> Log[Write to log file\n30-day rotation]
    Log --> Done([✅ Backup complete])

    Sched[Register-Task.ps1\noptional daily trigger] -.->|triggers| Backup

    style Docker fill:#7a5500,color:#fff
    style Done fill:#2d6a2d,color:#fff
    style Start fill:#7a5500,color:#fff

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❓ Why?

• ✅ No WSL2 required (pure Hyper-V)
• ✅ Handles paywall posts (with cookies)
• ✅ Modern Windows notifications
• ✅ Task Scheduler automation ready

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Windows 10/11 Pro/Enterprise/Education
• Docker Desktop installed
• Hyper-V enabled
• Firefox (signed into Medium)
• PowerShell 5.1+

Installation

1. Sign into Medium on Firefox:

• Install Firefox if you haven't already
• Open Medium.com in Firefox and sign in
• Cookies are read automatically — no manual steps needed

2. Build Docker Image:

.\Build-ZMediumDocker.ps1 -Username "yourname"

3. Run Backup:

.\Medium-Backup.ps1 -Verbose

Sample run:

VERBOSE: Checking Docker Desktop status...
VERBOSE: Docker Desktop is running.
VERBOSE: Output location: C:\Users\yourname\windows-medium-backup\Output
VERBOSE: Starting ZMediumToMarkdown container for user: yourname
VERBOSE: Downloading posts...

  [1/12] the-hidden-registry-key-that-blocks-windows-hello.md  ✓
  [2/12] automating-medium-backup-on-windows.md                ✓
  [3/12] why-your-printer-address-book-wont-import.md          ✓
  ...
  [12/12] getting-started-with-pester-5.md                     ✓

VERBOSE: Restructuring 12 articles into per-article folders...
VERBOSE: Writing log: Medium-Backup-20260506.log
VERBOSE: Sending toast notification...

✅ Backup completed successfully!
📁 Location: C:\Users\yourname\windows-medium-backup\Output
📊 Articles: 12 (each in its own folder)
📝 Log: Medium-Backup-20260506.log

Done! Posts saved to Output\ next to the script.

📚 Documentation

• SETUP.md - Detailed setup instructions
• TROUBLESHOOTING.md - Common issues and solutions
• TASK-SCHEDULER.md - Automated daily backups via Register-Task.ps1

📁 Output Structure

Output\
├── 2024-07-10-remove-sensitive-data-1ad65c2593f7\
│   ├── 2024-07-10-remove-sensitive-data-1ad65c2593f7.md
│   └── assets\
│       └── image.png
└── 2025-12-20-google-ai-product-chaos-e35dc04a7a4d\
    ├── 2025-12-20-google-ai-product-chaos-e35dc04a7a4d.md
    └── assets\
        └── image.jpg

Each article gets its own folder. Assets are co-located and image paths in the Markdown are rewritten automatically.

✨ Features

• Automatic credential extraction - Reads Medium cookies from Firefox; DPAPI-cached locally
• Automatic Docker management - Starts Docker if not running
• Portable output - Saves next to the script; works inside OneDrive-synced folders too
• Toast notifications - Visual feedback when backup completes
• Automatic logging - 30-day log rotation
• Error recovery - Detailed error messages and troubleshooting

📋 Requirements

Windows Edition

• Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education
• Home editions: Hyper-V not available (WSL2 support planned)

Software

• Docker Desktop 4.0+ with Hyper-V backend
• Firefox (signed into Medium) — for automatic cookie extraction
• PowerShell 5.1+ (included in Windows)

🍪 Cookie Expiration

Medium cookies are extracted automatically from Firefox and cached locally (DPAPI-encrypted). When they expire, the next backup run re-extracts from Firefox automatically — as long as you are still signed into Medium on Firefox. No manual intervention required.

See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for details.

🙏 Credits

• ZMediumToMarkdown by ZhgChgLi - Core conversion tool
• BurntToast by Windos - Windows 10 toast notifications

📄 License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details

🤝 Contributing

This is a simple utility project. Issues and pull requests welcome, but keeping scope minimal.