Rsync stands for remote synchronization.
Rsync is a fast and extraordinarily versatile file copying tool.
It is used for fast and incremental file transfer. Rsync is widely used for backups and mirroring purpose.
rsync is typically used to synchronize files and directories between two different systems or local directory.
It uses “delta-transfer algorithm”, which reduces the amount of data sent over the network by transferring only changed files to destination that has changed since the last backup.
It offers a wide range of options that control every aspect of its behavior and permit very flexible specification of the set of files to be copied.
Rsync finds files that need to be transferred using a “quick check” algorithm (by default) that looks for files that have changed in size or in last-modified time.
How to Install rsync on Linux
The rsync command isn’t installed by default on a Linux system, it’s available in the distribution repository, so use the following commands to install it.
For Fedora system, use DNF Command to install rsync.
$ sudo dnf install rsync
For Debian/Ubuntu systems, use APT-GET Command or APT Command to install rsync.
$ sudo apt install rsync
For Arch Linux based systems, use Pacman Command to install rsync.
$ sudo pacman -S rsync
For RHEL/CentOS systems, use YUM Command to install rsync.
$ sudo yum install rsync
For openSUSE Leap system, use Zypper Command to install rsync.
$ sudo zypper install rsync
The rsync command syntax is as follows:
rsync [options] [source] [destination]
There are many options available for rsync, but the options listed below are often used, so make a note of it.
-a : Archive mode -v : Increase verbosity -z : Compress files and folders data during the transfer -e : Specify the remote shell to use -r : Recurse into directories --delete : Delete files that don't exist on sender system
1) How to Copy/Sync Files Locally
The example below will synchronize files locally from one location to another. The “cpmove-mageshco.tar.gz” file will be copied from the “/home/2daygeek” directory to the “/home/mageshm” directory.
# rsync -zvr /home/2daygeek/cpmove-mageshco.tar.gz /home/mageshm/ sending incremental file list cpmove-mageshco.tar.gz sent 39554341 bytes received 31 bytes 26369581.33 bytes/sec total size is 39540978 speedup is 1.00
2) How to Copy/Sync Directories Recursively Locally
The below example will synchronize directories locally from one location to another. The “/home/2daygeek/” entire directory will be copied to the /home/mageshm/ directory.
# rsync -zvr /home/2daygeek/ /home/mageshm/ or # rsync -avz /home/2daygeek/ /home/mageshm/ sending incremental file list 2daygeek.txt cpmove-mageshco.tar.gz test/ test/2daygeek-insdie.txt sent 37912510 bytes received 73 bytes 10832166.57 bytes/sec total size is 39541296 speedup is 1.04
3) How to Copy/Sync Files and Directories Recursively From Local System to Remote System
The example below will sync files and directories from a local system to a remote system.
Local folder: /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh
Remote System IP: 192.168.1.5
Remote folder: /home/mageshm/
# rsync -zvr /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ or # rsync -avz /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ [email protected]'s password: sending incremental file list magesh.txt test/magesh-inside.txt sent 171 bytes received 51 bytes 9.87 bytes/sec total size is 0 speedup is 0.00
4) How to Copy/Sync Files and Directories From Remote System to Local System
It’s vice versa. The example below will sync files and directories from a remote system to a local system.
Local folder: /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh
Remote System IP: 192.168.1.5
Remote folder: /home/mageshm/
# rsync -zvr [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ or # rsync -avz [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]'s password: receiving incremental file list .bash_logout .bash_profile .bashrc magesh.txt test/ test/magesh-inside.txt sent 110 bytes received 610 bytes 53.33 bytes/sec total size is 318 speedup is 0.44
5) How to Copy/Sync Files and Directories From Local System to Remote System Over SSH
The example below will synchronize files and directories from a local system to a remote system via SSH.
It uses a secure SSH protocol for file transfer, so I recommend users to go with this option when you want to perform file transfer on a remote machine.
Local folder: /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh
Remote System IP: 192.168.1.5
Remote folder: /home/mageshm/
# rsync -zvre ssh /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ or # rsync -avze ssh /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ [email protected]'s password: sending incremental file list test.txt test/ test/test-inside.txt sent 164 bytes received 54 bytes 14.06 bytes/sec total size is 0 speedup is 0.00
6) How to Copy/Sync Files and Directories From Remote System to Local System Over SSH
It’s like vice versa. The example below will synchronize files and directories from a remote system to a local system via SSH.
It uses a secure SSH protocol for file transfer, so I recommend users to go with this option when you want to perform file transfer on a remote machine.
Local folder: /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh
Remote System IP: 192.168.1.5
Remote folder: /home/mageshm/
# rsync -zvre ssh [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ or # rsync -avze ssh [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]'s password: receiving incremental file list ./ .bash_logout .bash_profile .bashrc test.txt test/ test/test-inside.txt sent 113 bytes received 663 bytes 31.67 bytes/sec total size is 318 speedup is 0.41
7) How to Copy/Sync Files and Directories From Local System to Remote System Over SSH With Non-Standard Port
The example below will synchronize files and directories from a local system to a remote system via SSH with Non-Standard port.
This example is useful if the default SSH port has been replaced by another port for security reasons.
It uses a secure SSH protocol for file transfer, so I recommend users to go with this option when you want to perform file transfer on a remote machine.
Local folder: /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh
Remote System IP: 192.168.1.5
Remote folder: /home/mageshm/
# rsync -zvre "ssh -p 2200" /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ or rsync -avze "ssh -p 2200" /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ [email protected]'s password: stdin: is not a tty sending incremental file list .bash_logout .bash_profile .bashrc test.txt test/ test/test-inside.txt sent 613 bytes received 111 bytes 96.53 bytes/sec total size is 318 speedup is 0.44
8) How to Copy/Sync Files and Directories From Remote System to Local System Over SSH With Non-Standard Port
It’s like vice versa. The example below will synchronize files and directories from a remote system to a local system via SSH with Non-Standard port.
This example is useful if the default SSH port has been replaced by another port for security reasons.
It uses a secure SSH protocol for file transfer, so I recommend users to go with this option when you want to perform file transfer on a remote machine.
Local folder: /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh
Remote System IP: 192.168.1.5
Remote folder: /home/mageshm/
# rsync -zvre "ssh -p 2200" [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ or # rsync -avze "ssh -p 2200" [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]'s password: stdin: is not a tty receiving incremental file list .bash_logout .bash_profile .bashrc test.txt test/ test/test-inside.txt sent 128 bytes received 309 bytes 17.84 bytes/sec total size is 318 speedup is 0.73
9) How to Add a Progress Status When Executing the rsync Command
The below rsync command shows the progress of the file/folder copy. This may give you an estimate idea of how long this activity will last.
Local folder: /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh
Remote System IP: 192.168.1.5
Remote folder: /home/mageshm/
# rsync -zvre ssh --progress [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ or # rsync -avze ssh --progress [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]'s password: receiving incremental file list .bash_logout 18 100% 17.58kB/s 0:00:00 (xfer#1, to-check=5/7) .bash_profile 176 100% 171.88kB/s 0:00:00 (xfer#2, to-check=4/7) .bashrc 124 100% 121.09kB/s 0:00:00 (xfer#3, to-check=3/7) test.txt 0 100% 0.00kB/s 0:00:00 (xfer#4, to-check=2/7) test/ test/test-inside.txt 0 100% 0.00kB/s 0:00:00 (xfer#5, to-check=0/7) sent 110 bytes received 594 bytes 56.32 bytes/sec total size is 318 speedup is 0.45
10) How to Delete Files/Folders That Don’t Exist in the Sender System When Using the rsync Command
The example below will sync files and directories from the local system to the remote system and remove files and folders that aren’t in the sender system.
This can be achieved by adding the --delete option with the rsync command.
Local folder: /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh
Remote System IP: 192.168.1.5
Remote folder: /home/mageshm/
# rsync -zvre ssh --delete /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ or # rsync -avze ssh --delete /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ [email protected]'s password: sending incremental file list deleting test.txt sent 141 bytes received 13 bytes 20.53 bytes/sec total size is 318 speedup is 2.06
11) How to Remove Source System Files After Synchronization
The example below will synchronize files and directories from the local system to the remote system and remove all files and folders from the source system once synced.
This can be achieved by adding the --remove-source-files option with the rsync command.
Local folder: /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh
Remote System IP: 192.168.1.5
Remote folder: /home/mageshm/
# rsync -zvre ssh --remove-source-files /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ or # rsync -avze ssh --remove-source-files /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ [email protected]'s password: sending incremental file list test.html test.php test1.php sent 255 bytes received 70 bytes 34.21 bytes/sec total size is 318 speedup is 0.98 # ls -lh /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ ls: cannot access /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/: No such file or directory
12) How to Synchronize Only the Specific Type of Files From Local System to a Remote System
The example below will synchronize only the “.php” extension files from the local system to the remote system.
This can be achieved by adding the --include option with the rsync command.
Local folder: /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh
Remote System IP: 192.168.1.5
Remote folder: /home/mageshm/
# rsync -zvre ssh --include '*.php' --exclude '*' /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ or # rsync -avze ssh --include '*.php' --exclude '*' /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ [email protected]'s password: sending incremental file list test.php test1.php sent 132 bytes received 50 bytes 17.33 bytes/sec total size is 0 speedup is 0.00
13) How to Synchronize All Files From a Local System to a Remote System Except for a Specific Type
The example below will synchronize all files except the “.txt” extension files from the local system to the remote system.
This can be achieved by adding the --exclude option with the rsync command.
Local folder: /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh
Remote System IP: 192.168.1.5
Remote folder: /home/mageshm/
# rsync -zvre ssh --exclude '*.txt' /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ or # rsync -avze ssh --exclude '*.txt' /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ [email protected]'s password: sending incremental file list test.html test.php test1.php sent 255 bytes received 70 bytes 34.21 bytes/sec total size is 318 speedup is 0.98
14) How to Exclude Files That Have the Latest Date in the Target System
The following example will skip any files that have been newly modified on the target system. This option helps you when you synchronize files from production servers to development servers.
This can be achieved by adding the --update option with the rsync command.
Local folder: /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh
Remote System IP: 192.168.1.5
Remote folder: /home/mageshm/
# rsync -zvre ssh --update /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ or # rsync -avze ssh --update /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ [email protected]'s password: sending incremental file list sent 190 bytes received 13 bytes 23.88 bytes/sec
15) How To Set the File Size Limit in the rsync Command
You can specify the MAX file size limit in the sync command. This will leave large (Like, zip, tar and video files) size files. This can be achieved by adding the --max-size= option with the rsync command.
The below example will synchronize only files that has a size ≤100KB.
Local folder: /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh
Remote System IP: 192.168.1.5
Remote folder: /home/mageshm/
# rsync -zvre ssh --max-size='100k' /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ or # rsync -avze ssh --max-size='100k' /home/mageshco/public_html/rsync-magesh/ [email protected]:/home/mageshm/ [email protected]'s password: sending incremental file list test.html test.php test.txt test1.php sent 334 bytes received 95 bytes 24.51 bytes/sec total size is 318 speedup is 0.74
16) How to Automate Your Backup to Remote Server Using the rsync Command
Automating remote backups is one of the mandatory procedures in any environment. If you want to do that, follow the four steps described in the article below.
I hope you found this article helpful. Please provide your valuable feedback / comments in the comment section.
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@jebaraj,
Thanks for your prompt update.
Pls keep on check our site.
very clear explanation..