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rsync tips

Dry-Run​

Try your command before doing it for real with the dry-run option:

  • -n, --dry-run - Perform a trial run with no changes made

For example:

rsync -navh ~ rafi-desk:/mnt/backup/

Archiving​

Simply using the -a option applies the sensible rlptgoD defaults:

  • -a, --archive - Archive mode; equals -rlptgoD (no -H,-A,-X)
    • -r, --recursive - Recurse into directories
    • -l, --links - Copy symlinks as symlinks
    • -p, --perms - Preserve permissions
    • -t, --times - Preserve modification times
    • -g, --group - Preserve group
    • -o, --owner - Preserve owner (super-user only)
    • -D - same as --devices --specials:
      • --devices - Preserve device files (super-user only)
      • --specials - Preserve special files

Examining Result​

Use the --log-file option to examine transfer. rsync might be trying to update all the group names on destination directories, this is because you're using the option a or g to preserve group. You could use the --chmod option to override that:

rsync --log-file=my.log --chown=rafi:staff -navh rafi-desk:/mnt/media/music/ Music/

Synchronizing​

Use the --delete option to delete extraneous files from destination directories. Use with caution!

Filename Encoding​

If you're syncing from a Mac running OSX to a Linux machine, you'll need to use --iconv=LOCAL,REMOTE to convert the encoding:

rsync --iconv=UTF8-MAC,UTF-8 --chown=rafi:staff -avh rafi-desk:/mnt/media/music/ Music/

File Matching​

 -c, --checksum              skip based on checksum, not mod-time & size
 -u, --update                skip files that are newer on the receiver
     --existing              skip creating new files on receiver
     --ignore-existing       skip updating files that already exist on receiver
 -I, --ignore-times          don't skip files that match in size and mod-time
     --size-only             skip files that match in size
     --exclude=PATTERN       exclude files matching PATTERN
     --exclude-from=FILE     read exclude patterns from FILE

Output​

The --verbose option will apply certain info flags. You could also use --info with your choice of output. Run rsync --info=help to get a list of possible flags.

 -v, --verbose               increase verbosity
     --info=FLAGS            fine-grained informational verbosity
 -h, --human-readable        output numbers in a human-readable format
     --progress              show progress during transfer
 -i, --itemize-changes       output a change-summary for all updates
     --out-format=FORMAT     output updates using the specified FORMAT
     --log-file=FILE         log what we're doing to the specified FILE
     --log-file-format=FMT   log updates using the specified FMT
     --list-only             list the files instead of copying them