3 rsync - a fast, versatile, remote (and local) file-copying tool
9 rsync [OPTION...] SRC... [DEST]
11 Access via remote shell:
13 rsync [OPTION...] [USER@]HOST:SRC... [DEST]
15 rsync [OPTION...] SRC... [USER@]HOST:DEST
17 Access via rsync daemon:
19 rsync [OPTION...] [USER@]HOST::SRC... [DEST]
20 rsync [OPTION...] rsync://[USER@]HOST[:PORT]/SRC... [DEST]
22 rsync [OPTION...] SRC... [USER@]HOST::DEST
23 rsync [OPTION...] SRC... rsync://[USER@]HOST[:PORT]/DEST)
26 Usages with just one SRC arg and no DEST arg will list the source files instead
31 Rsync is a fast and extraordinarily versatile file copying tool. It can copy
32 locally, to/from another host over any remote shell, or to/from a remote rsync
33 daemon. It offers a large number of options that control every aspect of its
34 behavior and permit very flexible specification of the set of files to be
35 copied. It is famous for its delta-transfer algorithm, which reduces the
36 amount of data sent over the network by sending only the differences between
37 the source files and the existing files in the destination. Rsync is widely
38 used for backups and mirroring and as an improved copy command for everyday
41 Rsync finds files that need to be transferred using a "quick check" algorithm
42 (by default) that looks for files that have changed in size or in last-modified
43 time. Any changes in the other preserved attributes (as requested by options)
44 are made on the destination file directly when the quick check indicates that
45 the file's data does not need to be updated.
47 Some of the additional features of rsync are:
49 - support for copying links, devices, owners, groups, and permissions
50 - exclude and exclude-from options similar to GNU tar
51 - a CVS exclude mode for ignoring the same files that CVS would ignore
52 - can use any transparent remote shell, including ssh or rsh
53 - does not require super-user privileges
54 - pipelining of file transfers to minimize latency costs
55 - support for anonymous or authenticated rsync daemons (ideal for mirroring)
59 Rsync copies files either to or from a remote host, or locally on the current
60 host (it does not support copying files between two remote hosts).
62 There are two different ways for rsync to contact a remote system: using a
63 remote-shell program as the transport (such as ssh or rsh) or contacting an
64 rsync daemon directly via TCP. The remote-shell transport is used whenever the
65 source or destination path contains a single colon (:) separator after a host
66 specification. Contacting an rsync daemon directly happens when the source or
67 destination path contains a double colon (::) separator after a host
68 specification, OR when an rsync:// URL is specified (see also the "USING
69 RSYNC-DAEMON FEATURES VIA A REMOTE-SHELL CONNECTION" section for an exception
72 As a special case, if a single source arg is specified without a destination,
73 the files are listed in an output format similar to "`ls -l`".
75 As expected, if neither the source or destination path specify a remote host,
76 the copy occurs locally (see also the `--list-only` option).
78 Rsync refers to the local side as the client and the remote side as the server.
79 Don't confuse server with an rsync daemon. A daemon is always a server, but a
80 server can be either a daemon or a remote-shell spawned process.
84 See the file README.md for installation instructions.
86 Once installed, you can use rsync to any machine that you can access via a
87 remote shell (as well as some that you can access using the rsync daemon-mode
88 protocol). For remote transfers, a modern rsync uses ssh for its
89 communications, but it may have been configured to use a different remote shell
90 by default, such as rsh or remsh.
92 You can also specify any remote shell you like, either by using the `-e`
93 command line option, or by setting the RSYNC_RSH environment variable.
95 Note that rsync must be installed on both the source and destination machines.
99 You use rsync in the same way you use rcp. You must specify a source and a
100 destination, one of which may be remote.
102 Perhaps the best way to explain the syntax is with some examples:
104 > rsync -t *.c foo:src/
106 This would transfer all files matching the pattern `*.c` from the current
107 directory to the directory src on the machine foo. If any of the files already
108 exist on the remote system then the rsync remote-update protocol is used to
109 update the file by sending only the differences in the data. Note that the
110 expansion of wildcards on the commandline (`*.c`) into a list of files is
111 handled by the shell before it runs rsync and not by rsync itself (exactly the
112 same as all other posix-style programs).
114 > rsync -avz foo:src/bar /data/tmp
116 This would recursively transfer all files from the directory src/bar on the
117 machine foo into the /data/tmp/bar directory on the local machine. The files
118 are transferred in archive mode, which ensures that symbolic links, devices,
119 attributes, permissions, ownerships, etc. are preserved in the transfer.
120 Additionally, compression will be used to reduce the size of data portions of
123 > rsync -avz foo:src/bar/ /data/tmp
125 A trailing slash on the source changes this behavior to avoid creating an
126 additional directory level at the destination. You can think of a trailing /
127 on a source as meaning "copy the contents of this directory" as opposed to
128 "copy the directory by name", but in both cases the attributes of the
129 containing directory are transferred to the containing directory on the
130 destination. In other words, each of the following commands copies the files
131 in the same way, including their setting of the attributes of /dest/foo:
133 > rsync -av /src/foo /dest
134 > rsync -av /src/foo/ /dest/foo
136 Note also that host and module references don't require a trailing slash to
137 copy the contents of the default directory. For example, both of these copy
138 the remote directory's contents into "/dest":
140 > rsync -av host: /dest
141 > rsync -av host::module /dest
143 You can also use rsync in local-only mode, where both the source and
144 destination don't have a ':' in the name. In this case it behaves like an
145 improved copy command.
147 Finally, you can list all the (listable) modules available from a particular
148 rsync daemon by leaving off the module name:
150 > rsync somehost.mydomain.com::
152 See the following section for more details.
156 The syntax for requesting multiple files from a remote host is done by
157 specifying additional remote-host args in the same style as the first, or with
158 the hostname omitted. For instance, all these work:
160 > rsync -av host:file1 :file2 host:file{3,4} /dest/
161 > rsync -av host::modname/file{1,2} host::modname/file3 /dest/
162 > rsync -av host::modname/file1 ::modname/file{3,4}
164 Older versions of rsync required using quoted spaces in the SRC, like these
167 > rsync -av host:'dir1/file1 dir2/file2' /dest
168 > rsync host::'modname/dir1/file1 modname/dir2/file2' /dest
170 This word-splitting still works (by default) in the latest rsync, but is not as
171 easy to use as the first method.
173 If you need to transfer a filename that contains whitespace, you can either
174 specify the `--protect-args` (`-s`) option, or you'll need to escape the
175 whitespace in a way that the remote shell will understand. For instance:
177 > rsync -av host:'file\ name\ with\ spaces' /dest
179 # CONNECTING TO AN RSYNC DAEMON
181 It is also possible to use rsync without a remote shell as the transport. In
182 this case you will directly connect to a remote rsync daemon, typically using
183 TCP port 873. (This obviously requires the daemon to be running on the remote
184 system, so refer to the STARTING AN RSYNC DAEMON TO ACCEPT CONNECTIONS section
185 below for information on that.)
187 Using rsync in this way is the same as using it with a remote shell except
190 - you either use a double colon :: instead of a single colon to separate the
191 hostname from the path, or you use an rsync:// URL.
192 - the first word of the "path" is actually a module name.
193 - the remote daemon may print a message of the day when you connect.
194 - if you specify no path name on the remote daemon then the list of accessible
195 paths on the daemon will be shown.
196 - if you specify no local destination then a listing of the specified files on
197 the remote daemon is provided.
198 - you must not specify the `--rsh` (`-e`) option (since that overrides the
199 daemon connection to use ssh -- see USING RSYNC-DAEMON FEATURES VIA A
200 REMOTE-SHELL CONNECTION below).
202 An example that copies all the files in a remote module named "src":
204 > rsync -av host::src /dest
206 Some modules on the remote daemon may require authentication. If so, you will
207 receive a password prompt when you connect. You can avoid the password prompt
208 by setting the environment variable RSYNC_PASSWORD to the password you want to
209 use or using the `--password-file` option. This may be useful when scripting
212 WARNING: On some systems environment variables are visible to all users. On
213 those systems using `--password-file` is recommended.
215 You may establish the connection via a web proxy by setting the environment
216 variable RSYNC_PROXY to a hostname:port pair pointing to your web proxy. Note
217 that your web proxy's configuration must support proxy connections to port 873.
219 You may also establish a daemon connection using a program as a proxy by
220 setting the environment variable RSYNC_CONNECT_PROG to the commands you wish to
221 run in place of making a direct socket connection. The string may contain the
222 escape "%H" to represent the hostname specified in the rsync command (so use
223 "%%" if you need a single "%" in your string). For example:
225 > export RSYNC_CONNECT_PROG='ssh proxyhost nc %H 873'
226 > rsync -av targethost1::module/src/ /dest/
227 > rsync -av rsync://targethost2/module/src/ /dest/
229 The command specified above uses ssh to run nc (netcat) on a proxyhost, which
230 forwards all data to port 873 (the rsync daemon) on the targethost (%H).
232 Note also that if the RSYNC_SHELL environment variable is set, that program
233 will be used to run the RSYNC_CONNECT_PROG command instead of using the default
234 shell of the **system()** call.
236 # USING RSYNC-DAEMON FEATURES VIA A REMOTE-SHELL CONNECTION
238 It is sometimes useful to use various features of an rsync daemon (such as
239 named modules) without actually allowing any new socket connections into a
240 system (other than what is already required to allow remote-shell access).
241 Rsync supports connecting to a host using a remote shell and then spawning a
242 single-use "daemon" server that expects to read its config file in the home dir
243 of the remote user. This can be useful if you want to encrypt a daemon-style
244 transfer's data, but since the daemon is started up fresh by the remote user,
245 you may not be able to use features such as chroot or change the uid used by
246 the daemon. (For another way to encrypt a daemon transfer, consider using ssh
247 to tunnel a local port to a remote machine and configure a normal rsync daemon
248 on that remote host to only allow connections from "localhost".)
250 From the user's perspective, a daemon transfer via a remote-shell connection
251 uses nearly the same command-line syntax as a normal rsync-daemon transfer,
252 with the only exception being that you must explicitly set the remote shell
253 program on the command-line with the `--rsh=COMMAND` option. (Setting the
254 RSYNC_RSH in the environment will not turn on this functionality.) For example:
256 > rsync -av --rsh=ssh host::module /dest
258 If you need to specify a different remote-shell user, keep in mind that the
259 user@ prefix in front of the host is specifying the rsync-user value (for a
260 module that requires user-based authentication). This means that you must give
261 the '-l user' option to ssh when specifying the remote-shell, as in this
262 example that uses the short version of the `--rsh` option:
264 > rsync -av -e "ssh -l ssh-user" rsync-user@host::module /dest
266 The "ssh-user" will be used at the ssh level; the "rsync-user" will be used to
267 log-in to the "module".
269 # STARTING AN RSYNC DAEMON TO ACCEPT CONNECTIONS
271 In order to connect to an rsync daemon, the remote system needs to have a
272 daemon already running (or it needs to have configured something like inetd to
273 spawn an rsync daemon for incoming connections on a particular port). For full
274 information on how to start a daemon that will handling incoming socket
275 connections, see the **rsyncd.conf**(5) man page -- that is the config file for
276 the daemon, and it contains the full details for how to run the daemon
277 (including stand-alone and inetd configurations).
279 If you're using one of the remote-shell transports for the transfer, there is
280 no need to manually start an rsync daemon.
282 # SORTED TRANSFER ORDER
284 Rsync always sorts the specified filenames into its internal transfer list.
285 This handles the merging together of the contents of identically named
286 directories, makes it easy to remove duplicate filenames, and may confuse
287 someone when the files are transferred in a different order than what was given
290 If you need a particular file to be transferred prior to another, either
291 separate the files into different rsync calls, or consider using
292 `--delay-updates` (which doesn't affect the sorted transfer order, but does
293 make the final file-updating phase happen much more rapidly).
297 Here are some examples of how I use rsync.
299 To backup my wife's home directory, which consists of large MS Word files and
300 mail folders, I use a cron job that runs
302 > rsync -Cavz . arvidsjaur:backup
304 each night over a PPP connection to a duplicate directory on my machine
307 To synchronize my samba source trees I use the following Makefile targets:
310 > rsync -avuzb --exclude '*~' samba:samba/ .
312 > rsync -Cavuzb . samba:samba/
315 This allows me to sync with a CVS directory at the other end of the connection.
316 I then do CVS operations on the remote machine, which saves a lot of time as
317 the remote CVS protocol isn't very efficient.
319 I mirror a directory between my "old" and "new" ftp sites with the command:
321 > rsync -az -e ssh --delete ~ftp/pub/samba nimbus:"~ftp/pub/tridge"
323 This is launched from cron every few hours.
327 Here is a short summary of the options available in rsync. Please refer to the
328 detailed description below for a complete description.
330 [comment]: # (help-rsync.h)
331 [comment]: # (Keep these short enough that they'll be under 80 chars when indented by 8 chars.)
334 --verbose, -v increase verbosity
335 --info=FLAGS fine-grained informational verbosity
336 --debug=FLAGS fine-grained debug verbosity
337 --msgs2stderr output all messages directly to stderr
338 --quiet, -q suppress non-error messages
339 --no-motd suppress daemon-mode MOTD
340 --checksum, -c skip based on checksum, not mod-time & size
341 --archive, -a archive mode; equals -rlptgoD (no -H,-A,-X)
342 --no-OPTION turn off an implied OPTION (e.g. --no-D)
343 --recursive, -r recurse into directories
344 --relative, -R use relative path names
345 --no-implied-dirs don't send implied dirs with --relative
346 --backup, -b make backups (see --suffix & --backup-dir)
347 --backup-dir=DIR make backups into hierarchy based in DIR
348 --suffix=SUFFIX backup suffix (default ~ w/o --backup-dir)
349 --update, -u skip files that are newer on the receiver
350 --inplace update destination files in-place
351 --append append data onto shorter files
352 --append-verify --append w/old data in file checksum
353 --dirs, -d transfer directories without recursing
354 --mkpath create the destination's path component
355 --links, -l copy symlinks as symlinks
356 --copy-links, -L transform symlink into referent file/dir
357 --copy-unsafe-links only "unsafe" symlinks are transformed
358 --safe-links ignore symlinks that point outside the tree
359 --munge-links munge symlinks to make them safe & unusable
360 --copy-dirlinks, -k transform symlink to dir into referent dir
361 --keep-dirlinks, -K treat symlinked dir on receiver as dir
362 --hard-links, -H preserve hard links
363 --perms, -p preserve permissions
364 --executability, -E preserve executability
365 --chmod=CHMOD affect file and/or directory permissions
366 --acls, -A preserve ACLs (implies --perms)
367 --xattrs, -X preserve extended attributes
368 --owner, -o preserve owner (super-user only)
369 --group, -g preserve group
370 --devices preserve device files (super-user only)
371 --specials preserve special files
372 -D same as --devices --specials
373 --times, -t preserve modification times
374 --atimes, -U preserve access (use) times
375 --open-noatime avoid changing the atime on opened files
376 --crtimes, -N preserve create times (newness)
377 --omit-dir-times, -O omit directories from --times
378 --omit-link-times, -J omit symlinks from --times
379 --super receiver attempts super-user activities
380 --fake-super store/recover privileged attrs using xattrs
381 --sparse, -S turn sequences of nulls into sparse blocks
382 --preallocate allocate dest files before writing them
383 --write-devices write to devices as files (implies --inplace)
384 --dry-run, -n perform a trial run with no changes made
385 --whole-file, -W copy files whole (w/o delta-xfer algorithm)
386 --checksum-choice=STR choose the checksum algorithm (aka --cc)
387 --one-file-system, -x don't cross filesystem boundaries
388 --block-size=SIZE, -B force a fixed checksum block-size
389 --rsh=COMMAND, -e specify the remote shell to use
390 --rsync-path=PROGRAM specify the rsync to run on remote machine
391 --existing skip creating new files on receiver
392 --ignore-existing skip updating files that exist on receiver
393 --remove-source-files sender removes synchronized files (non-dir)
394 --del an alias for --delete-during
395 --delete delete extraneous files from dest dirs
396 --delete-before receiver deletes before xfer, not during
397 --delete-during receiver deletes during the transfer
398 --delete-delay find deletions during, delete after
399 --delete-after receiver deletes after transfer, not during
400 --delete-excluded also delete excluded files from dest dirs
401 --ignore-missing-args ignore missing source args without error
402 --delete-missing-args delete missing source args from destination
403 --ignore-errors delete even if there are I/O errors
404 --force force deletion of dirs even if not empty
405 --max-delete=NUM don't delete more than NUM files
406 --max-size=SIZE don't transfer any file larger than SIZE
407 --min-size=SIZE don't transfer any file smaller than SIZE
408 --max-alloc=SIZE change a limit relating to memory alloc
409 --partial keep partially transferred files
410 --partial-dir=DIR put a partially transferred file into DIR
411 --delay-updates put all updated files into place at end
412 --prune-empty-dirs, -m prune empty directory chains from file-list
413 --numeric-ids don't map uid/gid values by user/group name
414 --usermap=STRING custom username mapping
415 --groupmap=STRING custom groupname mapping
416 --chown=USER:GROUP simple username/groupname mapping
417 --timeout=SECONDS set I/O timeout in seconds
418 --contimeout=SECONDS set daemon connection timeout in seconds
419 --ignore-times, -I don't skip files that match size and time
420 --size-only skip files that match in size
421 --modify-window=NUM, -@ set the accuracy for mod-time comparisons
422 --temp-dir=DIR, -T create temporary files in directory DIR
423 --fuzzy, -y find similar file for basis if no dest file
424 --compare-dest=DIR also compare destination files relative to DIR
425 --copy-dest=DIR ... and include copies of unchanged files
426 --link-dest=DIR hardlink to files in DIR when unchanged
427 --compress, -z compress file data during the transfer
428 --compress-choice=STR choose the compression algorithm (aka --zc)
429 --compress-level=NUM explicitly set compression level (aka --zl)
430 --skip-compress=LIST skip compressing files with suffix in LIST
431 --cvs-exclude, -C auto-ignore files in the same way CVS does
432 --filter=RULE, -f add a file-filtering RULE
433 -F same as --filter='dir-merge /.rsync-filter'
434 repeated: --filter='- .rsync-filter'
435 --exclude=PATTERN exclude files matching PATTERN
436 --exclude-from=FILE read exclude patterns from FILE
437 --include=PATTERN don't exclude files matching PATTERN
438 --include-from=FILE read include patterns from FILE
439 --files-from=FILE read list of source-file names from FILE
440 --from0, -0 all *-from/filter files are delimited by 0s
441 --protect-args, -s no space-splitting; wildcard chars only
442 --copy-as=USER[:GROUP] specify user & optional group for the copy
443 --address=ADDRESS bind address for outgoing socket to daemon
444 --port=PORT specify double-colon alternate port number
445 --sockopts=OPTIONS specify custom TCP options
446 --blocking-io use blocking I/O for the remote shell
447 --outbuf=N|L|B set out buffering to None, Line, or Block
448 --stats give some file-transfer stats
449 --8-bit-output, -8 leave high-bit chars unescaped in output
450 --human-readable, -h output numbers in a human-readable format
451 --progress show progress during transfer
452 -P same as --partial --progress
453 --itemize-changes, -i output a change-summary for all updates
454 --remote-option=OPT, -M send OPTION to the remote side only
455 --out-format=FORMAT output updates using the specified FORMAT
456 --log-file=FILE log what we're doing to the specified FILE
457 --log-file-format=FMT log updates using the specified FMT
458 --password-file=FILE read daemon-access password from FILE
459 --early-input=FILE use FILE for daemon's early exec input
460 --list-only list the files instead of copying them
461 --bwlimit=RATE limit socket I/O bandwidth
462 --stop-after=MINS Stop rsync after MINS minutes have elapsed
463 --stop-at=y-m-dTh:m Stop rsync at the specified point in time
464 --write-batch=FILE write a batched update to FILE
465 --only-write-batch=FILE like --write-batch but w/o updating dest
466 --read-batch=FILE read a batched update from FILE
467 --protocol=NUM force an older protocol version to be used
468 --iconv=CONVERT_SPEC request charset conversion of filenames
469 --checksum-seed=NUM set block/file checksum seed (advanced)
470 --ipv4, -4 prefer IPv4
471 --ipv6, -6 prefer IPv6
472 --version, -V print the version + other info and exit
473 --help, -h (*) show this help (* -h is help only on its own)
476 Rsync can also be run as a daemon, in which case the following options are
479 [comment]: # (help-rsyncd.h)
482 --daemon run as an rsync daemon
483 --address=ADDRESS bind to the specified address
484 --bwlimit=RATE limit socket I/O bandwidth
485 --config=FILE specify alternate rsyncd.conf file
486 --dparam=OVERRIDE, -M override global daemon config parameter
487 --no-detach do not detach from the parent
488 --port=PORT listen on alternate port number
489 --log-file=FILE override the "log file" setting
490 --log-file-format=FMT override the "log format" setting
491 --sockopts=OPTIONS specify custom TCP options
492 --verbose, -v increase verbosity
493 --ipv4, -4 prefer IPv4
494 --ipv6, -6 prefer IPv6
495 --help, -h show this help (when used with --daemon)
500 Rsync accepts both long (double-dash + word) and short (single-dash + letter)
501 options. The full list of the available options are described below. If an
502 option can be specified in more than one way, the choices are comma-separated.
503 Some options only have a long variant, not a short. If the option takes a
504 parameter, the parameter is only listed after the long variant, even though it
505 must also be specified for the short. When specifying a parameter, you can
506 either use the form `--option=param` or replace the '=' with whitespace. The
507 parameter may need to be quoted in some manner for it to survive the shell's
508 command-line parsing. Keep in mind that a leading tilde (`~`) in a filename is
509 substituted by your shell, so `--option=~/foo` will not change the tilde into
510 your home directory (remove the '=' for that).
512 [comment]: # (An OL starting at 0 is converted into a DL by the parser.)
514 0. `--help`, `-h` `(*)`
516 Print a short help page describing the options available in rsync and exit.
517 (*) The `-h` short option will only invoke `--help` when used without other
518 options since it normally means `--human-readable`.
522 Print the rsync version plus other info and exit.
524 The output includes the default list of checksum algorithms, the default
525 list of compression algorithms, a list of compiled-in capabilities, a link
526 to the rsync web site, and some license/copyright info.
530 This option increases the amount of information you are given during the
531 transfer. By default, rsync works silently. A single `-v` will give you
532 information about what files are being transferred and a brief summary at
533 the end. Two `-v` options will give you information on what files are
534 being skipped and slightly more information at the end. More than two `-v`
535 options should only be used if you are debugging rsync.
537 In a modern rsync, the `-v` option is equivalent to the setting of groups
538 of `--info` and `--debug` options. You can choose to use these newer
539 options in addition to, or in place of using `--verbose`, as any
540 fine-grained settings override the implied settings of `-v`. Both `--info`
541 and `--debug` have a way to ask for help that tells you exactly what flags
542 are set for each increase in verbosity.
544 However, do keep in mind that a daemon's "`max verbosity`" setting will limit
545 how high of a level the various individual flags can be set on the daemon
546 side. For instance, if the max is 2, then any info and/or debug flag that
547 is set to a higher value than what would be set by `-vv` will be downgraded
548 to the `-vv` level in the daemon's logging.
552 This option lets you have fine-grained control over the information output
553 you want to see. An individual flag name may be followed by a level
554 number, with 0 meaning to silence that output, 1 being the default output
555 level, and higher numbers increasing the output of that flag (for those
556 that support higher levels). Use `--info=help` to see all the available
557 flag names, what they output, and what flag names are added for each
558 increase in the verbose level. Some examples:
560 > rsync -a --info=progress2 src/ dest/
561 > rsync -avv --info=stats2,misc1,flist0 src/ dest/
563 Note that `--info=name`'s output is affected by the `--out-format` and
564 `--itemize-changes` (`-i`) options. See those options for more information
565 on what is output and when.
567 This option was added to 3.1.0, so an older rsync on the server side might
568 reject your attempts at fine-grained control (if one or more flags needed
569 to be send to the server and the server was too old to understand them).
570 See also the "`max verbosity`" caveat above when dealing with a daemon.
574 This option lets you have fine-grained control over the debug output you
575 want to see. An individual flag name may be followed by a level number,
576 with 0 meaning to silence that output, 1 being the default output level,
577 and higher numbers increasing the output of that flag (for those that
578 support higher levels). Use `--debug=help` to see all the available flag
579 names, what they output, and what flag names are added for each increase in
580 the verbose level. Some examples:
582 > rsync -avvv --debug=none src/ dest/
583 > rsync -avA --del --debug=del2,acl src/ dest/
585 Note that some debug messages will only be output when `--msgs2stderr` is
586 specified, especially those pertaining to I/O and buffer debugging.
588 Beginning in 3.2.0, this option is no longer auto-forwared to the server
589 side in order to allow you to specify different debug values for each side
590 of the transfer, as well as to specify a new debug option that is only
591 present in one of the rsync versions. If you want to duplicate the same
592 option on both sides, using brace expansion is an easy way to save you some
593 typing. This works in zsh and bash:
595 > rsync -aiv {-M,}--debug=del2 src/ dest/
599 This option tells rsync to send all the messages directly to stderr rather
600 than to send messages to the client side via the protocol. The protocol
601 allows rsync to output normal messages via stdout and errors via stderr,
602 but it can delay messages behind a slew of data.
604 This option helps to avoid putting a lot of data into the pipe if you are
605 outputting debugging information via several `-v` options or the `--debug`
608 Also keep in mind that connecting to a normal (non-remote-shell) daemon
609 does not have a stderr channel to send messages back to the client side, so
610 a modern rsync only allows the option on a remote-shell-run daemon.
612 This option has the side-effect of making stderr output get line-buffered
613 so that the merging of the output of 3 programs happens in a more readable
616 Starting with rsync 3.2.3 rsync will send **errors** directly to stderr for
617 a non-daemon transfer, so you no longer need to specify this option just to
618 try to improve rsync's behavior when a remote receiver encounters an error.
619 You can override this new default by specifying `--no-msgs2stderr`.
621 Also starting with rsync 3.2.3 rsync will forward the `--msgs2stderr` or
622 `--no-msgs2stderr` option to the remote rsync.
626 This option decreases the amount of information you are given during the
627 transfer, notably suppressing information messages from the remote server.
628 This option is useful when invoking rsync from cron.
632 This option affects the information that is output by the client at the
633 start of a daemon transfer. This suppresses the message-of-the-day (MOTD)
634 text, but it also affects the list of modules that the daemon sends in
635 response to the "rsync host::" request (due to a limitation in the rsync
636 protocol), so omit this option if you want to request the list of modules
639 0. `--ignore-times`, `-I`
641 Normally rsync will skip any files that are already the same size and have
642 the same modification timestamp. This option turns off this "quick check"
643 behavior, causing all files to be updated.
647 This modifies rsync's "quick check" algorithm for finding files that need
648 to be transferred, changing it from the default of transferring files with
649 either a changed size or a changed last-modified time to just looking for
650 files that have changed in size. This is useful when starting to use rsync
651 after using another mirroring system which may not preserve timestamps
654 0. `--modify-window=NUM`, `-@`
656 When comparing two timestamps, rsync treats the timestamps as being equal
657 if they differ by no more than the modify-window value. The default is 0,
658 which matches just integer seconds. If you specify a negative value (and
659 the receiver is at least version 3.1.3) then nanoseconds will also be taken
660 into account. Specifying 1 is useful for copies to/from MS Windows FAT
661 filesystems, because FAT represents times with a 2-second resolution
662 (allowing times to differ from the original by up to 1 second).
664 If you want all your transfers to default to comparing nanoseconds, you can
665 create a `~/.popt` file and put these lines in it:
667 > rsync alias -a -a@-1
668 > rsync alias -t -t@-1
670 With that as the default, you'd need to specify `--modify-window=0` (aka
671 `-@0`) to override it and ignore nanoseconds, e.g. if you're copying
672 between ext3 and ext4, or if the receiving rsync is older than 3.1.3.
674 0. `--checksum`, `-c`
676 This changes the way rsync checks if the files have been changed and are in
677 need of a transfer. Without this option, rsync uses a "quick check" that
678 (by default) checks if each file's size and time of last modification match
679 between the sender and receiver. This option changes this to compare a
680 128-bit checksum for each file that has a matching size. Generating the
681 checksums means that both sides will expend a lot of disk I/O reading all
682 the data in the files in the transfer, so this can slow things down
683 significantly (and this is prior to any reading that will be done to
684 transfer changed files)
686 The sending side generates its checksums while it is doing the file-system
687 scan that builds the list of the available files. The receiver generates
688 its checksums when it is scanning for changed files, and will checksum any
689 file that has the same size as the corresponding sender's file: files with
690 either a changed size or a changed checksum are selected for transfer.
692 Note that rsync always verifies that each _transferred_ file was correctly
693 reconstructed on the receiving side by checking a whole-file checksum that
694 is generated as the file is transferred, but that automatic
695 after-the-transfer verification has nothing to do with this option's
696 before-the-transfer "Does this file need to be updated?" check.
698 The checksum used is auto-negotiated between the client and the server, but
699 can be overridden using either the `--checksum-choice` (`--cc`) option or an
700 environment variable that is discussed in that option's section.
704 This is equivalent to `-rlptgoD`. It is a quick way of saying you want
705 recursion and want to preserve almost everything (with `-H` being a notable
706 omission). The only exception to the above equivalence is when
707 `--files-from` is specified, in which case `-r` is not implied.
709 Note that `-a` **does not preserve hardlinks**, because finding
710 multiply-linked files is expensive. You must separately specify `-H`.
714 You may turn off one or more implied options by prefixing the option name
715 with "no-". Not all options may be prefixed with a "no-": only options that
716 are implied by other options (e.g. `--no-D`, `--no-perms`) or have
717 different defaults in various circumstances (e.g. `--no-whole-file`,
718 `--no-blocking-io`, `--no-dirs`). You may specify either the short or the
719 long option name after the "no-" prefix (e.g. `--no-R` is the same as
722 For example: if you want to use `-a` (`--archive`) but don't want `-o`
723 (`--owner`), instead of converting `-a` into `-rlptgD`, you could specify
724 `-a --no-o` (or `-a --no-owner`).
726 The order of the options is important: if you specify `--no-r -a`, the
727 `-r` option would end up being turned on, the opposite of `-a --no-r`.
728 Note also that the side-effects of the `--files-from` option are NOT
729 positional, as it affects the default state of several options and slightly
730 changes the meaning of `-a` (see the `--files-from` option for more
733 0. `--recursive`, `-r`
735 This tells rsync to copy directories recursively. See also `--dirs` (`-d`).
737 Beginning with rsync 3.0.0, the recursive algorithm used is now an
738 incremental scan that uses much less memory than before and begins the
739 transfer after the scanning of the first few directories have been
740 completed. This incremental scan only affects our recursion algorithm, and
741 does not change a non-recursive transfer. It is also only possible when
742 both ends of the transfer are at least version 3.0.0.
744 Some options require rsync to know the full file list, so these options
745 disable the incremental recursion mode. These include: `--delete-before`,
746 `--delete-after`, `--prune-empty-dirs`, and `--delay-updates`. Because of
747 this, the default delete mode when you specify `--delete` is now
748 `--delete-during` when both ends of the connection are at least 3.0.0 (use
749 `--del` or `--delete-during` to request this improved deletion mode
750 explicitly). See also the `--delete-delay` option that is a better choice
751 than using `--delete-after`.
753 Incremental recursion can be disabled using the `--no-inc-recursive` option
754 or its shorter `--no-i-r` alias.
756 0. `--relative`, `-R`
758 Use relative paths. This means that the full path names specified on the
759 command line are sent to the server rather than just the last parts of the
760 filenames. This is particularly useful when you want to send several
761 different directories at the same time. For example, if you used this
764 > rsync -av /foo/bar/baz.c remote:/tmp/
766 would create a file named baz.c in /tmp/ on the remote machine. If instead
769 > rsync -avR /foo/bar/baz.c remote:/tmp/
771 then a file named /tmp/foo/bar/baz.c would be created on the remote
772 machine, preserving its full path. These extra path elements are called
773 "implied directories" (i.e. the "foo" and the "foo/bar" directories in the
776 Beginning with rsync 3.0.0, rsync always sends these implied directories as
777 real directories in the file list, even if a path element is really a
778 symlink on the sending side. This prevents some really unexpected behaviors
779 when copying the full path of a file that you didn't realize had a symlink
780 in its path. If you want to duplicate a server-side symlink, include both
781 the symlink via its path, and referent directory via its real path. If
782 you're dealing with an older rsync on the sending side, you may need to use
783 the `--no-implied-dirs` option.
785 It is also possible to limit the amount of path information that is sent as
786 implied directories for each path you specify. With a modern rsync on the
787 sending side (beginning with 2.6.7), you can insert a dot and a slash into
788 the source path, like this:
790 > rsync -avR /foo/./bar/baz.c remote:/tmp/
792 That would create /tmp/bar/baz.c on the remote machine. (Note that the dot
793 must be followed by a slash, so "/foo/." would not be abbreviated.) For
794 older rsync versions, you would need to use a chdir to limit the source
795 path. For example, when pushing files:
797 > (cd /foo; rsync -avR bar/baz.c remote:/tmp/)
799 (Note that the parens put the two commands into a sub-shell, so that the
800 "cd" command doesn't remain in effect for future commands.) If you're
801 pulling files from an older rsync, use this idiom (but only for a
802 non-daemon transfer):
804 > rsync -avR --rsync-path="cd /foo; rsync" \
805 > remote:bar/baz.c /tmp/
807 0. `--no-implied-dirs`
809 This option affects the default behavior of the `--relative` option. When
810 it is specified, the attributes of the implied directories from the source
811 names are not included in the transfer. This means that the corresponding
812 path elements on the destination system are left unchanged if they exist,
813 and any missing implied directories are created with default attributes.
814 This even allows these implied path elements to have big differences, such
815 as being a symlink to a directory on the receiving side.
817 For instance, if a command-line arg or a files-from entry told rsync to
818 transfer the file "path/foo/file", the directories "path" and "path/foo"
819 are implied when `--relative` is used. If "path/foo" is a symlink to "bar"
820 on the destination system, the receiving rsync would ordinarily delete
821 "path/foo", recreate it as a directory, and receive the file into the new
822 directory. With `--no-implied-dirs`, the receiving rsync updates
823 "path/foo/file" using the existing path elements, which means that the file
824 ends up being created in "path/bar". Another way to accomplish this link
825 preservation is to use the `--keep-dirlinks` option (which will also affect
826 symlinks to directories in the rest of the transfer).
828 When pulling files from an rsync older than 3.0.0, you may need to use this
829 option if the sending side has a symlink in the path you request and you
830 wish the implied directories to be transferred as normal directories.
834 With this option, preexisting destination files are renamed as each file is
835 transferred or deleted. You can control where the backup file goes and
836 what (if any) suffix gets appended using the `--backup-dir` and `--suffix`
839 Note that if you don't specify `--backup-dir`, (1) the `--omit-dir-times`
840 option will be forced on, and (2) if `--delete` is also in effect (without
841 `--delete-excluded`), rsync will add a "protect" filter-rule for the backup
842 suffix to the end of all your existing excludes (e.g. `-f "P *~"`). This
843 will prevent previously backed-up files from being deleted. Note that if
844 you are supplying your own filter rules, you may need to manually insert
845 your own exclude/protect rule somewhere higher up in the list so that it
846 has a high enough priority to be effective (e.g., if your rules specify a
847 trailing inclusion/exclusion of `*`, the auto-added rule would never be
850 0. `--backup-dir=DIR`
852 This implies the `--backup` option, and tells rsync to store all
853 backups in the specified directory on the receiving side. This can be used
854 for incremental backups. You can additionally specify a backup suffix
855 using the `--suffix` option (otherwise the files backed up in the specified
856 directory will keep their original filenames).
858 Note that if you specify a relative path, the backup directory will be
859 relative to the destination directory, so you probably want to specify
860 either an absolute path or a path that starts with "../". If an rsync
861 daemon is the receiver, the backup dir cannot go outside the module's path
862 hierarchy, so take extra care not to delete it or copy into it.
866 This option allows you to override the default backup suffix used with the
867 `--backup` (`-b`) option. The default suffix is a `~` if no `--backup-dir`
868 was specified, otherwise it is an empty string.
872 This forces rsync to skip any files which exist on the destination and have
873 a modified time that is newer than the source file. (If an existing
874 destination file has a modification time equal to the source file's, it
875 will be updated if the sizes are different.)
877 Note that this does not affect the copying of dirs, symlinks, or other
878 special files. Also, a difference of file format between the sender and
879 receiver is always considered to be important enough for an update, no
880 matter what date is on the objects. In other words, if the source has a
881 directory where the destination has a file, the transfer would occur
882 regardless of the timestamps.
884 This option is a transfer rule, not an exclude, so it doesn't affect the
885 data that goes into the file-lists, and thus it doesn't affect deletions.
886 It just limits the files that the receiver requests to be transferred.
890 This option changes how rsync transfers a file when its data needs to be
891 updated: instead of the default method of creating a new copy of the file
892 and moving it into place when it is complete, rsync instead writes the
893 updated data directly to the destination file.
895 This has several effects:
897 - Hard links are not broken. This means the new data will be visible
898 through other hard links to the destination file. Moreover, attempts to
899 copy differing source files onto a multiply-linked destination file will
900 result in a "tug of war" with the destination data changing back and
902 - In-use binaries cannot be updated (either the OS will prevent this from
903 happening, or binaries that attempt to swap-in their data will misbehave
905 - The file's data will be in an inconsistent state during the transfer and
906 will be left that way if the transfer is interrupted or if an update
908 - A file that rsync cannot write to cannot be updated. While a super user
909 can update any file, a normal user needs to be granted write permission
910 for the open of the file for writing to be successful.
911 - The efficiency of rsync's delta-transfer algorithm may be reduced if some
912 data in the destination file is overwritten before it can be copied to a
913 position later in the file. This does not apply if you use `--backup`,
914 since rsync is smart enough to use the backup file as the basis file for
917 WARNING: you should not use this option to update files that are being
918 accessed by others, so be careful when choosing to use this for a copy.
920 This option is useful for transferring large files with block-based changes
921 or appended data, and also on systems that are disk bound, not network
922 bound. It can also help keep a copy-on-write filesystem snapshot from
923 diverging the entire contents of a file that only has minor changes.
925 The option implies `--partial` (since an interrupted transfer does not
926 delete the file), but conflicts with `--partial-dir` and `--delay-updates`.
927 Prior to rsync 2.6.4 `--inplace` was also incompatible with
928 `--compare-dest` and `--link-dest`.
932 This causes rsync to update a file by appending data onto the end of the
933 file, which presumes that the data that already exists on the receiving
934 side is identical with the start of the file on the sending side. If a
935 file needs to be transferred and its size on the receiver is the same or
936 longer than the size on the sender, the file is skipped. This does not
937 interfere with the updating of a file's non-content attributes (e.g.
938 permissions, ownership, etc.) when the file does not need to be
939 transferred, nor does it affect the updating of any non-regular files.
942 The use of `--append` can be dangerous if you aren't 100% sure that the
943 files that are longer have only grown by the appending of data onto the
944 end. You should thus use include/exclude/filter rules to ensure that such
945 a transfer is only affecting files that you know to be growing via appended
950 This works just like the `--append` option, but the existing data on the
951 receiving side is included in the full-file checksum verification step,
952 which will cause a file to be resent if the final verification step fails
953 (rsync uses a normal, non-appending `--inplace` transfer for the resend).
954 It otherwise has the exact same caveats for files that have not grown
955 larger, so don't use this for a general copy.
957 Note: prior to rsync 3.0.0, the `--append` option worked like
958 `--append-verify`, so if you are interacting with an older rsync (or the
959 transfer is using a protocol prior to 30), specifying either append option
960 will initiate an `--append-verify` transfer.
964 Tell the sending side to include any directories that are encountered.
965 Unlike `--recursive`, a directory's contents are not copied unless the
966 directory name specified is "." or ends with a trailing slash (e.g. ".",
967 "dir/.", "dir/", etc.). Without this option or the `--recursive` option,
968 rsync will skip all directories it encounters (and output a message to that
969 effect for each one). If you specify both `--dirs` and `--recursive`,
970 `--recursive` takes precedence.
972 The `--dirs` option is implied by the `--files-from` option or the
973 `--list-only` option (including an implied `--list-only` usage) if
974 `--recursive` wasn't specified (so that directories are seen in the
975 listing). Specify `--no-dirs` (or `--no-d`) if you want to turn this off.
977 There is also a backward-compatibility helper option, `--old-dirs` (or
978 `--old-d`) that tells rsync to use a hack of `-r --exclude='/*/*'` to get
979 an older rsync to list a single directory without recursing.
983 Create a missing path component of the destination arg. This allows rsync
984 to create multiple levels of missing destination dirs and to create a path
985 in which to put a single renamed file. Keep in mind that you'll need to
986 supply a trailing slash if you want the entire destination path to be
987 treated as a directory when copying a single arg (making rsync behave the
988 same way that it would if the path component of the destination had already
991 For example, the following creates a copy of file foo as bar in the sub/dir
992 directory, creating dirs "sub" and "sub/dir" if either do not yet exist:
994 > rsync -ai --mkpath foo sub/dir/bar
996 If you instead ran the following, it would have created file foo in the
997 sub/dir/bar directory:
999 > rsync -ai --mkpath foo sub/dir/bar/
1003 When symlinks are encountered, recreate the symlink on the destination.
1005 0. `--copy-links`, `-L`
1007 When symlinks are encountered, the item that they point to (the referent)
1008 is copied, rather than the symlink. In older versions of rsync, this
1009 option also had the side-effect of telling the receiving side to follow
1010 symlinks, such as symlinks to directories. In a modern rsync such as this
1011 one, you'll need to specify `--keep-dirlinks` (`-K`) to get this extra
1012 behavior. The only exception is when sending files to an rsync that is too
1013 old to understand `-K` -- in that case, the `-L` option will still have the
1014 side-effect of `-K` on that older receiving rsync.
1016 0. `--copy-unsafe-links`
1018 This tells rsync to copy the referent of symbolic links that point outside
1019 the copied tree. Absolute symlinks are also treated like ordinary files,
1020 and so are any symlinks in the source path itself when `--relative` is
1021 used. This option has no additional effect if `--copy-links` was also
1024 Note that the cut-off point is the top of the transfer, which is the part
1025 of the path that rsync isn't mentioning in the verbose output. If you copy
1026 "/src/subdir" to "/dest/" then the "subdir" directory is a name inside the
1027 transfer tree, not the top of the transfer (which is /src) so it is legal
1028 for created relative symlinks to refer to other names inside the /src and
1029 /dest directories. If you instead copy "/src/subdir/" (with a trailing
1030 slash) to "/dest/subdir" that would not allow symlinks to any files outside
1035 This tells rsync to ignore any symbolic links which point outside the
1036 copied tree. All absolute symlinks are also ignored. Using this option in
1037 conjunction with `--relative` may give unexpected results.
1041 This option tells rsync to (1) modify all symlinks on the receiving side in
1042 a way that makes them unusable but recoverable (see below), or (2) to
1043 unmunge symlinks on the sending side that had been stored in a munged
1044 state. This is useful if you don't quite trust the source of the data to
1045 not try to slip in a symlink to a unexpected place.
1047 The way rsync disables the use of symlinks is to prefix each one with the
1048 string "/rsyncd-munged/". This prevents the links from being used as long
1049 as that directory does not exist. When this option is enabled, rsync will
1050 refuse to run if that path is a directory or a symlink to a directory.
1052 The option only affects the client side of the transfer, so if you need it
1053 to affect the server, specify it via `--remote-option`. (Note that in a
1054 local transfer, the client side is the sender.)
1056 This option has no affect on a daemon, since the daemon configures whether
1057 it wants munged symlinks via its "`munge symlinks`" parameter. See also the
1058 "munge-symlinks" perl script in the support directory of the source code.
1060 0. `--copy-dirlinks`, `-k`
1062 This option causes the sending side to treat a symlink to a directory as
1063 though it were a real directory. This is useful if you don't want symlinks
1064 to non-directories to be affected, as they would be using `--copy-links`.
1066 Without this option, if the sending side has replaced a directory with a
1067 symlink to a directory, the receiving side will delete anything that is in
1068 the way of the new symlink, including a directory hierarchy (as long as
1069 `--force` or `--delete` is in effect).
1071 See also `--keep-dirlinks` for an analogous option for the receiving side.
1073 `--copy-dirlinks` applies to all symlinks to directories in the source. If
1074 you want to follow only a few specified symlinks, a trick you can use is to
1075 pass them as additional source args with a trailing slash, using
1076 `--relative` to make the paths match up right. For example:
1078 > rsync -r --relative src/./ src/./follow-me/ dest/
1080 This works because rsync calls **lstat**(2) on the source arg as given, and
1081 the trailing slash makes **lstat**(2) follow the symlink, giving rise to a
1082 directory in the file-list which overrides the symlink found during the
1085 0. `--keep-dirlinks`, `-K`
1087 This option causes the receiving side to treat a symlink to a directory as
1088 though it were a real directory, but only if it matches a real directory
1089 from the sender. Without this option, the receiver's symlink would be
1090 deleted and replaced with a real directory.
1092 For example, suppose you transfer a directory "foo" that contains a file
1093 "file", but "foo" is a symlink to directory "bar" on the receiver. Without
1094 `--keep-dirlinks`, the receiver deletes symlink "foo", recreates it as a
1095 directory, and receives the file into the new directory. With
1096 `--keep-dirlinks`, the receiver keeps the symlink and "file" ends up in
1099 One note of caution: if you use `--keep-dirlinks`, you must trust all the
1100 symlinks in the copy! If it is possible for an untrusted user to create
1101 their own symlink to any directory, the user could then (on a subsequent
1102 copy) replace the symlink with a real directory and affect the content of
1103 whatever directory the symlink references. For backup copies, you are
1104 better off using something like a bind mount instead of a symlink to modify
1105 your receiving hierarchy.
1107 See also `--copy-dirlinks` for an analogous option for the sending side.
1109 0. `--hard-links`, `-H`
1111 This tells rsync to look for hard-linked files in the source and link
1112 together the corresponding files on the destination. Without this option,
1113 hard-linked files in the source are treated as though they were separate
1116 This option does NOT necessarily ensure that the pattern of hard links on
1117 the destination exactly matches that on the source. Cases in which the
1118 destination may end up with extra hard links include the following:
1120 - If the destination contains extraneous hard-links (more linking than what
1121 is present in the source file list), the copying algorithm will not break
1122 them explicitly. However, if one or more of the paths have content
1123 differences, the normal file-update process will break those extra links
1124 (unless you are using the `--inplace` option).
1125 - If you specify a `--link-dest` directory that contains hard links, the
1126 linking of the destination files against the `--link-dest` files can
1127 cause some paths in the destination to become linked together due to the
1128 `--link-dest` associations.
1130 Note that rsync can only detect hard links between files that are inside
1131 the transfer set. If rsync updates a file that has extra hard-link
1132 connections to files outside the transfer, that linkage will be broken. If
1133 you are tempted to use the `--inplace` option to avoid this breakage, be
1134 very careful that you know how your files are being updated so that you are
1135 certain that no unintended changes happen due to lingering hard links (and
1136 see the `--inplace` option for more caveats).
1138 If incremental recursion is active (see `--recursive`), rsync may transfer
1139 a missing hard-linked file before it finds that another link for that
1140 contents exists elsewhere in the hierarchy. This does not affect the
1141 accuracy of the transfer (i.e. which files are hard-linked together), just
1142 its efficiency (i.e. copying the data for a new, early copy of a
1143 hard-linked file that could have been found later in the transfer in
1144 another member of the hard-linked set of files). One way to avoid this
1145 inefficiency is to disable incremental recursion using the
1146 `--no-inc-recursive` option.
1150 This option causes the receiving rsync to set the destination permissions
1151 to be the same as the source permissions. (See also the `--chmod` option
1152 for a way to modify what rsync considers to be the source permissions.)
1154 When this option is _off_, permissions are set as follows:
1156 - Existing files (including updated files) retain their existing
1157 permissions, though the `--executability` option might change just the
1158 execute permission for the file.
1159 - New files get their "normal" permission bits set to the source file's
1160 permissions masked with the receiving directory's default permissions
1161 (either the receiving process's umask, or the permissions specified via
1162 the destination directory's default ACL), and their special permission
1163 bits disabled except in the case where a new directory inherits a setgid
1164 bit from its parent directory.
1166 Thus, when `--perms` and `--executability` are both disabled, rsync's
1167 behavior is the same as that of other file-copy utilities, such as **cp**(1)
1170 In summary: to give destination files (both old and new) the source
1171 permissions, use `--perms`. To give new files the destination-default
1172 permissions (while leaving existing files unchanged), make sure that the
1173 `--perms` option is off and use `--chmod=ugo=rwX` (which ensures that all
1174 non-masked bits get enabled). If you'd care to make this latter behavior
1175 easier to type, you could define a popt alias for it, such as putting this
1176 line in the file `~/.popt` (the following defines the `-Z` option, and
1177 includes `--no-g` to use the default group of the destination dir):
1179 > rsync alias -Z --no-p --no-g --chmod=ugo=rwX
1181 You could then use this new option in a command such as this one:
1183 > rsync -avZ src/ dest/
1185 (Caveat: make sure that `-a` does not follow `-Z`, or it will re-enable the
1186 two `--no-*` options mentioned above.)
1188 The preservation of the destination's setgid bit on newly-created
1189 directories when `--perms` is off was added in rsync 2.6.7. Older rsync
1190 versions erroneously preserved the three special permission bits for
1191 newly-created files when `--perms` was off, while overriding the
1192 destination's setgid bit setting on a newly-created directory. Default ACL
1193 observance was added to the ACL patch for rsync 2.6.7, so older (or
1194 non-ACL-enabled) rsyncs use the umask even if default ACLs are present.
1195 (Keep in mind that it is the version of the receiving rsync that affects
1198 0. `--executability`, `-E`
1200 This option causes rsync to preserve the executability (or
1201 non-executability) of regular files when `--perms` is not enabled. A
1202 regular file is considered to be executable if at least one 'x' is turned
1203 on in its permissions. When an existing destination file's executability
1204 differs from that of the corresponding source file, rsync modifies the
1205 destination file's permissions as follows:
1207 - To make a file non-executable, rsync turns off all its 'x' permissions.
1208 - To make a file executable, rsync turns on each 'x' permission that has a
1209 corresponding 'r' permission enabled.
1211 If `--perms` is enabled, this option is ignored.
1215 This option causes rsync to update the destination ACLs to be the same as
1216 the source ACLs. The option also implies `--perms`.
1218 The source and destination systems must have compatible ACL entries for
1219 this option to work properly. See the `--fake-super` option for a way to
1220 backup and restore ACLs that are not compatible.
1224 This option causes rsync to update the destination extended attributes to
1225 be the same as the source ones.
1227 For systems that support extended-attribute namespaces, a copy being done
1228 by a super-user copies all namespaces except system.\*. A normal user only
1229 copies the user.\* namespace. To be able to backup and restore non-user
1230 namespaces as a normal user, see the `--fake-super` option.
1232 The above name filtering can be overridden by using one or more filter
1233 options with the **x** modifier. When you specify an xattr-affecting
1234 filter rule, rsync requires that you do your own system/user filtering, as
1235 well as any additional filtering for what xattr names are copied and what
1236 names are allowed to be deleted. For example, to skip the system
1237 namespace, you could specify:
1239 > --filter='-x system.*'
1241 To skip all namespaces except the user namespace, you could specify a
1244 > --filter='-x! user.*'
1246 To prevent any attributes from being deleted, you could specify a
1247 receiver-only rule that excludes all names:
1251 Note that the `-X` option does not copy rsync's special xattr values (e.g.
1252 those used by `--fake-super`) unless you repeat the option (e.g. `-XX`).
1253 This "copy all xattrs" mode cannot be used with `--fake-super`.
1257 This option tells rsync to apply one or more comma-separated "chmod" modes
1258 to the permission of the files in the transfer. The resulting value is
1259 treated as though it were the permissions that the sending side supplied
1260 for the file, which means that this option can seem to have no effect on
1261 existing files if `--perms` is not enabled.
1263 In addition to the normal parsing rules specified in the **chmod**(1)
1264 manpage, you can specify an item that should only apply to a directory by
1265 prefixing it with a 'D', or specify an item that should only apply to a
1266 file by prefixing it with a 'F'. For example, the following will ensure
1267 that all directories get marked set-gid, that no files are other-writable,
1268 that both are user-writable and group-writable, and that both have
1269 consistent executability across all bits:
1271 > --chmod=Dg+s,ug+w,Fo-w,+X
1273 Using octal mode numbers is also allowed:
1275 > --chmod=D2775,F664
1277 It is also legal to specify multiple `--chmod` options, as each additional
1278 option is just appended to the list of changes to make.
1280 See the `--perms` and `--executability` options for how the resulting
1281 permission value can be applied to the files in the transfer.
1285 This option causes rsync to set the owner of the destination file to be the
1286 same as the source file, but only if the receiving rsync is being run as
1287 the super-user (see also the `--super` and `--fake-super` options). Without
1288 this option, the owner of new and/or transferred files are set to the
1289 invoking user on the receiving side.
1291 The preservation of ownership will associate matching names by default, but
1292 may fall back to using the ID number in some circumstances (see also the
1293 `--numeric-ids` option for a full discussion).
1297 This option causes rsync to set the group of the destination file to be the
1298 same as the source file. If the receiving program is not running as the
1299 super-user (or if `--no-super` was specified), only groups that the
1300 invoking user on the receiving side is a member of will be preserved.
1301 Without this option, the group is set to the default group of the invoking
1302 user on the receiving side.
1304 The preservation of group information will associate matching names by
1305 default, but may fall back to using the ID number in some circumstances
1306 (see also the `--numeric-ids` option for a full discussion).
1310 This option causes rsync to transfer character and block device files to
1311 the remote system to recreate these devices. This option has no effect if
1312 the receiving rsync is not run as the super-user (see also the `--super`
1313 and `--fake-super` options).
1317 This option causes rsync to transfer special files such as named sockets
1322 The `-D` option is equivalent to `--devices --specials`.
1324 0. `--write-devices`
1326 This tells rsync to treat a device on the receiving side as a regular file,
1327 allowing the writing of file data into a device.
1329 This option implies the `--inplace` option.
1331 Be careful using this, as you should know what devices are present on the
1332 receiving side of the transfer, especially if running rsync as root.
1334 This option is refused by an rsync daemon.
1338 This tells rsync to transfer modification times along with the files and
1339 update them on the remote system. Note that if this option is not used,
1340 the optimization that excludes files that have not been modified cannot be
1341 effective; in other words, a missing `-t` or `-a` will cause the next
1342 transfer to behave as if it used `-I`, causing all files to be updated
1343 (though rsync's delta-transfer algorithm will make the update fairly
1344 efficient if the files haven't actually changed, you're much better off
1349 This tells rsync to set the access (use) times of the destination files to
1350 the same value as the source files.
1352 If repeated, it also sets the `--open-noatime` option, which can help you
1353 to make the sending and receiving systems have the same access times on the
1354 transferred files without needing to run rsync an extra time after a file
1357 Note that some older rsync versions (prior to 3.2.0) may have been built
1358 with a pre-release `--atimes` patch that does not imply `--open-noatime`
1359 when this option is repeated.
1363 This tells rsync to open files with the O_NOATIME flag (on systems that
1364 support it) to avoid changing the access time of the files that are being
1365 transferred. If your OS does not support the O_NOATIME flag then rsync
1366 will silently ignore this option. Note also that some filesystems are
1367 mounted to avoid updating the atime on read access even without the
1368 O_NOATIME flag being set.
1370 0. `--crtimes`, `-N,`
1372 This tells rsync to set the create times (newness) of the destination
1373 files to the same value as the source files.
1375 0. `--omit-dir-times`, `-O`
1377 This tells rsync to omit directories when it is preserving modification
1378 times (see `--times`). If NFS is sharing the directories on the receiving
1379 side, it is a good idea to use `-O`. This option is inferred if you use
1380 `--backup` without `--backup-dir`.
1382 This option also has the side-effect of avoiding early creation of
1383 directories in incremental recursion copies. The default `--inc-recursive`
1384 copying normally does an early-create pass of all the sub-directories in a
1385 parent directory in order for it to be able to then set the modify time of
1386 the parent directory right away (without having to delay that until a bunch
1387 of recursive copying has finished). This early-create idiom is not
1388 necessary if directory modify times are not being preserved, so it is
1389 skipped. Since early-create directories don't have accurate mode, mtime,
1390 or ownership, the use of this option can help when someone wants to avoid
1391 these partially-finished directories.
1393 0. `--omit-link-times`, `-J`
1395 This tells rsync to omit symlinks when it is preserving modification times
1400 This tells the receiving side to attempt super-user activities even if the
1401 receiving rsync wasn't run by the super-user. These activities include:
1402 preserving users via the `--owner` option, preserving all groups (not just
1403 the current user's groups) via the `--groups` option, and copying devices
1404 via the `--devices` option. This is useful for systems that allow such
1405 activities without being the super-user, and also for ensuring that you
1406 will get errors if the receiving side isn't being run as the super-user.
1407 To turn off super-user activities, the super-user can use `--no-super`.
1411 When this option is enabled, rsync simulates super-user activities by
1412 saving/restoring the privileged attributes via special extended attributes
1413 that are attached to each file (as needed). This includes the file's owner
1414 and group (if it is not the default), the file's device info (device &
1415 special files are created as empty text files), and any permission bits
1416 that we won't allow to be set on the real file (e.g. the real file gets
1417 u-s,g-s,o-t for safety) or that would limit the owner's access (since the
1418 real super-user can always access/change a file, the files we create can
1419 always be accessed/changed by the creating user). This option also handles
1420 ACLs (if `--acls` was specified) and non-user extended attributes (if
1421 `--xattrs` was specified).
1423 This is a good way to backup data without using a super-user, and to store
1424 ACLs from incompatible systems.
1426 The `--fake-super` option only affects the side where the option is used.
1427 To affect the remote side of a remote-shell connection, use the
1428 `--remote-option` (`-M`) option:
1430 > rsync -av -M--fake-super /src/ host:/dest/
1432 For a local copy, this option affects both the source and the destination.
1433 If you wish a local copy to enable this option just for the destination
1434 files, specify `-M--fake-super`. If you wish a local copy to enable this
1435 option just for the source files, combine `--fake-super` with `-M--super`.
1437 This option is overridden by both `--super` and `--no-super`.
1439 See also the "`fake super`" setting in the daemon's rsyncd.conf file.
1443 Try to handle sparse files efficiently so they take up less space on the
1444 destination. If combined with `--inplace` the file created might not end
1445 up with sparse blocks with some combinations of kernel version and/or
1446 filesystem type. If `--whole-file` is in effect (e.g. for a local copy)
1447 then it will always work because rsync truncates the file prior to writing
1448 out the updated version.
1450 Note that versions of rsync older than 3.1.3 will reject the combination of
1451 `--sparse` and `--inplace`.
1455 This tells the receiver to allocate each destination file to its eventual
1456 size before writing data to the file. Rsync will only use the real
1457 filesystem-level preallocation support provided by Linux's **fallocate**(2)
1458 system call or Cygwin's **posix_fallocate**(3), not the slow glibc
1459 implementation that writes a null byte into each block.
1461 Without this option, larger files may not be entirely contiguous on the
1462 filesystem, but with this option rsync will probably copy more slowly. If
1463 the destination is not an extent-supporting filesystem (such as ext4, xfs,
1464 NTFS, etc.), this option may have no positive effect at all.
1466 If combined with `--sparse`, the file will only have sparse blocks (as
1467 opposed to allocated sequences of null bytes) if the kernel version and
1468 filesystem type support creating holes in the allocated data.
1470 0. `--dry-run`, `-n`
1472 This makes rsync perform a trial run that doesn't make any changes (and
1473 produces mostly the same output as a real run). It is most commonly used
1474 in combination with the `--verbose`, `-v` and/or `--itemize-changes`, `-i`
1475 options to see what an rsync command is going to do before one actually
1478 The output of `--itemize-changes` is supposed to be exactly the same on a
1479 dry run and a subsequent real run (barring intentional trickery and system
1480 call failures); if it isn't, that's a bug. Other output should be mostly
1481 unchanged, but may differ in some areas. Notably, a dry run does not send
1482 the actual data for file transfers, so `--progress` has no effect, the
1483 "bytes sent", "bytes received", "literal data", and "matched data"
1484 statistics are too small, and the "speedup" value is equivalent to a run
1485 where no file transfers were needed.
1487 0. `--whole-file`, `-W`
1489 This option disables rsync's delta-transfer algorithm, which causes all
1490 transferred files to be sent whole. The transfer may be faster if this
1491 option is used when the bandwidth between the source and destination
1492 machines is higher than the bandwidth to disk (especially when the "disk"
1493 is actually a networked filesystem). This is the default when both the
1494 source and destination are specified as local paths, but only if no
1495 batch-writing option is in effect.
1497 0. `--checksum-choice=STR`, `--cc=STR`
1499 This option overrides the checksum algorithms. If one algorithm name is
1500 specified, it is used for both the transfer checksums and (assuming
1501 `--checksum` is specified) the pre-transfer checksums. If two
1502 comma-separated names are supplied, the first name affects the transfer
1503 checksums, and the second name affects the pre-transfer checksums (`-c`).
1505 The checksum options that you may be able to use are:
1507 - `auto` (the default automatic choice)
1510 - `xxh64` (aka `xxhash`)
1515 Run `rsync --version` to see the default checksum list compiled into your
1516 version (which may differ from the list above).
1518 If "none" is specified for the first (or only) name, the `--whole-file`
1519 option is forced on and no checksum verification is performed on the
1520 transferred data. If "none" is specified for the second (or only) name,
1521 the `--checksum` option cannot be used.
1523 The "auto" option is the default, where rsync bases its algorithm choice on
1524 a negotiation between the client and the server as follows:
1526 When both sides of the transfer are at least 3.2.0, rsync chooses the first
1527 algorithm in the client's list of choices that is also in the server's list
1528 of choices. If no common checksum choice is found, rsync exits with
1529 an error. If the remote rsync is too old to support checksum negotiation,
1530 a value is chosen based on the protocol version (which chooses between MD5
1531 and various flavors of MD4 based on protocol age).
1533 The default order can be customized by setting the environment variable
1534 RSYNC_CHECKSUM_LIST to a space-separated list of acceptable checksum names.
1535 If the string contains a "`&`" character, it is separated into the "client
1536 string & server string", otherwise the same string
1537 applies to both. If the string (or string portion) contains no
1538 non-whitespace characters, the default checksum list is used. This method
1539 does not allow you to specify the transfer checksum separately from the
1540 pre-transfer checksum, and it discards "auto" and all unknown checksum
1541 names. A list with only invalid names results in a failed negotiation.
1543 The use of the `--checksum-choice` option overrides this environment list.
1545 0. `--one-file-system`, `-x`
1547 This tells rsync to avoid crossing a filesystem boundary when recursing.
1548 This does not limit the user's ability to specify items to copy from
1549 multiple filesystems, just rsync's recursion through the hierarchy of each
1550 directory that the user specified, and also the analogous recursion on the
1551 receiving side during deletion. Also keep in mind that rsync treats a
1552 "bind" mount to the same device as being on the same filesystem.
1554 If this option is repeated, rsync omits all mount-point directories from
1555 the copy. Otherwise, it includes an empty directory at each mount-point it
1556 encounters (using the attributes of the mounted directory because those of
1557 the underlying mount-point directory are inaccessible).
1559 If rsync has been told to collapse symlinks (via `--copy-links` or
1560 `--copy-unsafe-links`), a symlink to a directory on another device is
1561 treated like a mount-point. Symlinks to non-directories are unaffected by
1564 0. `--existing`, `--ignore-non-existing`
1566 This tells rsync to skip creating files (including directories) that do not
1567 exist yet on the destination. If this option is combined with the
1568 `--ignore-existing` option, no files will be updated (which can be useful
1569 if all you want to do is delete extraneous files).
1571 This option is a transfer rule, not an exclude, so it doesn't affect the
1572 data that goes into the file-lists, and thus it doesn't affect deletions.
1573 It just limits the files that the receiver requests to be transferred.
1575 0. `--ignore-existing`
1577 This tells rsync to skip updating files that already exist on the
1578 destination (this does _not_ ignore existing directories, or nothing would
1579 get done). See also `--existing`.
1581 This option is a transfer rule, not an exclude, so it doesn't affect the
1582 data that goes into the file-lists, and thus it doesn't affect deletions.
1583 It just limits the files that the receiver requests to be transferred.
1585 This option can be useful for those doing backups using the `--link-dest`
1586 option when they need to continue a backup run that got interrupted. Since
1587 a `--link-dest` run is copied into a new directory hierarchy (when it is
1588 used properly), using `--ignore-existing` will ensure that the
1589 already-handled files don't get tweaked (which avoids a change in
1590 permissions on the hard-linked files). This does mean that this option is
1591 only looking at the existing files in the destination hierarchy itself.
1593 0. `--remove-source-files`
1595 This tells rsync to remove from the sending side the files (meaning
1596 non-directories) that are a part of the transfer and have been successfully
1597 duplicated on the receiving side.
1599 Note that you should only use this option on source files that are
1600 quiescent. If you are using this to move files that show up in a
1601 particular directory over to another host, make sure that the finished
1602 files get renamed into the source directory, not directly written into it,
1603 so that rsync can't possibly transfer a file that is not yet fully written.
1604 If you can't first write the files into a different directory, you should
1605 use a naming idiom that lets rsync avoid transferring files that are not
1606 yet finished (e.g. name the file "foo.new" when it is written, rename it to
1607 "foo" when it is done, and then use the option `--exclude='*.new'` for the
1610 Starting with 3.1.0, rsync will skip the sender-side removal (and output an
1611 error) if the file's size or modify time has not stayed unchanged.
1615 This tells rsync to delete extraneous files from the receiving side (ones
1616 that aren't on the sending side), but only for the directories that are
1617 being synchronized. You must have asked rsync to send the whole directory
1618 (e.g. "`dir`" or "`dir/`") without using a wildcard for the directory's
1619 contents (e.g. "`dir/*`") since the wildcard is expanded by the shell and
1620 rsync thus gets a request to transfer individual files, not the files'
1621 parent directory. Files that are excluded from the transfer are also
1622 excluded from being deleted unless you use the `--delete-excluded` option
1623 or mark the rules as only matching on the sending side (see the
1624 include/exclude modifiers in the FILTER RULES section).
1626 Prior to rsync 2.6.7, this option would have no effect unless `--recursive`
1627 was enabled. Beginning with 2.6.7, deletions will also occur when `--dirs`
1628 (`-d`) is enabled, but only for directories whose contents are being
1631 This option can be dangerous if used incorrectly! It is a very good idea to
1632 first try a run using the `--dry-run` option (`-n`) to see what files are
1633 going to be deleted.
1635 If the sending side detects any I/O errors, then the deletion of any files
1636 at the destination will be automatically disabled. This is to prevent
1637 temporary filesystem failures (such as NFS errors) on the sending side from
1638 causing a massive deletion of files on the destination. You can override
1639 this with the `--ignore-errors` option.
1641 The `--delete` option may be combined with one of the --delete-WHEN options
1642 without conflict, as well as `--delete-excluded`. However, if none of the
1643 `--delete-WHEN` options are specified, rsync will choose the
1644 `--delete-during` algorithm when talking to rsync 3.0.0 or newer, and the
1645 `--delete-before` algorithm when talking to an older rsync. See also
1646 `--delete-delay` and `--delete-after`.
1648 0. `--delete-before`
1650 Request that the file-deletions on the receiving side be done before the
1651 transfer starts. See `--delete` (which is implied) for more details on
1654 Deleting before the transfer is helpful if the filesystem is tight for
1655 space and removing extraneous files would help to make the transfer
1656 possible. However, it does introduce a delay before the start of the
1657 transfer, and this delay might cause the transfer to timeout (if
1658 `--timeout` was specified). It also forces rsync to use the old,
1659 non-incremental recursion algorithm that requires rsync to scan all the
1660 files in the transfer into memory at once (see `--recursive`).
1662 0. `--delete-during`, `--del`
1664 Request that the file-deletions on the receiving side be done incrementally
1665 as the transfer happens. The per-directory delete scan is done right
1666 before each directory is checked for updates, so it behaves like a more
1667 efficient `--delete-before`, including doing the deletions prior to any
1668 per-directory filter files being updated. This option was first added in
1669 rsync version 2.6.4. See `--delete` (which is implied) for more details on
1674 Request that the file-deletions on the receiving side be computed during
1675 the transfer (like `--delete-during`), and then removed after the transfer
1676 completes. This is useful when combined with `--delay-updates` and/or
1677 `--fuzzy`, and is more efficient than using `--delete-after` (but can
1678 behave differently, since `--delete-after` computes the deletions in a
1679 separate pass after all updates are done). If the number of removed files
1680 overflows an internal buffer, a temporary file will be created on the
1681 receiving side to hold the names (it is removed while open, so you
1682 shouldn't see it during the transfer). If the creation of the temporary
1683 file fails, rsync will try to fall back to using `--delete-after` (which it
1684 cannot do if `--recursive` is doing an incremental scan). See `--delete`
1685 (which is implied) for more details on file-deletion.
1689 Request that the file-deletions on the receiving side be done after the
1690 transfer has completed. This is useful if you are sending new
1691 per-directory merge files as a part of the transfer and you want their
1692 exclusions to take effect for the delete phase of the current transfer. It
1693 also forces rsync to use the old, non-incremental recursion algorithm that
1694 requires rsync to scan all the files in the transfer into memory at once
1695 (see `--recursive`). See `--delete` (which is implied) for more details on
1698 0. `--delete-excluded`
1700 In addition to deleting the files on the receiving side that are not on the
1701 sending side, this tells rsync to also delete any files on the receiving
1702 side that are excluded (see `--exclude`). See the FILTER RULES section for
1703 a way to make individual exclusions behave this way on the receiver, and
1704 for a way to protect files from `--delete-excluded`. See `--delete` (which
1705 is implied) for more details on file-deletion.
1707 0. `--ignore-missing-args`
1709 When rsync is first processing the explicitly requested source files (e.g.
1710 command-line arguments or `--files-from` entries), it is normally an error
1711 if the file cannot be found. This option suppresses that error, and does
1712 not try to transfer the file. This does not affect subsequent
1713 vanished-file errors if a file was initially found to be present and later
1716 0. `--delete-missing-args`
1718 This option takes the behavior of (the implied) `--ignore-missing-args`
1719 option a step farther: each missing arg will become a deletion request of
1720 the corresponding destination file on the receiving side (should it exist).
1721 If the destination file is a non-empty directory, it will only be
1722 successfully deleted if `--force` or `--delete` are in effect. Other than
1723 that, this option is independent of any other type of delete processing.
1725 The missing source files are represented by special file-list entries which
1726 display as a "`*missing`" entry in the `--list-only` output.
1728 0. `--ignore-errors`
1730 Tells `--delete` to go ahead and delete files even when there are I/O
1735 This option tells rsync to delete a non-empty directory when it is to be
1736 replaced by a non-directory. This is only relevant if deletions are not
1737 active (see `--delete` for details).
1739 Note for older rsync versions: `--force` used to still be required when
1740 using `--delete-after`, and it used to be non-functional unless the
1741 `--recursive` option was also enabled.
1743 0. `--max-delete=NUM`
1745 This tells rsync not to delete more than NUM files or directories. If that
1746 limit is exceeded, all further deletions are skipped through the end of the
1747 transfer. At the end, rsync outputs a warning (including a count of the
1748 skipped deletions) and exits with an error code of 25 (unless some more
1749 important error condition also occurred).
1751 Beginning with version 3.0.0, you may specify `--max-delete=0` to be warned
1752 about any extraneous files in the destination without removing any of them.
1753 Older clients interpreted this as "unlimited", so if you don't know what
1754 version the client is, you can use the less obvious `--max-delete=-1` as a
1755 backward-compatible way to specify that no deletions be allowed (though
1756 really old versions didn't warn when the limit was exceeded).
1758 0. `--max-size=SIZE`
1760 This tells rsync to avoid transferring any file that is larger than the
1761 specified SIZE. A numeric value can be suffixed with a string to indicate
1762 the numeric units or left unqualified to specify bytes. Feel free to use a
1763 fractional value along with the units, such as `--max-size=1.5m`.
1765 This option is a transfer rule, not an exclude, so it doesn't affect the
1766 data that goes into the file-lists, and thus it doesn't affect deletions.
1767 It just limits the files that the receiver requests to be transferred.
1769 The first letter of a units string can be `B` (bytes), `K` (kilo), `M`
1770 (mega), `G` (giga), `T` (tera), or `P` (peta). If the string is a single
1771 char or has "ib" added to it (e.g. "G" or "GiB") then the units are
1772 multiples of 1024. If you use a two-letter suffix that ends with a "B"
1773 (e.g. "kb") then you get units that are multiples of 1000. The string's
1774 letters can be any mix of upper and lower-case that you want to use.
1776 Finally, if the string ends with either "+1" or "-1", it is offset by one
1777 byte in the indicated direction. The largest possible value is usually
1780 Examples: `--max-size=1.5mb-1` is 1499999 bytes, and `--max-size=2g+1` is
1783 Note that rsync versions prior to 3.1.0 did not allow `--max-size=0`.
1785 0. `--min-size=SIZE`
1787 This tells rsync to avoid transferring any file that is smaller than the
1788 specified SIZE, which can help in not transferring small, junk files. See
1789 the `--max-size` option for a description of SIZE and other information.
1791 Note that rsync versions prior to 3.1.0 did not allow `--min-size=0`.
1793 0. `--max-alloc=SIZE`
1795 By default rsync limits an individual malloc/realloc to about 1GB in size.
1796 For most people this limit works just fine and prevents a protocol error
1797 causing rsync to request massive amounts of memory. However, if you have
1798 many millions of files in a transfer, a large amount of server memory, and
1799 you don't want to split up your transfer into multiple parts, you can
1800 increase the per-allocation limit to something larger and rsync will
1801 consume more memory.
1803 Keep in mind that this is not a limit on the total size of allocated
1804 memory. It is a sanity-check value for each individual allocation.
1806 See the `--max-size` option for a description of how SIZE can be specified.
1807 The default suffix if none is given is bytes.
1809 Beginning in 3.2.3, a value of 0 specifies no limit.
1811 You can set a default value using the environment variable RSYNC_MAX_ALLOC
1812 using the same SIZE values as supported by this option. If the remote
1813 rsync doesn't understand the `--max-alloc` option, you can override an
1814 environmental value by specifying `--max-alloc=1g`, which will make rsync
1815 avoid sending the option to the remote side (because "1G" is the default).
1817 0. `--block-size=SIZE`, `-B`
1819 This forces the block size used in rsync's delta-transfer algorithm to a
1820 fixed value. It is normally selected based on the size of each file being
1821 updated. See the technical report for details.
1823 Beginning in 3.2.3 the SIZE can be specified with a suffix as detailed in
1824 the `--max-size` option. Older versions only accepted a byte count.
1826 0. `--rsh=COMMAND`, `-e`
1828 This option allows you to choose an alternative remote shell program to use
1829 for communication between the local and remote copies of rsync. Typically,
1830 rsync is configured to use ssh by default, but you may prefer to use rsh on
1833 If this option is used with `[user@]host::module/path`, then the remote
1834 shell _COMMAND_ will be used to run an rsync daemon on the remote host, and
1835 all data will be transmitted through that remote shell connection, rather
1836 than through a direct socket connection to a running rsync daemon on the
1837 remote host. See the section "USING RSYNC-DAEMON FEATURES VIA A
1838 REMOTE-SHELL CONNECTION" above.
1840 Beginning with rsync 3.2.0, the RSYNC_PORT environment variable will be set
1841 when a daemon connection is being made via a remote-shell connection. It
1842 is set to 0 if the default daemon port is being assumed, or it is set to
1843 the value of the rsync port that was specified via either the `--port`
1844 option or a non-empty port value in an rsync:// URL. This allows the
1845 script to discern if a non-default port is being requested, allowing for
1846 things such as an SSL or stunnel helper script to connect to a default or
1849 Command-line arguments are permitted in COMMAND provided that COMMAND is
1850 presented to rsync as a single argument. You must use spaces (not tabs or
1851 other whitespace) to separate the command and args from each other, and you
1852 can use single- and/or double-quotes to preserve spaces in an argument (but
1853 not backslashes). Note that doubling a single-quote inside a single-quoted
1854 string gives you a single-quote; likewise for double-quotes (though you
1855 need to pay attention to which quotes your shell is parsing and which
1856 quotes rsync is parsing). Some examples:
1859 > -e 'ssh -o "ProxyCommand nohup ssh firewall nc -w1 %h %p"'
1861 (Note that ssh users can alternately customize site-specific connect
1862 options in their .ssh/config file.)
1864 You can also choose the remote shell program using the RSYNC_RSH
1865 environment variable, which accepts the same range of values as `-e`.
1867 See also the `--blocking-io` option which is affected by this option.
1869 0. `--rsync-path=PROGRAM`
1871 Use this to specify what program is to be run on the remote machine to
1872 start-up rsync. Often used when rsync is not in the default remote-shell's
1873 path (e.g. `--rsync-path=/usr/local/bin/rsync`). Note that PROGRAM is run
1874 with the help of a shell, so it can be any program, script, or command
1875 sequence you'd care to run, so long as it does not corrupt the standard-in
1876 & standard-out that rsync is using to communicate.
1878 One tricky example is to set a different default directory on the remote
1879 machine for use with the `--relative` option. For instance:
1881 > rsync -avR --rsync-path="cd /a/b && rsync" host:c/d /e/
1883 0. `--remote-option=OPTION`, `-M`
1885 This option is used for more advanced situations where you want certain
1886 effects to be limited to one side of the transfer only. For instance, if
1887 you want to pass `--log-file=FILE` and `--fake-super` to the remote system,
1888 specify it like this:
1890 > rsync -av -M --log-file=foo -M--fake-super src/ dest/
1892 If you want to have an option affect only the local side of a transfer when
1893 it normally affects both sides, send its negation to the remote side. Like
1896 > rsync -av -x -M--no-x src/ dest/
1898 Be cautious using this, as it is possible to toggle an option that will
1899 cause rsync to have a different idea about what data to expect next over
1900 the socket, and that will make it fail in a cryptic fashion.
1902 Note that it is best to use a separate `--remote-option` for each option
1903 you want to pass. This makes your usage compatible with the
1904 `--protect-args` option. If that option is off, any spaces in your remote
1905 options will be split by the remote shell unless you take steps to protect
1908 When performing a local transfer, the "local" side is the sender and the
1909 "remote" side is the receiver.
1911 Note some versions of the popt option-parsing library have a bug in them
1912 that prevents you from using an adjacent arg with an equal in it next to a
1913 short option letter (e.g. `-M--log-file=/tmp/foo`). If this bug affects
1914 your version of popt, you can use the version of popt that is included with
1917 0. `--cvs-exclude`, `-C`
1919 This is a useful shorthand for excluding a broad range of files that you
1920 often don't want to transfer between systems. It uses a similar algorithm
1921 to CVS to determine if a file should be ignored.
1923 The exclude list is initialized to exclude the following items (these
1924 initial items are marked as perishable -- see the FILTER RULES section):
1926 [comment]: # (This list gets used for the default-cvsignore.h file.)
1965 then, files listed in a $HOME/.cvsignore are added to the list and any
1966 files listed in the CVSIGNORE environment variable (all cvsignore names are
1967 delimited by whitespace).
1969 Finally, any file is ignored if it is in the same directory as a .cvsignore
1970 file and matches one of the patterns listed therein. Unlike rsync's
1971 filter/exclude files, these patterns are split on whitespace. See the
1972 **cvs**(1) manual for more information.
1974 If you're combining `-C` with your own `--filter` rules, you should note
1975 that these CVS excludes are appended at the end of your own rules,
1976 regardless of where the `-C` was placed on the command-line. This makes
1977 them a lower priority than any rules you specified explicitly. If you want
1978 to control where these CVS excludes get inserted into your filter rules,
1979 you should omit the `-C` as a command-line option and use a combination of
1980 `--filter=:C` and `--filter=-C` (either on your command-line or by putting
1981 the ":C" and "-C" rules into a filter file with your other rules). The
1982 first option turns on the per-directory scanning for the .cvsignore file.
1983 The second option does a one-time import of the CVS excludes mentioned
1986 0. `--filter=RULE`, `-f`
1988 This option allows you to add rules to selectively exclude certain files
1989 from the list of files to be transferred. This is most useful in
1990 combination with a recursive transfer.
1992 You may use as many `--filter` options on the command line as you like to
1993 build up the list of files to exclude. If the filter contains whitespace,
1994 be sure to quote it so that the shell gives the rule to rsync as a single
1995 argument. The text below also mentions that you can use an underscore to
1996 replace the space that separates a rule from its arg.
1998 See the FILTER RULES section for detailed information on this option.
2002 The `-F` option is a shorthand for adding two `--filter` rules to your
2003 command. The first time it is used is a shorthand for this rule:
2005 > --filter='dir-merge /.rsync-filter'
2007 This tells rsync to look for per-directory .rsync-filter files that have
2008 been sprinkled through the hierarchy and use their rules to filter the
2009 files in the transfer. If `-F` is repeated, it is a shorthand for this
2012 > --filter='exclude .rsync-filter'
2014 This filters out the .rsync-filter files themselves from the transfer.
2016 See the FILTER RULES section for detailed information on how these options
2019 0. `--exclude=PATTERN`
2021 This option is a simplified form of the `--filter` option that defaults to
2022 an exclude rule and does not allow the full rule-parsing syntax of normal
2025 See the FILTER RULES section for detailed information on this option.
2027 0. `--exclude-from=FILE`
2029 This option is related to the `--exclude` option, but it specifies a FILE
2030 that contains exclude patterns (one per line). Blank lines in the file and
2031 lines starting with '`;`' or '`#`' are ignored. If _FILE_ is '`-`', the
2032 list will be read from standard input.
2034 0. `--include=PATTERN`
2036 This option is a simplified form of the `--filter` option that defaults to
2037 an include rule and does not allow the full rule-parsing syntax of normal
2040 See the FILTER RULES section for detailed information on this option.
2042 0. `--include-from=FILE`
2044 This option is related to the `--include` option, but it specifies a FILE
2045 that contains include patterns (one per line). Blank lines in the file and
2046 lines starting with '`;`' or '`#`' are ignored. If _FILE_ is '`-`', the
2047 list will be read from standard input.
2049 0. `--files-from=FILE`
2051 Using this option allows you to specify the exact list of files to transfer
2052 (as read from the specified FILE or '`-`' for standard input). It also
2053 tweaks the default behavior of rsync to make transferring just the
2054 specified files and directories easier:
2056 - The `--relative` (`-R`) option is implied, which preserves the path
2057 information that is specified for each item in the file (use
2058 `--no-relative` or `--no-R` if you want to turn that off).
2059 - The `--dirs` (`-d`) option is implied, which will create directories
2060 specified in the list on the destination rather than noisily skipping
2061 them (use `--no-dirs` or `--no-d` if you want to turn that off).
2062 - The `--archive` (`-a`) option's behavior does not imply `--recursive`
2063 (`-r`), so specify it explicitly, if you want it.
2064 - These side-effects change the default state of rsync, so the position of
2065 the `--files-from` option on the command-line has no bearing on how other
2066 options are parsed (e.g. `-a` works the same before or after
2067 `--files-from`, as does `--no-R` and all other options).
2069 The filenames that are read from the FILE are all relative to the source
2070 dir -- any leading slashes are removed and no ".." references are allowed
2071 to go higher than the source dir. For example, take this command:
2073 > rsync -a --files-from=/tmp/foo /usr remote:/backup
2075 If /tmp/foo contains the string "bin" (or even "/bin"), the /usr/bin
2076 directory will be created as /backup/bin on the remote host. If it
2077 contains "bin/" (note the trailing slash), the immediate contents of the
2078 directory would also be sent (without needing to be explicitly mentioned in
2079 the file -- this began in version 2.6.4). In both cases, if the `-r`
2080 option was enabled, that dir's entire hierarchy would also be transferred
2081 (keep in mind that `-r` needs to be specified explicitly with
2082 `--files-from`, since it is not implied by `-a`). Also note that the
2083 effect of the (enabled by default) `--relative` option is to duplicate only
2084 the path info that is read from the file -- it does not force the
2085 duplication of the source-spec path (/usr in this case).
2087 In addition, the `--files-from` file can be read from the remote host
2088 instead of the local host if you specify a "host:" in front of the file
2089 (the host must match one end of the transfer). As a short-cut, you can
2090 specify just a prefix of ":" to mean "use the remote end of the transfer".
2093 > rsync -a --files-from=:/path/file-list src:/ /tmp/copy
2095 This would copy all the files specified in the /path/file-list file that
2096 was located on the remote "src" host.
2098 If the `--iconv` and `--protect-args` options are specified and the
2099 `--files-from` filenames are being sent from one host to another, the
2100 filenames will be translated from the sending host's charset to the
2101 receiving host's charset.
2103 NOTE: sorting the list of files in the `--files-from` input helps rsync to
2104 be more efficient, as it will avoid re-visiting the path elements that are
2105 shared between adjacent entries. If the input is not sorted, some path
2106 elements (implied directories) may end up being scanned multiple times, and
2107 rsync will eventually unduplicate them after they get turned into file-list
2112 This tells rsync that the rules/filenames it reads from a file are
2113 terminated by a null ('\\0') character, not a NL, CR, or CR+LF. This
2114 affects `--exclude-from`, `--include-from`, `--files-from`, and any merged
2115 files specified in a `--filter` rule. It does not affect `--cvs-exclude`
2116 (since all names read from a .cvsignore file are split on whitespace).
2118 0. `--protect-args`, `-s`
2120 This option sends all filenames and most options to the remote rsync
2121 without allowing the remote shell to interpret them. This means that
2122 spaces are not split in names, and any non-wildcard special characters are
2123 not translated (such as `~`, `$`, `;`, `&`, etc.). Wildcards are expanded
2124 on the remote host by rsync (instead of the shell doing it).
2126 If you use this option with `--iconv`, the args related to the remote side
2127 will also be translated from the local to the remote character-set. The
2128 translation happens before wild-cards are expanded. See also the
2129 `--files-from` option.
2131 You may also control this option via the RSYNC_PROTECT_ARGS environment
2132 variable. If this variable has a non-zero value, this option will be
2133 enabled by default, otherwise it will be disabled by default. Either state
2134 is overridden by a manually specified positive or negative version of this
2135 option (note that `--no-s` and `--no-protect-args` are the negative
2136 versions). Since this option was first introduced in 3.0.0, you'll need to
2137 make sure it's disabled if you ever need to interact with a remote rsync
2138 that is older than that.
2140 Rsync can also be configured (at build time) to have this option enabled by
2141 default (with is overridden by both the environment and the command-line).
2142 Run `rsync --version` to check if this is the case, as it will display
2143 "default protect-args" or "optional protect-args" depending on how it was
2146 This option will eventually become a new default setting at some
2147 as-yet-undetermined point in the future.
2149 0. `--copy-as=USER[:GROUP]`
2151 This option instructs rsync to use the USER and (if specified after a
2152 colon) the GROUP for the copy operations. This only works if the user that
2153 is running rsync has the ability to change users. If the group is not
2154 specified then the user's default groups are used.
2156 This option can help to reduce the risk of an rsync being run as root into
2157 or out of a directory that might have live changes happening to it and you
2158 want to make sure that root-level read or write actions of system files are
2159 not possible. While you could alternatively run all of rsync as the
2160 specified user, sometimes you need the root-level host-access credentials
2161 to be used, so this allows rsync to drop root for the copying part of the
2162 operation after the remote-shell or daemon connection is established.
2164 The option only affects one side of the transfer unless the transfer is
2165 local, in which case it affects both sides. Use the `--remote-option` to
2166 affect the remote side, such as `-M--copy-as=joe`. For a local transfer,
2167 the lsh (or lsh.sh) support file provides a local-shell helper script that
2168 can be used to allow a "localhost:" or "lh:" host-spec to be specified
2169 without needing to setup any remote shells, allowing you to specify remote
2170 options that affect the side of the transfer that is using the host-spec
2171 (and using hostname "lh" avoids the overriding of the remote directory to
2172 the user's home dir).
2174 For example, the following rsync writes the local files as user "joe":
2176 > sudo rsync -aiv --copy-as=joe host1:backups/joe/ /home/joe/
2178 This makes all files owned by user "joe", limits the groups to those that
2179 are available to that user, and makes it impossible for the joe user to do
2180 a timed exploit of the path to induce a change to a file that the joe user
2181 has no permissions to change.
2183 The following command does a local copy into the "dest/" dir as user "joe"
2184 (assumimg you've installed support/lsh into a dir on your $PATH):
2186 > sudo rsync -aive lsh -M--copy-as=joe src/ lh:dest/
2188 0. `--temp-dir=DIR`, `-T`
2190 This option instructs rsync to use DIR as a scratch directory when creating
2191 temporary copies of the files transferred on the receiving side. The
2192 default behavior is to create each temporary file in the same directory as
2193 the associated destination file. Beginning with rsync 3.1.1, the temp-file
2194 names inside the specified DIR will not be prefixed with an extra dot
2195 (though they will still have a random suffix added).
2197 This option is most often used when the receiving disk partition does not
2198 have enough free space to hold a copy of the largest file in the transfer.
2199 In this case (i.e. when the scratch directory is on a different disk
2200 partition), rsync will not be able to rename each received temporary file
2201 over the top of the associated destination file, but instead must copy it
2202 into place. Rsync does this by copying the file over the top of the
2203 destination file, which means that the destination file will contain
2204 truncated data during this copy. If this were not done this way (even if
2205 the destination file were first removed, the data locally copied to a
2206 temporary file in the destination directory, and then renamed into place)
2207 it would be possible for the old file to continue taking up disk space (if
2208 someone had it open), and thus there might not be enough room to fit the
2209 new version on the disk at the same time.
2211 If you are using this option for reasons other than a shortage of disk
2212 space, you may wish to combine it with the `--delay-updates` option, which
2213 will ensure that all copied files get put into subdirectories in the
2214 destination hierarchy, awaiting the end of the transfer. If you don't have
2215 enough room to duplicate all the arriving files on the destination
2216 partition, another way to tell rsync that you aren't overly concerned about
2217 disk space is to use the `--partial-dir` option with a relative path;
2218 because this tells rsync that it is OK to stash off a copy of a single file
2219 in a subdir in the destination hierarchy, rsync will use the partial-dir as
2220 a staging area to bring over the copied file, and then rename it into place
2221 from there. (Specifying a `--partial-dir` with an absolute path does not
2222 have this side-effect.)
2226 This option tells rsync that it should look for a basis file for any
2227 destination file that is missing. The current algorithm looks in the same
2228 directory as the destination file for either a file that has an identical
2229 size and modified-time, or a similarly-named file. If found, rsync uses
2230 the fuzzy basis file to try to speed up the transfer.
2232 If the option is repeated, the fuzzy scan will also be done in any matching
2233 alternate destination directories that are specified via `--compare-dest`,
2234 `--copy-dest`, or `--link-dest`.
2236 Note that the use of the `--delete` option might get rid of any potential
2237 fuzzy-match files, so either use `--delete-after` or specify some filename
2238 exclusions if you need to prevent this.
2240 0. `--compare-dest=DIR`
2242 This option instructs rsync to use _DIR_ on the destination machine as an
2243 additional hierarchy to compare destination files against doing transfers
2244 (if the files are missing in the destination directory). If a file is
2245 found in _DIR_ that is identical to the sender's file, the file will NOT be
2246 transferred to the destination directory. This is useful for creating a
2247 sparse backup of just files that have changed from an earlier backup. This
2248 option is typically used to copy into an empty (or newly created)
2251 Beginning in version 2.6.4, multiple `--compare-dest` directories may be
2252 provided, which will cause rsync to search the list in the order specified
2253 for an exact match. If a match is found that differs only in attributes, a
2254 local copy is made and the attributes updated. If a match is not found, a
2255 basis file from one of the _DIRs_ will be selected to try to speed up the
2258 If _DIR_ is a relative path, it is relative to the destination directory.
2259 See also `--copy-dest` and `--link-dest`.
2261 NOTE: beginning with version 3.1.0, rsync will remove a file from a
2262 non-empty destination hierarchy if an exact match is found in one of the
2263 compare-dest hierarchies (making the end result more closely match a fresh
2266 0. `--copy-dest=DIR`
2268 This option behaves like `--compare-dest`, but rsync will also copy
2269 unchanged files found in _DIR_ to the destination directory using a local
2270 copy. This is useful for doing transfers to a new destination while
2271 leaving existing files intact, and then doing a flash-cutover when all
2272 files have been successfully transferred.
2274 Multiple `--copy-dest` directories may be provided, which will cause rsync
2275 to search the list in the order specified for an unchanged file. If a
2276 match is not found, a basis file from one of the _DIRs_ will be selected to
2277 try to speed up the transfer.
2279 If _DIR_ is a relative path, it is relative to the destination directory.
2280 See also `--compare-dest` and `--link-dest`.
2282 0. `--link-dest=DIR`
2284 This option behaves like `--copy-dest`, but unchanged files are hard linked
2285 from _DIR_ to the destination directory. The files must be identical in
2286 all preserved attributes (e.g. permissions, possibly ownership) in order
2287 for the files to be linked together. An example:
2289 > rsync -av --link-dest=$PWD/prior_dir host:src_dir/ new_dir/
2291 If file's aren't linking, double-check their attributes. Also check if
2292 some attributes are getting forced outside of rsync's control, such a mount
2293 option that squishes root to a single user, or mounts a removable drive
2294 with generic ownership (such as OS X's "Ignore ownership on this volume"
2297 Beginning in version 2.6.4, multiple `--link-dest` directories may be
2298 provided, which will cause rsync to search the list in the order specified
2299 for an exact match (there is a limit of 20 such directories). If a match
2300 is found that differs only in attributes, a local copy is made and the
2301 attributes updated. If a match is not found, a basis file from one of the
2302 _DIRs_ will be selected to try to speed up the transfer.
2304 This option works best when copying into an empty destination hierarchy, as
2305 existing files may get their attributes tweaked, and that can affect
2306 alternate destination files via hard-links. Also, itemizing of changes can
2307 get a bit muddled. Note that prior to version 3.1.0, an
2308 alternate-directory exact match would never be found (nor linked into the
2309 destination) when a destination file already exists.
2311 Note that if you combine this option with `--ignore-times`, rsync will not
2312 link any files together because it only links identical files together as a
2313 substitute for transferring the file, never as an additional check after
2314 the file is updated.
2316 If _DIR_ is a relative path, it is relative to the destination directory.
2317 See also `--compare-dest` and `--copy-dest`.
2319 Note that rsync versions prior to 2.6.1 had a bug that could prevent
2320 `--link-dest` from working properly for a non-super-user when `-o` was
2321 specified (or implied by `-a`). You can work-around this bug by avoiding
2322 the `-o` option when sending to an old rsync.
2324 0. `--compress`, `-z`
2326 With this option, rsync compresses the file data as it is sent to the
2327 destination machine, which reduces the amount of data being transmitted --
2328 something that is useful over a slow connection.
2330 Rsync supports multiple compression methods and will choose one for you
2331 unless you force the choice using the `--compress-choice` (`--zc`) option.
2333 Run `rsync --version` to see the default compress list compiled into your
2336 When both sides of the transfer are at least 3.2.0, rsync chooses the first
2337 algorithm in the client's list of choices that is also in the server's list
2338 of choices. If no common compress choice is found, rsync exits with
2339 an error. If the remote rsync is too old to support checksum negotiation,
2340 its list is assumed to be "zlib".
2342 The default order can be customized by setting the environment variable
2343 RSYNC_COMPRESS_LIST to a space-separated list of acceptable compression
2344 names. If the string contains a "`&`" character, it is separated into the
2345 "client string & server string", otherwise the same string applies to both.
2346 If the string (or string portion) contains no
2347 non-whitespace characters, the default compress list is used. Any unknown
2348 compression names are discarded from the list, but a list with only invalid
2349 names results in a failed negotiation.
2351 There are some older rsync versions that were configured to reject a `-z`
2352 option and require the use of `-zz` because their compression library was
2353 not compatible with the default zlib compression method. You can usually
2354 ignore this weirdness unless the rsync server complains and tells you to
2357 See also the `--skip-compress` option for the default list of file suffixes
2358 that will trasnferred with no (or minimal) compression.
2360 0. `--compress-choice=STR`, `--zc=STR`
2362 This option can be used to override the automatic negotiation of the
2363 compression algorithm that occurs when `--compress` is used. The option
2364 implies `--compress` unless "none" was specified, which instead implies
2367 The compression options that you may be able to use are:
2375 Run `rsync --version` to see the default compress list compiled into your
2376 version (which may differ from the list above).
2378 Note that if you see an error about an option named `--old-compress` or
2379 `--new-compress`, this is rsync trying to send the `--compress-choice=zlib`
2380 or `--compress-choice=zlibx` option in a backward-compatible manner that
2381 more rsync versions understand. This error indicates that the older rsync
2382 version on the server will not allow you to force the compression type.
2384 Note that the "zlibx" compression algorithm is just the "zlib" algorithm
2385 with matched data excluded from the compression stream (to try to make it
2386 more compatible with an external zlib implementation).
2388 0. `--compress-level=NUM`, `--zl=NUM`
2390 Explicitly set the compression level to use (see `--compress`, `-z`)
2391 instead of letting it default. The `--compress` option is implied as long
2392 as the level chosen is not a "don't compress" level for the compression
2393 algorithm that is in effect (e.g. zlib compression treats level 0 as
2396 The level values vary depending on the checksum in effect. Because rsync
2397 will negotiate a checksum choice by default (when the remote rsync is new
2398 enough), it can be good to combine this option with a `--compress-choice`
2399 (`--zc`) option unless you're sure of the choice in effect. For example:
2401 > rsync -aiv --zc=zstd --zl=22 host:src/ dest/
2403 For zlib & zlibx compression the valid values are from 1 to 9 with 6 being
2404 the default. Specifying 0 turns compression off, and specifying -1 chooses
2407 For zstd compression the valid values are from -131072 to 22 with 3 being
2408 the default. Specifying 0 chooses the default of 3.
2410 For lz4 compression there are no levels, so the value is always 0.
2412 If you specify a too-large or too-small value, the number is silently
2413 limited to a valid value. This allows you to specify something like
2414 `--zl=999999999` and be assured that you'll end up with the maximum
2415 compression level no matter what algorithm was chosen.
2417 If you want to know the compression level that is in effect, specify
2418 `--debug=nstr` to see the "negotiated string" results. This will report
2419 something like "`Client compress: zstd (level 3)`" (along with the checksum
2422 0. `--skip-compress=LIST`
2424 Override the list of file suffixes that will be compressed as little as
2425 possible. Rsync sets the compression level on a per-file basis based on
2426 the file's suffix. If the compression algorithm has an "off" level (such
2427 as zlib/zlibx) then no compression occurs for those files. Other
2428 algorithms that support changing the streaming level on-the-fly will have
2429 the level minimized to reduces the CPU usage as much as possible for a
2430 matching file. At this time, only zlib & zlibx compression support this
2431 changing of levels on a per-file basis.
2433 The **LIST** should be one or more file suffixes (without the dot) separated
2434 by slashes (`/`). You may specify an empty string to indicate that no files
2437 Simple character-class matching is supported: each must consist of a list
2438 of letters inside the square brackets (e.g. no special classes, such as
2439 "[:alpha:]", are supported, and '-' has no special meaning).
2441 The characters asterisk (`*`) and question-mark (`?`) have no special meaning.
2443 Here's an example that specifies 6 suffixes to skip (since 1 of the 5 rules
2444 matches 2 suffixes):
2446 > --skip-compress=gz/jpg/mp[34]/7z/bz2
2448 The default file suffixes in the skip-compress list in this version of
2451 [comment]: # (This list gets used for the default-dont-compress.h file.)
2514 This list will be replaced by your `--skip-compress` list in all but one
2515 situation: a copy from a daemon rsync will add your skipped suffixes to its
2516 list of non-compressing files (and its list may be configured to a
2521 With this option rsync will transfer numeric group and user IDs rather than
2522 using user and group names and mapping them at both ends.
2524 By default rsync will use the username and groupname to determine what
2525 ownership to give files. The special uid 0 and the special group 0 are
2526 never mapped via user/group names even if the `--numeric-ids` option is not
2529 If a user or group has no name on the source system or it has no match on
2530 the destination system, then the numeric ID from the source system is used
2531 instead. See also the comments on the "`use chroot`" setting in the
2532 rsyncd.conf manpage for information on how the chroot setting affects
2533 rsync's ability to look up the names of the users and groups and what you
2536 0. `--usermap=STRING`, `--groupmap=STRING`
2538 These options allow you to specify users and groups that should be mapped
2539 to other values by the receiving side. The **STRING** is one or more
2540 **FROM**:**TO** pairs of values separated by commas. Any matching **FROM**
2541 value from the sender is replaced with a **TO** value from the receiver.
2542 You may specify usernames or user IDs for the **FROM** and **TO** values,
2543 and the **FROM** value may also be a wild-card string, which will be
2544 matched against the sender's names (wild-cards do NOT match against ID
2545 numbers, though see below for why a '`*`' matches everything). You may
2546 instead specify a range of ID numbers via an inclusive range: LOW-HIGH.
2549 > --usermap=0-99:nobody,wayne:admin,*:normal --groupmap=usr:1,1:usr
2551 The first match in the list is the one that is used. You should specify
2552 all your user mappings using a single `--usermap` option, and/or all your
2553 group mappings using a single `--groupmap` option.
2555 Note that the sender's name for the 0 user and group are not transmitted to
2556 the receiver, so you should either match these values using a 0, or use the
2557 names in effect on the receiving side (typically "root"). All other
2558 **FROM** names match those in use on the sending side. All **TO** names
2559 match those in use on the receiving side.
2561 Any IDs that do not have a name on the sending side are treated as having
2562 an empty name for the purpose of matching. This allows them to be matched
2563 via a "`*`" or using an empty name. For instance:
2565 > --usermap=:nobody --groupmap=*:nobody
2567 When the `--numeric-ids` option is used, the sender does not send any
2568 names, so all the IDs are treated as having an empty name. This means that
2569 you will need to specify numeric **FROM** values if you want to map these
2570 nameless IDs to different values.
2572 For the `--usermap` option to have any effect, the `-o` (`--owner`) option
2573 must be used (or implied), and the receiver will need to be running as a
2574 super-user (see also the `--fake-super` option). For the `--groupmap`
2575 option to have any effect, the `-g` (`--groups`) option must be used (or
2576 implied), and the receiver will need to have permissions to set that group.
2578 0. `--chown=USER:GROUP`
2580 This option forces all files to be owned by USER with group GROUP. This is
2581 a simpler interface than using `--usermap` and `--groupmap` directly, but
2582 it is implemented using those options internally, so you cannot mix them.
2583 If either the USER or GROUP is empty, no mapping for the omitted user/group
2584 will occur. If GROUP is empty, the trailing colon may be omitted, but if
2585 USER is empty, a leading colon must be supplied.
2587 If you specify "`--chown=foo:bar`", this is exactly the same as specifying
2588 "`--usermap=*:foo --groupmap=*:bar`", only easier.
2590 0. `--timeout=SECONDS`
2592 This option allows you to set a maximum I/O timeout in seconds. If no data
2593 is transferred for the specified time then rsync will exit. The default is
2594 0, which means no timeout.
2596 0. `--contimeout=SECONDS`
2598 This option allows you to set the amount of time that rsync will wait for
2599 its connection to an rsync daemon to succeed. If the timeout is reached,
2600 rsync exits with an error.
2602 0. `--address=ADDRESS`
2604 By default rsync will bind to the wildcard address when connecting to an
2605 rsync daemon. The `--address` option allows you to specify a specific IP
2606 address (or hostname) to bind to. See also this option in the `--daemon`
2611 This specifies an alternate TCP port number to use rather than the default
2612 of 873. This is only needed if you are using the double-colon (::) syntax
2613 to connect with an rsync daemon (since the URL syntax has a way to specify
2614 the port as a part of the URL). See also this option in the `--daemon`
2617 0. `--sockopts=OPTIONS`
2619 This option can provide endless fun for people who like to tune their
2620 systems to the utmost degree. You can set all sorts of socket options
2621 which may make transfers faster (or slower!). Read the man page for the
2622 `setsockopt()` system call for details on some of the options you may be
2623 able to set. By default no special socket options are set. This only
2624 affects direct socket connections to a remote rsync daemon.
2626 This option also exists in the `--daemon` mode section.
2630 This tells rsync to use blocking I/O when launching a remote shell
2631 transport. If the remote shell is either rsh or remsh, rsync defaults to
2632 using blocking I/O, otherwise it defaults to using non-blocking I/O. (Note
2633 that ssh prefers non-blocking I/O.)
2637 This sets the output buffering mode. The mode can be None (aka
2638 Unbuffered), Line, or Block (aka Full). You may specify as little as a
2639 single letter for the mode, and use upper or lower case.
2641 The main use of this option is to change Full buffering to Line buffering
2642 when rsync's output is going to a file or pipe.
2644 0. `--itemize-changes`, `-i`
2646 Requests a simple itemized list of the changes that are being made to each
2647 file, including attribute changes. This is exactly the same as specifying
2648 `--out-format='%i %n%L'`. If you repeat the option, unchanged files will
2649 also be output, but only if the receiving rsync is at least version 2.6.7
2650 (you can use `-vv` with older versions of rsync, but that also turns on the
2651 output of other verbose messages).
2653 The "%i" escape has a cryptic output that is 11 letters long. The general
2654 format is like the string `YXcstpoguax`, where **Y** is replaced by the type
2655 of update being done, **X** is replaced by the file-type, and the other
2656 letters represent attributes that may be output if they are being modified.
2658 The update types that replace the **Y** are as follows:
2660 - A `<` means that a file is being transferred to the remote host (sent).
2661 - A `>` means that a file is being transferred to the local host
2663 - A `c` means that a local change/creation is occurring for the item (such
2664 as the creation of a directory or the changing of a symlink, etc.).
2665 - A `h` means that the item is a hard link to another item (requires
2667 - A `.` means that the item is not being updated (though it might have
2668 attributes that are being modified).
2669 - A `*` means that the rest of the itemized-output area contains a message
2672 The file-types that replace the **X** are: `f` for a file, a `d` for a
2673 directory, an `L` for a symlink, a `D` for a device, and a `S` for a
2674 special file (e.g. named sockets and fifos).
2676 The other letters in the string indicate if some attributes of the file
2677 have changed, as follows:
2679 - "`.`" - the attribute is unchanged.
2680 - "`+`" - the file is newly created.
2681 - "`Â `" - all the attributes are unchanged (all dots turn to spaces).
2682 - "`?`" - the change is unknown (when the remote rsync is old).
2683 - A letter indicates an attribute is being updated.
2685 The attribute that is associated with each letter is as follows:
2687 - A `c` means either that a regular file has a different checksum (requires
2688 `--checksum`) or that a symlink, device, or special file has a changed
2689 value. Note that if you are sending files to an rsync prior to 3.0.1,
2690 this change flag will be present only for checksum-differing regular
2692 - A `s` means the size of a regular file is different and will be updated
2693 by the file transfer.
2694 - A `t` means the modification time is different and is being updated to
2695 the sender's value (requires `--times`). An alternate value of `T` means
2696 that the modification time will be set to the transfer time, which
2697 happens when a file/symlink/device is updated without `--times` and when
2698 a symlink is changed and the receiver can't set its time. (Note: when
2699 using an rsync 3.0.0 client, you might see the `s` flag combined with `t`
2700 instead of the proper `T` flag for this time-setting failure.)
2701 - A `p` means the permissions are different and are being updated to the
2702 sender's value (requires `--perms`).
2703 - An `o` means the owner is different and is being updated to the sender's
2704 value (requires `--owner` and super-user privileges).
2705 - A `g` means the group is different and is being updated to the sender's
2706 value (requires `--group` and the authority to set the group).
2707 - A `u`|`n`|`b` indicates the following information: `u` means the access
2708 (use) time is different and is being updated to the sender's value
2709 (requires `--atimes`); `n` means the create time (newness) is different
2710 and is being updated to the sender's value (requires `--crtimes`); `b`
2711 means that both the access and create times are being updated.
2712 - The `a` means that the ACL information is being changed.
2713 - The `x` means that the extended attribute information is being changed.
2715 One other output is possible: when deleting files, the "%i" will output the
2716 string "`*deleting`" for each item that is being removed (assuming that you
2717 are talking to a recent enough rsync that it logs deletions instead of
2718 outputting them as a verbose message).
2720 0. `--out-format=FORMAT`
2722 This allows you to specify exactly what the rsync client outputs to the
2723 user on a per-update basis. The format is a text string containing
2724 embedded single-character escape sequences prefixed with a percent (%)
2725 character. A default format of "%n%L" is assumed if either `--info=name`
2726 or `-v` is specified (this tells you just the name of the file and, if the
2727 item is a link, where it points). For a full list of the possible escape
2728 characters, see the "`log format`" setting in the rsyncd.conf manpage.
2730 Specifying the `--out-format` option implies the `--info=name` option,
2731 which will mention each file, dir, etc. that gets updated in a significant
2732 way (a transferred file, a recreated symlink/device, or a touched
2733 directory). In addition, if the itemize-changes escape (%i) is included in
2734 the string (e.g. if the `--itemize-changes` option was used), the logging
2735 of names increases to mention any item that is changed in any way (as long
2736 as the receiving side is at least 2.6.4). See the `--itemize-changes`
2737 option for a description of the output of "%i".
2739 Rsync will output the out-format string prior to a file's transfer unless
2740 one of the transfer-statistic escapes is requested, in which case the
2741 logging is done at the end of the file's transfer. When this late logging
2742 is in effect and `--progress` is also specified, rsync will also output the
2743 name of the file being transferred prior to its progress information
2744 (followed, of course, by the out-format output).
2746 0. `--log-file=FILE`
2748 This option causes rsync to log what it is doing to a file. This is
2749 similar to the logging that a daemon does, but can be requested for the
2750 client side and/or the server side of a non-daemon transfer. If specified
2751 as a client option, transfer logging will be enabled with a default format
2752 of "%i %n%L". See the `--log-file-format` option if you wish to override
2755 Here's a example command that requests the remote side to log what is
2758 > rsync -av --remote-option=--log-file=/tmp/rlog src/ dest/
2760 This is very useful if you need to debug why a connection is closing
2763 0. `--log-file-format=FORMAT`
2765 This allows you to specify exactly what per-update logging is put into the
2766 file specified by the `--log-file` option (which must also be specified for
2767 this option to have any effect). If you specify an empty string, updated
2768 files will not be mentioned in the log file. For a list of the possible
2769 escape characters, see the "`log format`" setting in the rsyncd.conf manpage.
2771 The default FORMAT used if `--log-file` is specified and this option is not
2776 This tells rsync to print a verbose set of statistics on the file transfer,
2777 allowing you to tell how effective rsync's delta-transfer algorithm is for
2778 your data. This option is equivalent to `--info=stats2` if combined with 0
2779 or 1 `-v` options, or `--info=stats3` if combined with 2 or more `-v`
2782 The current statistics are as follows:
2784 - `Number of files` is the count of all "files" (in the generic sense),
2785 which includes directories, symlinks, etc. The total count will be
2786 followed by a list of counts by filetype (if the total is non-zero). For
2787 example: "(reg: 5, dir: 3, link: 2, dev: 1, special: 1)" lists the totals
2788 for regular files, directories, symlinks, devices, and special files. If
2789 any of value is 0, it is completely omitted from the list.
2790 - `Number of created files` is the count of how many "files" (generic
2791 sense) were created (as opposed to updated). The total count will be
2792 followed by a list of counts by filetype (if the total is non-zero).
2793 - `Number of deleted files` is the count of how many "files" (generic
2794 sense) were created (as opposed to updated). The total count will be
2795 followed by a list of counts by filetype (if the total is non-zero).
2796 Note that this line is only output if deletions are in effect, and only
2797 if protocol 31 is being used (the default for rsync 3.1.x).
2798 - `Number of regular files transferred` is the count of normal files that
2799 were updated via rsync's delta-transfer algorithm, which does not include
2800 dirs, symlinks, etc. Note that rsync 3.1.0 added the word "regular" into
2802 - `Total file size` is the total sum of all file sizes in the transfer.
2803 This does not count any size for directories or special files, but does
2804 include the size of symlinks.
2805 - `Total transferred file size` is the total sum of all files sizes for
2806 just the transferred files.
2807 - `Literal data` is how much unmatched file-update data we had to send to
2808 the receiver for it to recreate the updated files.
2809 - `Matched data` is how much data the receiver got locally when recreating
2811 - `File list size` is how big the file-list data was when the sender sent
2812 it to the receiver. This is smaller than the in-memory size for the file
2813 list due to some compressing of duplicated data when rsync sends the
2815 - `File list generation time` is the number of seconds that the sender
2816 spent creating the file list. This requires a modern rsync on the
2817 sending side for this to be present.
2818 - `File list transfer time` is the number of seconds that the sender spent
2819 sending the file list to the receiver.
2820 - `Total bytes sent` is the count of all the bytes that rsync sent from the
2821 client side to the server side.
2822 - `Total bytes received` is the count of all non-message bytes that rsync
2823 received by the client side from the server side. "Non-message" bytes
2824 means that we don't count the bytes for a verbose message that the server
2825 sent to us, which makes the stats more consistent.
2827 0. `--8-bit-output`, `-8`
2829 This tells rsync to leave all high-bit characters unescaped in the output
2830 instead of trying to test them to see if they're valid in the current
2831 locale and escaping the invalid ones. All control characters (but never
2832 tabs) are always escaped, regardless of this option's setting.
2834 The escape idiom that started in 2.6.7 is to output a literal backslash
2835 (`\`) and a hash (`#`), followed by exactly 3 octal digits. For example, a
2836 newline would output as "`\#012`". A literal backslash that is in a
2837 filename is not escaped unless it is followed by a hash and 3 digits (0-9).
2839 0. `--human-readable`, `-h`
2841 Output numbers in a more human-readable format. There are 3 possible
2842 levels: (1) output numbers with a separator between each set of 3 digits
2843 (either a comma or a period, depending on if the decimal point is
2844 represented by a period or a comma); (2) output numbers in units of 1000
2845 (with a character suffix for larger units -- see below); (3) output
2846 numbers in units of 1024.
2848 The default is human-readable level 1. Each `-h` option increases the
2849 level by one. You can take the level down to 0 (to output numbers as pure
2850 digits) by specifying the `--no-human-readable` (`--no-h`) option.
2852 The unit letters that are appended in levels 2 and 3 are: `K` (kilo), `M`
2853 (mega), `G` (giga), `T` (tera), or `P` (peta). For example, a 1234567-byte
2854 file would output as 1.23M in level-2 (assuming that a period is your local
2857 Backward compatibility note: versions of rsync prior to 3.1.0 do not
2858 support human-readable level 1, and they default to level 0. Thus,
2859 specifying one or two `-h` options will behave in a comparable manner in
2860 old and new versions as long as you didn't specify a `--no-h` option prior
2861 to one or more `-h` options. See the `--list-only` option for one
2866 By default, rsync will delete any partially transferred file if the
2867 transfer is interrupted. In some circumstances it is more desirable to
2868 keep partially transferred files. Using the `--partial` option tells rsync
2869 to keep the partial file which should make a subsequent transfer of the
2870 rest of the file much faster.
2872 0. `--partial-dir=DIR`
2874 A better way to keep partial files than the `--partial` option is to
2875 specify a _DIR_ that will be used to hold the partial data (instead of
2876 writing it out to the destination file). On the next transfer, rsync will
2877 use a file found in this dir as data to speed up the resumption of the
2878 transfer and then delete it after it has served its purpose.
2880 Note that if `--whole-file` is specified (or implied), any partial-dir file
2881 that is found for a file that is being updated will simply be removed
2882 (since rsync is sending files without using rsync's delta-transfer
2885 Rsync will create the _DIR_ if it is missing (just the last dir -- not the
2886 whole path). This makes it easy to use a relative path (such as
2887 "`--partial-dir=.rsync-partial`") to have rsync create the
2888 partial-directory in the destination file's directory when needed, and then
2889 remove it again when the partial file is deleted. Note that the directory
2890 is only removed if it is a relative pathname, as it is expected that an
2891 absolute path is to a directory that is reserved for partial-dir work.
2893 If the partial-dir value is not an absolute path, rsync will add an exclude
2894 rule at the end of all your existing excludes. This will prevent the
2895 sending of any partial-dir files that may exist on the sending side, and
2896 will also prevent the untimely deletion of partial-dir items on the
2897 receiving side. An example: the above `--partial-dir` option would add the
2898 equivalent of "`-f '-p .rsync-partial/'`" at the end of any other filter
2901 If you are supplying your own exclude rules, you may need to add your own
2902 exclude/hide/protect rule for the partial-dir because (1) the auto-added
2903 rule may be ineffective at the end of your other rules, or (2) you may wish
2904 to override rsync's exclude choice. For instance, if you want to make
2905 rsync clean-up any left-over partial-dirs that may be lying around, you
2906 should specify `--delete-after` and add a "risk" filter rule, e.g.
2907 `-f 'R .rsync-partial/'`. (Avoid using `--delete-before` or
2908 `--delete-during` unless you don't need rsync to use any of the left-over
2909 partial-dir data during the current run.)
2911 IMPORTANT: the `--partial-dir` should not be writable by other users or it
2912 is a security risk. E.g. AVOID "/tmp".
2914 You can also set the partial-dir value the RSYNC_PARTIAL_DIR environment
2915 variable. Setting this in the environment does not force `--partial` to be
2916 enabled, but rather it affects where partial files go when `--partial` is
2917 specified. For instance, instead of using `--partial-dir=.rsync-tmp` along
2918 with `--progress`, you could set RSYNC_PARTIAL_DIR=.rsync-tmp in your
2919 environment and then just use the `-P` option to turn on the use of the
2920 .rsync-tmp dir for partial transfers. The only times that the `--partial`
2921 option does not look for this environment value are (1) when `--inplace`
2922 was specified (since `--inplace` conflicts with `--partial-dir`), and (2)
2923 when `--delay-updates` was specified (see below).
2925 When a modern rsync resumes the transfer of a file in the partial-dir, that
2926 partial file is now updated in-place instead of creating yet another
2927 tmp-file copy (so it maxes out at dest + tmp instead of dest + partial +
2928 tmp). This requires both ends of the transfer to be at least version
2931 For the purposes of the daemon-config's "`refuse options`" setting,
2932 `--partial-dir` does _not_ imply `--partial`. This is so that a refusal of
2933 the `--partial` option can be used to disallow the overwriting of
2934 destination files with a partial transfer, while still allowing the safer
2935 idiom provided by `--partial-dir`.
2937 0. `--delay-updates`
2939 This option puts the temporary file from each updated file into a holding
2940 directory until the end of the transfer, at which time all the files are
2941 renamed into place in rapid succession. This attempts to make the updating
2942 of the files a little more atomic. By default the files are placed into a
2943 directory named `.~tmp~` in each file's destination directory, but if
2944 you've specified the `--partial-dir` option, that directory will be used
2945 instead. See the comments in the `--partial-dir` section for a discussion
2946 of how this `.~tmp~` dir will be excluded from the transfer, and what you
2947 can do if you want rsync to cleanup old `.~tmp~` dirs that might be lying
2948 around. Conflicts with `--inplace` and `--append`.
2950 This option uses more memory on the receiving side (one bit per file
2951 transferred) and also requires enough free disk space on the receiving side
2952 to hold an additional copy of all the updated files. Note also that you
2953 should not use an absolute path to `--partial-dir` unless (1) there is no
2954 chance of any of the files in the transfer having the same name (since all
2955 the updated files will be put into a single directory if the path is
2956 absolute) and (2) there are no mount points in the hierarchy (since the
2957 delayed updates will fail if they can't be renamed into place).
2959 See also the "atomic-rsync" perl script in the "support" subdir for an
2960 update algorithm that is even more atomic (it uses `--link-dest` and a
2961 parallel hierarchy of files).
2963 0. `--prune-empty-dirs`, `-m`
2965 This option tells the receiving rsync to get rid of empty directories from
2966 the file-list, including nested directories that have no non-directory
2967 children. This is useful for avoiding the creation of a bunch of useless
2968 directories when the sending rsync is recursively scanning a hierarchy of
2969 files using include/exclude/filter rules.
2971 Note that the use of transfer rules, such as the `--min-size` option, does
2972 not affect what goes into the file list, and thus does not leave
2973 directories empty, even if none of the files in a directory match the
2976 Because the file-list is actually being pruned, this option also affects
2977 what directories get deleted when a delete is active. However, keep in
2978 mind that excluded files and directories can prevent existing items from
2979 being deleted due to an exclude both hiding source files and protecting
2980 destination files. See the perishable filter-rule option for how to avoid
2983 You can prevent the pruning of certain empty directories from the file-list
2984 by using a global "protect" filter. For instance, this option would ensure
2985 that the directory "emptydir" was kept in the file-list:
2987 > --filter 'protect emptydir/'
2989 Here's an example that copies all .pdf files in a hierarchy, only creating
2990 the necessary destination directories to hold the .pdf files, and ensures
2991 that any superfluous files and directories in the destination are removed
2992 (note the hide filter of non-directories being used instead of an exclude):
2994 > rsync -avm --del --include='*.pdf' -f 'hide,! */' src/ dest
2996 If you didn't want to remove superfluous destination files, the more
2997 time-honored options of `--include='*/' --exclude='*'` would work
2998 fine in place of the hide-filter (if that is more natural to you).
3002 This option tells rsync to print information showing the progress of the
3003 transfer. This gives a bored user something to watch. With a modern rsync
3004 this is the same as specifying `--info=flist2,name,progress`, but any
3005 user-supplied settings for those info flags takes precedence (e.g.
3006 "`--info=flist0 --progress`").
3008 While rsync is transferring a regular file, it updates a progress line that
3011 > 782448 63% 110.64kB/s 0:00:04
3013 In this example, the receiver has reconstructed 782448 bytes or 63% of the
3014 sender's file, which is being reconstructed at a rate of 110.64 kilobytes
3015 per second, and the transfer will finish in 4 seconds if the current rate
3016 is maintained until the end.
3018 These statistics can be misleading if rsync's delta-transfer algorithm is
3019 in use. For example, if the sender's file consists of the basis file
3020 followed by additional data, the reported rate will probably drop
3021 dramatically when the receiver gets to the literal data, and the transfer
3022 will probably take much longer to finish than the receiver estimated as it
3023 was finishing the matched part of the file.
3025 When the file transfer finishes, rsync replaces the progress line with a
3026 summary line that looks like this:
3028 > 1,238,099 100% 146.38kB/s 0:00:08 (xfr#5, to-chk=169/396)
3030 In this example, the file was 1,238,099 bytes long in total, the average
3031 rate of transfer for the whole file was 146.38 kilobytes per second over
3032 the 8 seconds that it took to complete, it was the 5th transfer of a
3033 regular file during the current rsync session, and there are 169 more files
3034 for the receiver to check (to see if they are up-to-date or not) remaining
3035 out of the 396 total files in the file-list.
3037 In an incremental recursion scan, rsync won't know the total number of
3038 files in the file-list until it reaches the ends of the scan, but since it
3039 starts to transfer files during the scan, it will display a line with the
3040 text "ir-chk" (for incremental recursion check) instead of "to-chk" until
3041 the point that it knows the full size of the list, at which point it will
3042 switch to using "to-chk". Thus, seeing "ir-chk" lets you know that the
3043 total count of files in the file list is still going to increase (and each
3044 time it does, the count of files left to check will increase by the number
3045 of the files added to the list).
3049 The `-P` option is equivalent to `--partial --progress`. Its purpose is
3050 to make it much easier to specify these two options for a long transfer
3051 that may be interrupted.
3053 There is also a `--info=progress2` option that outputs statistics based on
3054 the whole transfer, rather than individual files. Use this flag without
3055 outputting a filename (e.g. avoid `-v` or specify `--info=name0`) if you
3056 want to see how the transfer is doing without scrolling the screen with a
3057 lot of names. (You don't need to specify the `--progress` option in order
3058 to use `--info=progress2`.)
3060 Finally, you can get an instant progress report by sending rsync a signal
3061 of either SIGINFO or SIGVTALRM. On BSD systems, a SIGINFO is generated by
3062 typing a Ctrl+T (Linux doesn't currently support a SIGINFO signal). When
3063 the client-side process receives one of those signals, it sets a flag to
3064 output a single progress report which is output when the current file
3065 transfer finishes (so it may take a little time if a big file is being
3066 handled when the signal arrives). A filename is output (if needed)
3067 followed by the `--info=progress2` format of progress info. If you don't
3068 know which of the 3 rsync processes is the client process, it's OK to
3069 signal all of them (since the non-client processes ignore the signal).
3071 CAUTION: sending SIGVTALRM to an older rsync (pre-3.2.0) will kill it.
3073 0. `--password-file=FILE`
3075 This option allows you to provide a password for accessing an rsync daemon
3076 via a file or via standard input if **FILE** is `-`. The file should
3077 contain just the password on the first line (all other lines are ignored).
3078 Rsync will exit with an error if **FILE** is world readable or if a
3079 root-run rsync command finds a non-root-owned file.
3081 This option does not supply a password to a remote shell transport such as
3082 ssh; to learn how to do that, consult the remote shell's documentation.
3083 When accessing an rsync daemon using a remote shell as the transport, this
3084 option only comes into effect after the remote shell finishes its
3085 authentication (i.e. if you have also specified a password in the daemon's
3088 0. `--early-input=FILE`
3090 This option allows rsync to send up to 5K of data to the "early exec"
3091 script on its stdin. One possible use of this data is to give the script a
3092 secret that can be used to mount an encrypted filesystem (which you should
3093 unmount in the the "post-xfer exec" script).
3095 The daemon must be at least version 3.2.1.
3099 This option will cause the source files to be listed instead of
3100 transferred. This option is inferred if there is a single source arg and
3101 no destination specified, so its main uses are: (1) to turn a copy command
3102 that includes a destination arg into a file-listing command, or (2) to be
3103 able to specify more than one source arg (note: be sure to include the
3104 destination). Caution: keep in mind that a source arg with a wild-card is
3105 expanded by the shell into multiple args, so it is never safe to try to
3106 list such an arg without using this option. For example:
3108 > rsync -av --list-only foo* dest/
3110 Starting with rsync 3.1.0, the sizes output by `--list-only` are affected
3111 by the `--human-readable` option. By default they will contain digit
3112 separators, but higher levels of readability will output the sizes with
3113 unit suffixes. Note also that the column width for the size output has
3114 increased from 11 to 14 characters for all human-readable levels. Use
3115 `--no-h` if you want just digits in the sizes, and the old column width of
3118 Compatibility note: when requesting a remote listing of files from an rsync
3119 that is version 2.6.3 or older, you may encounter an error if you ask for a
3120 non-recursive listing. This is because a file listing implies the `--dirs`
3121 option w/o `--recursive`, and older rsyncs don't have that option. To
3122 avoid this problem, either specify the `--no-dirs` option (if you don't
3123 need to expand a directory's content), or turn on recursion and exclude the
3124 content of subdirectories: `-r --exclude='/*/*'`.
3128 This option allows you to specify the maximum transfer rate for the data
3129 sent over the socket, specified in units per second. The RATE value can be
3130 suffixed with a string to indicate a size multiplier, and may be a
3131 fractional value (e.g. "`--bwlimit=1.5m`"). If no suffix is specified, the
3132 value will be assumed to be in units of 1024 bytes (as if "K" or "KiB" had
3133 been appended). See the `--max-size` option for a description of all the
3134 available suffixes. A value of 0 specifies no limit.
3136 For backward-compatibility reasons, the rate limit will be rounded to the
3137 nearest KiB unit, so no rate smaller than 1024 bytes per second is
3140 Rsync writes data over the socket in blocks, and this option both limits
3141 the size of the blocks that rsync writes, and tries to keep the average
3142 transfer rate at the requested limit. Some burstiness may be seen where
3143 rsync writes out a block of data and then sleeps to bring the average rate
3146 Due to the internal buffering of data, the `--progress` option may not be
3147 an accurate reflection on how fast the data is being sent. This is because
3148 some files can show up as being rapidly sent when the data is quickly
3149 buffered, while other can show up as very slow when the flushing of the
3150 output buffer occurs. This may be fixed in a future version.
3152 0. `--stop-after=MINS
3154 This option tells rsync to stop copying when the specified number of
3155 minutes has elapsed.
3157 Rsync also accepts an earlier version of this option: `--time-limit=MINS`.
3159 For maximal flexibility, rsync does not communicate this option to the
3160 remote rsync since it is usually enough that one side of the connection
3161 quits as specified. This allows the option's use even when only one side
3162 of the connection supports it. You can tell the remote side about the time
3163 limit using `--remote-option` (`-M`), should the need arise.
3165 0. `--stop-at=y-m-dTh:m
3167 This option tells rsync to stop copying when the specified point in time
3168 has been reached. The date & time can be fully specified in a numeric
3169 format of year-month-dayThour:minute (e.g. 2000-12-31T23:59) in the local
3170 timezone. You may choose to separate the date numbers using slashes
3173 The value can also be abbreviated in a variety of ways, such as specifying
3174 a 2-digit year and/or leaving off various values. In all cases, the value
3175 will be taken to be the next possible point in time where the supplied
3176 information matches. If the value specifies the current time or a past
3177 time, rsync exits with an error.
3179 For example, "1-30" specifies the next January 30th (at midnight local
3180 time), "14:00" specifies the next 2 P.M., "1" specifies the next 1st of the
3181 month at midnight, "31" specifies the next month where we can stop on its
3182 31st day, and ":59" specifies the next 59th minute after the hour.
3184 For maximal flexibility, rsync does not communicate this option to the
3185 remote rsync since it is usually enough that one side of the connection
3186 quits as specified. This allows the option's use even when only one side
3187 of the connection supports it. You can tell the remote side about the time
3188 limit using `--remote-option` (`-M`), should the need arise. Do keep in
3189 mind that the remote host may have a different default timezone than your
3192 0. `--write-batch=FILE`
3194 Record a file that can later be applied to another identical destination
3195 with `--read-batch`. See the "BATCH MODE" section for details, and also
3196 the `--only-write-batch` option.
3198 This option overrides the negotiated checksum & compress lists and always
3199 negotiates a choice based on old-school md5/md4/zlib choices. If you want
3200 a more modern choice, use the `--checksum-choice` (`--cc`) and/or
3201 `--compress-choice` (`--zc`) options.
3203 0. `--only-write-batch=FILE`
3205 Works like `--write-batch`, except that no updates are made on the
3206 destination system when creating the batch. This lets you transport the
3207 changes to the destination system via some other means and then apply the
3208 changes via `--read-batch`.
3210 Note that you can feel free to write the batch directly to some portable
3211 media: if this media fills to capacity before the end of the transfer, you
3212 can just apply that partial transfer to the destination and repeat the
3213 whole process to get the rest of the changes (as long as you don't mind a
3214 partially updated destination system while the multi-update cycle is
3217 Also note that you only save bandwidth when pushing changes to a remote
3218 system because this allows the batched data to be diverted from the sender
3219 into the batch file without having to flow over the wire to the receiver
3220 (when pulling, the sender is remote, and thus can't write the batch).
3222 0. `--read-batch=FILE`
3224 Apply all of the changes stored in FILE, a file previously generated by
3225 `--write-batch`. If _FILE_ is `-`, the batch data will be read from
3226 standard input. See the "BATCH MODE" section for details.
3230 Force an older protocol version to be used. This is useful for creating a
3231 batch file that is compatible with an older version of rsync. For
3232 instance, if rsync 2.6.4 is being used with the `--write-batch` option, but
3233 rsync 2.6.3 is what will be used to run the `--read-batch` option, you
3234 should use "--protocol=28" when creating the batch file to force the older
3235 protocol version to be used in the batch file (assuming you can't upgrade
3236 the rsync on the reading system).
3238 0. `--iconv=CONVERT_SPEC`
3240 Rsync can convert filenames between character sets using this option.
3241 Using a CONVERT_SPEC of "." tells rsync to look up the default
3242 character-set via the locale setting. Alternately, you can fully specify
3243 what conversion to do by giving a local and a remote charset separated by a
3244 comma in the order `--iconv=LOCAL,REMOTE`, e.g. `--iconv=utf8,iso88591`.
3245 This order ensures that the option will stay the same whether you're
3246 pushing or pulling files. Finally, you can specify either `--no-iconv` or
3247 a CONVERT_SPEC of "-" to turn off any conversion. The default setting of
3248 this option is site-specific, and can also be affected via the RSYNC_ICONV
3249 environment variable.
3251 For a list of what charset names your local iconv library supports, you can
3252 run "`iconv --list`".
3254 If you specify the `--protect-args` option (`-s`), rsync will translate the
3255 filenames you specify on the command-line that are being sent to the remote
3256 host. See also the `--files-from` option.
3258 Note that rsync does not do any conversion of names in filter files
3259 (including include/exclude files). It is up to you to ensure that you're
3260 specifying matching rules that can match on both sides of the transfer.
3261 For instance, you can specify extra include/exclude rules if there are
3262 filename differences on the two sides that need to be accounted for.
3264 When you pass an `--iconv` option to an rsync daemon that allows it, the
3265 daemon uses the charset specified in its "charset" configuration parameter
3266 regardless of the remote charset you actually pass. Thus, you may feel
3267 free to specify just the local charset for a daemon transfer (e.g.
3270 0. `--ipv4`, `-4` or `--ipv6`, `-6`
3272 Tells rsync to prefer IPv4/IPv6 when creating sockets or running ssh. This
3273 affects sockets that rsync has direct control over, such as the outgoing
3274 socket when directly contacting an rsync daemon, as well as the forwarding
3275 of the `-4` or `-6` option to ssh when rsync can deduce that ssh is being
3276 used as the remote shell. For other remote shells you'll need to specify
3277 the "`--rsh SHELL -4`" option directly (or whatever ipv4/ipv6 hint options
3280 These options also exist in the `--daemon` mode section.
3282 If rsync was complied without support for IPv6, the `--ipv6` option will
3283 have no effect. The `rsync --version` output will contain "`no IPv6`" if
3286 0. `--checksum-seed=NUM`
3288 Set the checksum seed to the integer NUM. This 4 byte checksum seed is
3289 included in each block and MD4 file checksum calculation (the more modern
3290 MD5 file checksums don't use a seed). By default the checksum seed is
3291 generated by the server and defaults to the current **time**(). This
3292 option is used to set a specific checksum seed, which is useful for
3293 applications that want repeatable block checksums, or in the case where the
3294 user wants a more random checksum seed. Setting NUM to 0 causes rsync to
3295 use the default of **time**() for checksum seed.
3299 The options allowed when starting an rsync daemon are as follows:
3303 This tells rsync that it is to run as a daemon. The daemon you start
3304 running may be accessed using an rsync client using the `host::module` or
3305 `rsync://host/module/` syntax.
3307 If standard input is a socket then rsync will assume that it is being run
3308 via inetd, otherwise it will detach from the current terminal and become a
3309 background daemon. The daemon will read the config file (rsyncd.conf) on
3310 each connect made by a client and respond to requests accordingly. See the
3311 **rsyncd.conf**(5) man page for more details.
3313 0. `--address=ADDRESS`
3315 By default rsync will bind to the wildcard address when run as a daemon
3316 with the `--daemon` option. The `--address` option allows you to specify a
3317 specific IP address (or hostname) to bind to. This makes virtual hosting
3318 possible in conjunction with the `--config` option. See also the "address"
3319 global option in the rsyncd.conf manpage.
3323 This option allows you to specify the maximum transfer rate for the data
3324 the daemon sends over the socket. The client can still specify a smaller
3325 `--bwlimit` value, but no larger value will be allowed. See the client
3326 version of this option (above) for some extra details.
3330 This specifies an alternate config file than the default. This is only
3331 relevant when `--daemon` is specified. The default is /etc/rsyncd.conf
3332 unless the daemon is running over a remote shell program and the remote
3333 user is not the super-user; in that case the default is rsyncd.conf in the
3334 current directory (typically $HOME).
3336 0. `--dparam=OVERRIDE`, `-M`
3338 This option can be used to set a daemon-config parameter when starting up
3339 rsync in daemon mode. It is equivalent to adding the parameter at the end
3340 of the global settings prior to the first module's definition. The
3341 parameter names can be specified without spaces, if you so desire. For
3344 > rsync --daemon -M pidfile=/path/rsync.pid
3348 When running as a daemon, this option instructs rsync to not detach itself
3349 and become a background process. This option is required when running as a
3350 service on Cygwin, and may also be useful when rsync is supervised by a
3351 program such as `daemontools` or AIX's `System Resource Controller`.
3352 `--no-detach` is also recommended when rsync is run under a debugger. This
3353 option has no effect if rsync is run from inetd or sshd.
3357 This specifies an alternate TCP port number for the daemon to listen on
3358 rather than the default of 873. See also the "port" global option in the
3359 rsyncd.conf manpage.
3361 0. `--log-file=FILE`
3363 This option tells the rsync daemon to use the given log-file name instead
3364 of using the "`log file`" setting in the config file.
3366 0. `--log-file-format=FORMAT`
3368 This option tells the rsync daemon to use the given FORMAT string instead
3369 of using the "`log format`" setting in the config file. It also enables
3370 "`transfer logging`" unless the string is empty, in which case transfer
3371 logging is turned off.
3375 This overrides the `socket options` setting in the rsyncd.conf file and has
3378 0. `--verbose`, `-v`
3380 This option increases the amount of information the daemon logs during its
3381 startup phase. After the client connects, the daemon's verbosity level
3382 will be controlled by the options that the client used and the
3383 "`max verbosity`" setting in the module's config section.
3385 0. `--ipv4`, `-4` or `--ipv6`, `-6`
3387 Tells rsync to prefer IPv4/IPv6 when creating the incoming sockets that the
3388 rsync daemon will use to listen for connections. One of these options may
3389 be required in older versions of Linux to work around an IPv6 bug in the
3390 kernel (if you see an "address already in use" error when nothing else is
3391 using the port, try specifying `--ipv6` or `--ipv4` when starting the
3394 These options also exist in the regular rsync options section.
3396 If rsync was complied without support for IPv6, the `--ipv6` option will
3397 have no effect. The `rsync --version` output will contain "`no IPv6`" if
3402 When specified after `--daemon`, print a short help page describing the
3403 options available for starting an rsync daemon.
3407 The filter rules allow for flexible selection of which files to transfer
3408 (include) and which files to skip (exclude). The rules either directly specify
3409 include/exclude patterns or they specify a way to acquire more include/exclude
3410 patterns (e.g. to read them from a file).
3412 As the list of files/directories to transfer is built, rsync checks each name
3413 to be transferred against the list of include/exclude patterns in turn, and the
3414 first matching pattern is acted on: if it is an exclude pattern, then that file
3415 is skipped; if it is an include pattern then that filename is not skipped; if
3416 no matching pattern is found, then the filename is not skipped.
3418 Rsync builds an ordered list of filter rules as specified on the command-line.
3419 Filter rules have the following syntax:
3421 > RULE [PATTERN_OR_FILENAME]
3422 > RULE,MODIFIERS [PATTERN_OR_FILENAME]
3424 You have your choice of using either short or long RULE names, as described
3425 below. If you use a short-named rule, the ',' separating the RULE from the
3426 MODIFIERS is optional. The PATTERN or FILENAME that follows (when present)
3427 must come after either a single space or an underscore (\_). Here are the
3428 available rule prefixes:
3430 0. `exclude, '-'` specifies an exclude pattern.
3431 0. `include, '+'` specifies an include pattern.
3432 0. `merge, '.'` specifies a merge-file to read for more rules.
3433 0. `dir-merge, ':'` specifies a per-directory merge-file.
3434 0. `hide, 'H'` specifies a pattern for hiding files from the transfer.
3435 0. `show, 'S'` files that match the pattern are not hidden.
3436 0. `protect, 'P'` specifies a pattern for protecting files from deletion.
3437 0. `risk, 'R'` files that match the pattern are not protected.
3438 0. `clear, '!'` clears the current include/exclude list (takes no arg)
3440 When rules are being read from a file, empty lines are ignored, as are comment
3441 lines that start with a "#".
3443 [comment]: # (Remember that markdown strips spaces from start/end of ` ... ` sequences!)
3444 [comment]: # (Thus, the `x ` sequences below use a literal non-breakable space!)
3446 Note that the `--include` & `--exclude` command-line options do not allow the
3447 full range of rule parsing as described above -- they only allow the
3448 specification of include / exclude patterns plus a "`!`" token to clear the
3449 list (and the normal comment parsing when rules are read from a file). If a
3450 pattern does not begin with "`-Â `" (dash, space) or "`+Â `" (plus, space), then
3451 the rule will be interpreted as if "`+Â `" (for an include option) or "`-Â `"
3452 (for an exclude option) were prefixed to the string. A `--filter` option, on
3453 the other hand, must always contain either a short or long rule name at the
3456 Note also that the `--filter`, `--include`, and `--exclude` options take one
3457 rule/pattern each. To add multiple ones, you can repeat the options on the
3458 command-line, use the merge-file syntax of the `--filter` option, or the
3459 `--include-from` / `--exclude-from` options.
3461 # INCLUDE/EXCLUDE PATTERN RULES
3463 You can include and exclude files by specifying patterns using the "+", "-",
3464 etc. filter rules (as introduced in the FILTER RULES section above). The
3465 include/exclude rules each specify a pattern that is matched against the names
3466 of the files that are going to be transferred. These patterns can take several
3469 - if the pattern starts with a `/` then it is anchored to a particular spot in
3470 the hierarchy of files, otherwise it is matched against the end of the
3471 pathname. This is similar to a leading `^` in regular expressions. Thus
3472 `/foo` would match a name of "foo" at either the "root of the transfer" (for
3473 a global rule) or in the merge-file's directory (for a per-directory rule).
3474 An unqualified `foo` would match a name of "foo" anywhere in the tree because
3475 the algorithm is applied recursively from the top down; it behaves as if each
3476 path component gets a turn at being the end of the filename. Even the
3477 unanchored "sub/foo" would match at any point in the hierarchy where a "foo"
3478 was found within a directory named "sub". See the section on ANCHORING
3479 INCLUDE/EXCLUDE PATTERNS for a full discussion of how to specify a pattern
3480 that matches at the root of the transfer.
3481 - if the pattern ends with a `/` then it will only match a directory, not a
3482 regular file, symlink, or device.
3483 - rsync chooses between doing a simple string match and wildcard matching by
3484 checking if the pattern contains one of these three wildcard characters:
3485 '`*`', '`?`', and '`[`' .
3486 - a '`*`' matches any path component, but it stops at slashes.
3487 - use '`**`' to match anything, including slashes.
3488 - a '`?`' matches any character except a slash (`/`).
3489 - a '`[`' introduces a character class, such as `[a-z]` or `[[:alpha:]]`.
3490 - in a wildcard pattern, a backslash can be used to escape a wildcard
3491 character, but it is matched literally when no wildcards are present. This
3492 means that there is an extra level of backslash removal when a pattern
3493 contains wildcard characters compared to a pattern that has none. e.g. if
3494 you add a wildcard to "`foo\bar`" (which matches the backslash) you would
3495 need to use "`foo\\bar*`" to avoid the "`\b`" becoming just "b".
3496 - if the pattern contains a `/` (not counting a trailing /) or a "`**`", then it
3497 is matched against the full pathname, including any leading directories. If
3498 the pattern doesn't contain a `/` or a "`**`", then it is matched only against
3499 the final component of the filename. (Remember that the algorithm is applied
3500 recursively so "full filename" can actually be any portion of a path from the
3501 starting directory on down.)
3502 - a trailing "`dir_name/***`" will match both the directory (as if "dir_name/"
3503 had been specified) and everything in the directory (as if "`dir_name/**`"
3504 had been specified). This behavior was added in version 2.6.7.
3506 Note that, when using the `--recursive` (`-r`) option (which is implied by
3507 `-a`), every subdir component of every path is visited left to right, with each
3508 directory having a chance for exclusion before its content. In this way
3509 include/exclude patterns are applied recursively to the pathname of each node
3510 in the filesystem's tree (those inside the transfer). The exclude patterns
3511 short-circuit the directory traversal stage as rsync finds the files to send.
3513 For instance, to include "`/foo/bar/baz`", the directories "`/foo`" and "`/foo/bar`"
3514 must not be excluded. Excluding one of those parent directories prevents the
3515 examination of its content, cutting off rsync's recursion into those paths and
3516 rendering the include for "`/foo/bar/baz`" ineffectual (since rsync can't match
3517 something it never sees in the cut-off section of the directory hierarchy).
3519 The concept path exclusion is particularly important when using a trailing '`*`'
3520 rule. For instance, this won't work:
3522 > + /some/path/this-file-will-not-be-found
3523 > + /file-is-included
3526 This fails because the parent directory "some" is excluded by the '`*`' rule, so
3527 rsync never visits any of the files in the "some" or "some/path" directories.
3528 One solution is to ask for all directories in the hierarchy to be included by
3529 using a single rule: "`+ */`" (put it somewhere before the "`- *`" rule), and
3530 perhaps use the `--prune-empty-dirs` option. Another solution is to add
3531 specific include rules for all the parent dirs that need to be visited. For
3532 instance, this set of rules works fine:
3536 > + /some/path/this-file-is-found
3537 > + /file-also-included
3540 Here are some examples of exclude/include matching:
3542 - "`- *.o`" would exclude all names matching `*.o`
3543 - "`- /foo`" would exclude a file (or directory) named foo in the transfer-root
3545 - "`- foo/`" would exclude any directory named foo
3546 - "`- /foo/*/bar`" would exclude any file named bar which is at two levels
3547 below a directory named foo in the transfer-root directory
3548 - "`- /foo/**/bar`" would exclude any file named bar two or more levels below a
3549 directory named foo in the transfer-root directory
3550 - The combination of "`+ */`", "`+ *.c`", and "`- *`" would include all
3551 directories and C source files but nothing else (see also the
3552 `--prune-empty-dirs` option)
3553 - The combination of "`+ foo/`", "`+ foo/bar.c`", and "`- *`" would include
3554 only the foo directory and foo/bar.c (the foo directory must be explicitly
3555 included or it would be excluded by the "`*`")
3557 The following modifiers are accepted after a "`+`" or "`-`":
3559 - A `/` specifies that the include/exclude rule should be matched against the
3560 absolute pathname of the current item. For example, "`-/ /etc/passwd`" would
3561 exclude the passwd file any time the transfer was sending files from the
3562 "/etc" directory, and "-/ subdir/foo" would always exclude "foo" when it is
3563 in a dir named "subdir", even if "foo" is at the root of the current
3565 - A `!` specifies that the include/exclude should take effect if the pattern
3566 fails to match. For instance, "`-! */`" would exclude all non-directories.
3567 - A `C` is used to indicate that all the global CVS-exclude rules should be
3568 inserted as excludes in place of the "-C". No arg should follow.
3569 - An `s` is used to indicate that the rule applies to the sending side. When a
3570 rule affects the sending side, it prevents files from being transferred. The
3571 default is for a rule to affect both sides unless `--delete-excluded` was
3572 specified, in which case default rules become sender-side only. See also the
3573 hide (H) and show (S) rules, which are an alternate way to specify
3574 sending-side includes/excludes.
3575 - An `r` is used to indicate that the rule applies to the receiving side. When
3576 a rule affects the receiving side, it prevents files from being deleted. See
3577 the `s` modifier for more info. See also the protect (P) and risk (R) rules,
3578 which are an alternate way to specify receiver-side includes/excludes.
3579 - A `p` indicates that a rule is perishable, meaning that it is ignored in
3580 directories that are being deleted. For instance, the `-C` option's default
3581 rules that exclude things like "CVS" and "`*.o`" are marked as perishable,
3582 and will not prevent a directory that was removed on the source from being
3583 deleted on the destination.
3584 - An `x` indicates that a rule affects xattr names in xattr copy/delete
3585 operations (and is thus ignored when matching file/dir names). If no
3586 xattr-matching rules are specified, a default xattr filtering rule is used
3587 (see the `--xattrs` option).
3589 # MERGE-FILE FILTER RULES
3591 You can merge whole files into your filter rules by specifying either a merge
3592 (.) or a dir-merge (:) filter rule (as introduced in the FILTER RULES section
3595 There are two kinds of merged files -- single-instance ('.') and per-directory
3596 (':'). A single-instance merge file is read one time, and its rules are
3597 incorporated into the filter list in the place of the "." rule. For
3598 per-directory merge files, rsync will scan every directory that it traverses
3599 for the named file, merging its contents when the file exists into the current
3600 list of inherited rules. These per-directory rule files must be created on the
3601 sending side because it is the sending side that is being scanned for the
3602 available files to transfer. These rule files may also need to be transferred
3603 to the receiving side if you want them to affect what files don't get deleted
3604 (see PER-DIRECTORY RULES AND DELETE below).
3608 > merge /etc/rsync/default.rules
3609 > . /etc/rsync/default.rules
3610 > dir-merge .per-dir-filter
3611 > dir-merge,n- .non-inherited-per-dir-excludes
3612 > :n- .non-inherited-per-dir-excludes
3614 The following modifiers are accepted after a merge or dir-merge rule:
3616 - A `-` specifies that the file should consist of only exclude patterns, with
3617 no other rule-parsing except for in-file comments.
3618 - A `+` specifies that the file should consist of only include patterns, with
3619 no other rule-parsing except for in-file comments.
3620 - A `C` is a way to specify that the file should be read in a CVS-compatible
3621 manner. This turns on 'n', 'w', and '-', but also allows the list-clearing
3622 token (!) to be specified. If no filename is provided, ".cvsignore" is
3624 - A `e` will exclude the merge-file name from the transfer; e.g. "dir-merge,e
3625 .rules" is like "dir-merge .rules" and "- .rules".
3626 - An `n` specifies that the rules are not inherited by subdirectories.
3627 - A `w` specifies that the rules are word-split on whitespace instead of the
3628 normal line-splitting. This also turns off comments. Note: the space that
3629 separates the prefix from the rule is treated specially, so "- foo + bar" is
3630 parsed as two rules (assuming that prefix-parsing wasn't also disabled).
3631 - You may also specify any of the modifiers for the "+" or "-" rules (above) in
3632 order to have the rules that are read in from the file default to having that
3633 modifier set (except for the `!` modifier, which would not be useful). For
3634 instance, "merge,-/ .excl" would treat the contents of .excl as absolute-path
3635 excludes, while "dir-merge,s .filt" and ":sC" would each make all their
3636 per-directory rules apply only on the sending side. If the merge rule
3637 specifies sides to affect (via the `s` or `r` modifier or both), then the
3638 rules in the file must not specify sides (via a modifier or a rule prefix
3641 Per-directory rules are inherited in all subdirectories of the directory where
3642 the merge-file was found unless the 'n' modifier was used. Each subdirectory's
3643 rules are prefixed to the inherited per-directory rules from its parents, which
3644 gives the newest rules a higher priority than the inherited rules. The entire
3645 set of dir-merge rules are grouped together in the spot where the merge-file
3646 was specified, so it is possible to override dir-merge rules via a rule that
3647 got specified earlier in the list of global rules. When the list-clearing rule
3648 ("!") is read from a per-directory file, it only clears the inherited rules for
3649 the current merge file.
3651 Another way to prevent a single rule from a dir-merge file from being inherited
3652 is to anchor it with a leading slash. Anchored rules in a per-directory
3653 merge-file are relative to the merge-file's directory, so a pattern "/foo"
3654 would only match the file "foo" in the directory where the dir-merge filter
3657 Here's an example filter file which you'd specify via `--filter=". file":`
3659 > merge /home/user/.global-filter
3666 This will merge the contents of the /home/user/.global-filter file at the start
3667 of the list and also turns the ".rules" filename into a per-directory filter
3668 file. All rules read in prior to the start of the directory scan follow the
3669 global anchoring rules (i.e. a leading slash matches at the root of the
3672 If a per-directory merge-file is specified with a path that is a parent
3673 directory of the first transfer directory, rsync will scan all the parent dirs
3674 from that starting point to the transfer directory for the indicated
3675 per-directory file. For instance, here is a common filter (see `-F`):
3677 > --filter=': /.rsync-filter'
3679 That rule tells rsync to scan for the file .rsync-filter in all directories
3680 from the root down through the parent directory of the transfer prior to the
3681 start of the normal directory scan of the file in the directories that are sent
3682 as a part of the transfer. (Note: for an rsync daemon, the root is always the
3683 same as the module's "path".)
3685 Some examples of this pre-scanning for per-directory files:
3687 > rsync -avF /src/path/ /dest/dir
3688 > rsync -av --filter=': ../../.rsync-filter' /src/path/ /dest/dir
3689 > rsync -av --filter=': .rsync-filter' /src/path/ /dest/dir
3691 The first two commands above will look for ".rsync-filter" in "/" and "/src"
3692 before the normal scan begins looking for the file in "/src/path" and its
3693 subdirectories. The last command avoids the parent-dir scan and only looks for
3694 the ".rsync-filter" files in each directory that is a part of the transfer.
3696 If you want to include the contents of a ".cvsignore" in your patterns, you
3697 should use the rule ":C", which creates a dir-merge of the .cvsignore file, but
3698 parsed in a CVS-compatible manner. You can use this to affect where the
3699 `--cvs-exclude` (`-C`) option's inclusion of the per-directory .cvsignore file
3700 gets placed into your rules by putting the ":C" wherever you like in your
3701 filter rules. Without this, rsync would add the dir-merge rule for the
3702 .cvsignore file at the end of all your other rules (giving it a lower priority
3703 than your command-line rules). For example:
3706 > cat <<EOT | rsync -avC --filter='. -' a/ b
3711 > rsync -avC --include=foo.o -f :C --exclude='*.old' a/ b
3714 Both of the above rsync commands are identical. Each one will merge all the
3715 per-directory .cvsignore rules in the middle of the list rather than at the
3716 end. This allows their dir-specific rules to supersede the rules that follow
3717 the :C instead of being subservient to all your rules. To affect the other CVS
3718 exclude rules (i.e. the default list of exclusions, the contents of
3719 $HOME/.cvsignore, and the value of $CVSIGNORE) you should omit the `-C`
3720 command-line option and instead insert a "-C" rule into your filter rules; e.g.
3723 # LIST-CLEARING FILTER RULE
3725 You can clear the current include/exclude list by using the "!" filter rule (as
3726 introduced in the FILTER RULES section above). The "current" list is either
3727 the global list of rules (if the rule is encountered while parsing the filter
3728 options) or a set of per-directory rules (which are inherited in their own
3729 sub-list, so a subdirectory can use this to clear out the parent's rules).
3731 # ANCHORING INCLUDE/EXCLUDE PATTERNS
3733 As mentioned earlier, global include/exclude patterns are anchored at the "root
3734 of the transfer" (as opposed to per-directory patterns, which are anchored at
3735 the merge-file's directory). If you think of the transfer as a subtree of
3736 names that are being sent from sender to receiver, the transfer-root is where
3737 the tree starts to be duplicated in the destination directory. This root
3738 governs where patterns that start with a / match.
3740 Because the matching is relative to the transfer-root, changing the trailing
3741 slash on a source path or changing your use of the `--relative` option affects
3742 the path you need to use in your matching (in addition to changing how much of
3743 the file tree is duplicated on the destination host). The following examples
3746 Let's say that we want to match two source files, one with an absolute
3747 path of "/home/me/foo/bar", and one with a path of "/home/you/bar/baz".
3748 Here is how the various command choices differ for a 2-source transfer:
3751 > Example cmd: rsync -a /home/me /home/you /dest
3752 > +/- pattern: /me/foo/bar
3753 > +/- pattern: /you/bar/baz
3754 > Target file: /dest/me/foo/bar
3755 > Target file: /dest/you/bar/baz
3759 > Example cmd: rsync -a /home/me/ /home/you/ /dest
3760 > +/- pattern: /foo/bar (note missing "me")
3761 > +/- pattern: /bar/baz (note missing "you")
3762 > Target file: /dest/foo/bar
3763 > Target file: /dest/bar/baz
3767 > Example cmd: rsync -a --relative /home/me/ /home/you /dest
3768 > +/- pattern: /home/me/foo/bar (note full path)
3769 > +/- pattern: /home/you/bar/baz (ditto)
3770 > Target file: /dest/home/me/foo/bar
3771 > Target file: /dest/home/you/bar/baz
3775 > Example cmd: cd /home; rsync -a --relative me/foo you/ /dest
3776 > +/- pattern: /me/foo/bar (starts at specified path)
3777 > +/- pattern: /you/bar/baz (ditto)
3778 > Target file: /dest/me/foo/bar
3779 > Target file: /dest/you/bar/baz
3782 The easiest way to see what name you should filter is to just
3783 look at the output when using `--verbose` and put a / in front of the name
3784 (use the `--dry-run` option if you're not yet ready to copy any files).
3786 # PER-DIRECTORY RULES AND DELETE
3788 Without a delete option, per-directory rules are only relevant on the sending
3789 side, so you can feel free to exclude the merge files themselves without
3790 affecting the transfer. To make this easy, the 'e' modifier adds this exclude
3791 for you, as seen in these two equivalent commands:
3793 > rsync -av --filter=': .excl' --exclude=.excl host:src/dir /dest
3794 > rsync -av --filter=':e .excl' host:src/dir /dest
3796 However, if you want to do a delete on the receiving side AND you want some
3797 files to be excluded from being deleted, you'll need to be sure that the
3798 receiving side knows what files to exclude. The easiest way is to include the
3799 per-directory merge files in the transfer and use `--delete-after`, because
3800 this ensures that the receiving side gets all the same exclude rules as the
3801 sending side before it tries to delete anything:
3803 > rsync -avF --delete-after host:src/dir /dest
3805 However, if the merge files are not a part of the transfer, you'll need to
3806 either specify some global exclude rules (i.e. specified on the command line),
3807 or you'll need to maintain your own per-directory merge files on the receiving
3808 side. An example of the first is this (assume that the remote .rules files
3809 exclude themselves):
3811 > rsync -av --filter=': .rules' --filter='. /my/extra.rules'
3812 > --delete host:src/dir /dest
3814 In the above example the extra.rules file can affect both sides of the
3815 transfer, but (on the sending side) the rules are subservient to the rules
3816 merged from the .rules files because they were specified after the
3817 per-directory merge rule.
3819 In one final example, the remote side is excluding the .rsync-filter files from
3820 the transfer, but we want to use our own .rsync-filter files to control what
3821 gets deleted on the receiving side. To do this we must specifically exclude
3822 the per-directory merge files (so that they don't get deleted) and then put
3823 rules into the local files to control what else should not get deleted. Like
3824 one of these commands:
3827 > rsync -av --filter=':e /.rsync-filter' --delete \
3828 > host:src/dir /dest
3829 > rsync -avFF --delete host:src/dir /dest
3834 Batch mode can be used to apply the same set of updates to many identical
3835 systems. Suppose one has a tree which is replicated on a number of hosts. Now
3836 suppose some changes have been made to this source tree and those changes need
3837 to be propagated to the other hosts. In order to do this using batch mode,
3838 rsync is run with the write-batch option to apply the changes made to the
3839 source tree to one of the destination trees. The write-batch option causes the
3840 rsync client to store in a "batch file" all the information needed to repeat
3841 this operation against other, identical destination trees.
3843 Generating the batch file once saves having to perform the file status,
3844 checksum, and data block generation more than once when updating multiple
3845 destination trees. Multicast transport protocols can be used to transfer the
3846 batch update files in parallel to many hosts at once, instead of sending the
3847 same data to every host individually.
3849 To apply the recorded changes to another destination tree, run rsync with the
3850 read-batch option, specifying the name of the same batch file, and the
3851 destination tree. Rsync updates the destination tree using the information
3852 stored in the batch file.
3854 For your convenience, a script file is also created when the write-batch option
3855 is used: it will be named the same as the batch file with ".sh" appended. This
3856 script file contains a command-line suitable for updating a destination tree
3857 using the associated batch file. It can be executed using a Bourne (or
3858 Bourne-like) shell, optionally passing in an alternate destination tree
3859 pathname which is then used instead of the original destination path. This is
3860 useful when the destination tree path on the current host differs from the one
3861 used to create the batch file.
3865 > $ rsync --write-batch=foo -a host:/source/dir/ /adest/dir/
3866 > $ scp foo* remote:
3867 > $ ssh remote ./foo.sh /bdest/dir/
3869 > $ rsync --write-batch=foo -a /source/dir/ /adest/dir/
3870 > $ ssh remote rsync --read-batch=- -a /bdest/dir/ <foo
3872 In these examples, rsync is used to update /adest/dir/ from /source/dir/ and
3873 the information to repeat this operation is stored in "foo" and "foo.sh". The
3874 host "remote" is then updated with the batched data going into the directory
3875 /bdest/dir. The differences between the two examples reveals some of the
3876 flexibility you have in how you deal with batches:
3878 - The first example shows that the initial copy doesn't have to be local -- you
3879 can push or pull data to/from a remote host using either the remote-shell
3880 syntax or rsync daemon syntax, as desired.
3881 - The first example uses the created "foo.sh" file to get the right rsync
3882 options when running the read-batch command on the remote host.
3883 - The second example reads the batch data via standard input so that the batch
3884 file doesn't need to be copied to the remote machine first. This example
3885 avoids the foo.sh script because it needed to use a modified `--read-batch`
3886 option, but you could edit the script file if you wished to make use of it
3887 (just be sure that no other option is trying to use standard input, such as
3888 the "`--exclude-from=-`" option).
3892 The read-batch option expects the destination tree that it is updating to be
3893 identical to the destination tree that was used to create the batch update
3894 fileset. When a difference between the destination trees is encountered the
3895 update might be discarded with a warning (if the file appears to be up-to-date
3896 already) or the file-update may be attempted and then, if the file fails to
3897 verify, the update discarded with an error. This means that it should be safe
3898 to re-run a read-batch operation if the command got interrupted. If you wish
3899 to force the batched-update to always be attempted regardless of the file's
3900 size and date, use the `-I` option (when reading the batch). If an error
3901 occurs, the destination tree will probably be in a partially updated state. In
3902 that case, rsync can be used in its regular (non-batch) mode of operation to
3903 fix up the destination tree.
3905 The rsync version used on all destinations must be at least as new as the one
3906 used to generate the batch file. Rsync will die with an error if the protocol
3907 version in the batch file is too new for the batch-reading rsync to handle.
3908 See also the `--protocol` option for a way to have the creating rsync generate
3909 a batch file that an older rsync can understand. (Note that batch files
3910 changed format in version 2.6.3, so mixing versions older than that with newer
3911 versions will not work.)
3913 When reading a batch file, rsync will force the value of certain options to
3914 match the data in the batch file if you didn't set them to the same as the
3915 batch-writing command. Other options can (and should) be changed. For
3916 instance `--write-batch` changes to `--read-batch`, `--files-from` is dropped,
3917 and the `--filter` / `--include` / `--exclude` options are not needed unless
3918 one of the `--delete` options is specified.
3920 The code that creates the BATCH.sh file transforms any filter/include/exclude
3921 options into a single list that is appended as a "here" document to the shell
3922 script file. An advanced user can use this to modify the exclude list if a
3923 change in what gets deleted by `--delete` is desired. A normal user can ignore
3924 this detail and just use the shell script as an easy way to run the appropriate
3925 `--read-batch` command for the batched data.
3927 The original batch mode in rsync was based on "rsync+", but the latest
3928 version uses a new implementation.
3932 Three basic behaviors are possible when rsync encounters a symbolic
3933 link in the source directory.
3935 By default, symbolic links are not transferred at all. A message "skipping
3936 non-regular" file is emitted for any symlinks that exist.
3938 If `--links` is specified, then symlinks are recreated with the same target on
3939 the destination. Note that `--archive` implies `--links`.
3941 If `--copy-links` is specified, then symlinks are "collapsed" by
3942 copying their referent, rather than the symlink.
3944 Rsync can also distinguish "safe" and "unsafe" symbolic links. An example
3945 where this might be used is a web site mirror that wishes to ensure that the
3946 rsync module that is copied does not include symbolic links to `/etc/passwd` in
3947 the public section of the site. Using `--copy-unsafe-links` will cause any
3948 links to be copied as the file they point to on the destination. Using
3949 `--safe-links` will cause unsafe links to be omitted altogether. (Note that you
3950 must specify `--links` for `--safe-links` to have any effect.)
3952 Symbolic links are considered unsafe if they are absolute symlinks
3953 (start with `/`), empty, or if they contain enough ".."
3954 components to ascend from the directory being copied.
3956 Here's a summary of how the symlink options are interpreted. The list is in
3957 order of precedence, so if your combination of options isn't mentioned, use the
3958 first line that is a complete subset of your options:
3960 0. `--copy-links` Turn all symlinks into normal files (leaving no symlinks for
3961 any other options to affect).
3962 0. `--links --copy-unsafe-links` Turn all unsafe symlinks into files and
3963 duplicate all safe symlinks.
3964 0. `--copy-unsafe-links` Turn all unsafe symlinks into files, noisily skip all
3966 0. `--links --safe-links` Duplicate safe symlinks and skip unsafe ones.
3967 0. `--links` Duplicate all symlinks.
3971 rsync occasionally produces error messages that may seem a little cryptic. The
3972 one that seems to cause the most confusion is "protocol version mismatch -- is
3975 This message is usually caused by your startup scripts or remote shell facility
3976 producing unwanted garbage on the stream that rsync is using for its transport.
3977 The way to diagnose this problem is to run your remote shell like this:
3979 > ssh remotehost /bin/true > out.dat
3981 then look at out.dat. If everything is working correctly then out.dat should
3982 be a zero length file. If you are getting the above error from rsync then you
3983 will probably find that out.dat contains some text or data. Look at the
3984 contents and try to work out what is producing it. The most common cause is
3985 incorrectly configured shell startup scripts (such as .cshrc or .profile) that
3986 contain output statements for non-interactive logins.
3988 If you are having trouble debugging filter patterns, then try specifying the
3989 `-vv` option. At this level of verbosity rsync will show why each individual
3990 file is included or excluded.
3995 0. **1** Syntax or usage error
3996 0. **2** Protocol incompatibility
3997 0. **3** Errors selecting input/output files, dirs
3998 0. **4** Requested action not supported: an attempt was made to manipulate
3999 64-bit files on a platform that cannot support them; or an option was
4000 specified that is supported by the client and not by the server.
4001 0. **5** Error starting client-server protocol
4002 0. **6** Daemon unable to append to log-file
4003 0. **10** Error in socket I/O
4004 0. **11** Error in file I/O
4005 0. **12** Error in rsync protocol data stream
4006 0. **13** Errors with program diagnostics
4007 0. **14** Error in IPC code
4008 0. **20** Received SIGUSR1 or SIGINT
4009 0. **21** Some error returned by **waitpid()**
4010 0. **22** Error allocating core memory buffers
4011 0. **23** Partial transfer due to error
4012 0. **24** Partial transfer due to vanished source files
4013 0. **25** The --max-delete limit stopped deletions
4014 0. **30** Timeout in data send/receive
4015 0. **35** Timeout waiting for daemon connection
4017 # ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
4021 The CVSIGNORE environment variable supplements any ignore patterns in
4022 .cvsignore files. See the `--cvs-exclude` option for more details.
4026 Specify a default `--iconv` setting using this environment variable. (First
4027 supported in 3.0.0.)
4029 0. `RSYNC_PROTECT_ARGS`
4031 Specify a non-zero numeric value if you want the `--protect-args` option to
4032 be enabled by default, or a zero value to make sure that it is disabled by
4033 default. (First supported in 3.1.0.)
4037 The RSYNC_RSH environment variable allows you to override the default shell
4038 used as the transport for rsync. Command line options are permitted after
4039 the command name, just as in the `-e` option.
4043 The RSYNC_PROXY environment variable allows you to redirect your rsync
4044 client to use a web proxy when connecting to a rsync daemon. You should
4045 set RSYNC_PROXY to a hostname:port pair.
4049 Setting RSYNC_PASSWORD to the required password allows you to run
4050 authenticated rsync connections to an rsync daemon without user
4051 intervention. Note that this does not supply a password to a remote shell
4052 transport such as ssh; to learn how to do that, consult the remote shell's
4055 0. `USER` or `LOGNAME`
4057 The USER or LOGNAME environment variables are used to determine the default
4058 username sent to an rsync daemon. If neither is set, the username defaults
4063 The HOME environment variable is used to find the user's default .cvsignore
4068 /etc/rsyncd.conf or rsyncd.conf
4072 **rsync-ssl**(1), **rsyncd.conf**(5)
4076 times are transferred as \*nix time_t values
4078 When transferring to FAT filesystems rsync may re-sync
4080 See the comments on the `--modify-window` option.
4082 file permissions, devices, etc. are transferred as native numerical
4085 see also the comments on the `--delete` option
4087 Please report bugs! See the web site at <https://rsync.samba.org/>.
4091 This man page is current for version @VERSION@ of rsync.
4095 The options `--server` and `--sender` are used internally by rsync, and should
4096 never be typed by a user under normal circumstances. Some awareness of these
4097 options may be needed in certain scenarios, such as when setting up a login
4098 that can only run an rsync command. For instance, the support directory of the
4099 rsync distribution has an example script named rrsync (for restricted rsync)
4100 that can be used with a restricted ssh login.
4104 rsync is distributed under the GNU General Public License. See the file
4105 COPYING for details.
4107 A web site is available at <https://rsync.samba.org/>. The site includes an
4108 FAQ-O-Matic which may cover questions unanswered by this manual page.
4110 We would be delighted to hear from you if you like this program. Please
4111 contact the mailing-list at <rsync@lists.samba.org>.
4113 This program uses the excellent zlib compression library written by Jean-loup
4114 Gailly and Mark Adler.
4118 Special thanks go out to: John Van Essen, Matt McCutchen, Wesley W. Terpstra,
4119 David Dykstra, Jos Backus, Sebastian Krahmer, Martin Pool, and our
4120 gone-but-not-forgotten compadre, J.W. Schultz.
4122 Thanks also to Richard Brent, Brendan Mackay, Bill Waite, Stephen Rothwell and
4123 David Bell. I've probably missed some people, my apologies if I have.
4127 rsync was originally written by Andrew Tridgell and Paul Mackerras. Many
4128 people have later contributed to it. It is currently maintained by Wayne
4131 Mailing lists for support and development are available at
4132 <https://lists.samba.org/>.