Rsync Examples

A few examples of how I use rsync to copy files between hosts and drives.

basic local sync:

bashCopy
rsync -hrtP /path/to/source/ /path/to/destination/

sync remote to local:

bashCopy
rsync -hrtP user@remote.com:/home/user/files/ /home/user/files/

sync local to remote:

bashCopy
rsync -hrtP /home/user/files/ user@remote.com:/home/user/files/

custom ssh port:

bashCopy
rsync -hrtP -e "ssh -p 4220" /home/user/files/ user@remote.com:/home/user/files/

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Link to this sectionExplanation of Arguments

• -h: Human-readable format. This option outputs file sizes in a human-readable format (e.g., 1K, 1M, 1G) rather than in bytes.
• -r: Recursive. This option tells rsync to copy directories recursively, including all the files and subdirectories within the source directory.
• -t: Preserve modification times. This option ensures that the modification times of the files are preserved, meaning the destination files will have the same modification timestamps as the source files.
• -P: This is a combination of --progress and --partial:
  • --progress: Show progress during the transfer. This provides a detailed progress report for each file as it is being transferred.
  • --partial: Keep partially transferred files. If a transfer is interrupted, this option allows rsync to resume transferring only the remaining part of the file rather than starting over from the beginning.

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Link to this sectionAdditional Arguments to Consider

--delete

To delete anything found in the destination, which is not found in the source, add --delete to the end of your command.

--dry-run

To perform a dry-run which only logs the results without actually changing anything, add --dry-run to the end of your command.

--size-only

Skip files that match in size. This is handy for syncing between systems that can't effectively compare each others' "last modified" timestamps.