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The Complete Guide to rsync – Sync Files Like a Pro on Linux

Casper

Casper

• 2 min read

rsync is one of the most powerful and efficient tools for synchronizing files and directories between local and remote systems in Linux. It’s used widely by system administrators, developers, and DevOps engineers for backup, replication, and deployment tasks.

📌 What is rsync?

rsync (Remote Sync) is a fast and versatile file-copying tool. It only copies differences between source and destination, making it bandwidth-efficient and smart.

⚙️ Installing rsync

On most Linux systems, it’s pre-installed. If not:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install rsync

# RHEL/CentOS/Fedora
sudo dnf install rsync

🧪 Basic Syntax

rsync [options] source destination

🚀 Local File Sync Examples

1. Sync a directory to another local folder

rsync -av /home/user/docs/ /backup/docs/

✅ Explanation:

  • -a: Archive mode (preserves permissions, timestamps, etc.)
  • -v: Verbose
  • The trailing / on source ensures contents are copied, not the folder itself

🌐 Remote Sync (via SSH)

2. Sync local to remote

rsync -avz /home/user/projects/ user@remote-server:/home/user/backup/

3. Sync remote to local

rsync -avz user@remote-server:/home/user/backup/ ./local-backup/

✅ Extra flag:

  • -z: Compress data during transfer (faster over slow connections)

🔁 Dry Run Before Real Sync

Use --dry-run to preview changes without actually copying:

rsync -av --dry-run /source/ /dest/

🚫 Deleting Extra Files in Destination

Use --delete to delete files in the destination that no longer exist in the source:

rsync -av --delete /source/ /dest/

⚠️ Be careful — this is destructive!

🧹 Exclude Files or Folders

rsync -av --exclude 'node_modules/' --exclude '*.log' /src/ /dest/

Or use an exclude file:

rsync -av --exclude-from='exclude-list.txt' /src/ /dest/

Contents of exclude-list.txt:

*.log
tmp/
cache/

🕰️ Sync with Progress and Stats

rsync -avh --progress --stats /src/ /dest/
  • -h: Human-readable sizes
  • --progress: Shows transfer progress
  • --stats: Shows summary

🔒 Secure with SSH (Custom Port)

If your SSH server is on a non-standard port:

rsync -av -e "ssh -p 2222" /src/ user@host:/dest/

📦 Rsync for Backups (with Timestamps)

Backup with date appended:

rsync -a /data/ /backups/data-$(date +%F)/

🔁 Using Rsync in Cron Jobs

Example daily backup at 2 AM:

0 2 * * * rsync -az /data/ /mnt/backup/ >> /var/log/rsync.log 2>&1

Use crontab -e to add it.

🧪 Compare Directories (Without Copying)

rsync -avnc /dir1/ /dir2/

Flags:

  • -n: Dry run
  • -c: Use checksums to compare files

🧰 Common Options Cheat Sheet

Option Description
-a Archive mode (recursive + metadata)
-v Verbose output
-z Compress data during transfer
-h Human-readable sizes
--progress Show progress of transfer
--delete Delete files in dest not in source
--exclude Exclude files or patterns
-e "ssh ..." Specify remote shell
-n Dry-run (simulation only)
-c Compare by checksum (not just timestamp)

🛑 Gotchas & Tips

  • Always test with --dry-run before syncing to production.
  • Watch out for trailing slashes: /src/ vs /src
  • Use --partial if large transfers may get interrupted
  • Pair with cron for automated backups
  • Use --checksum if you care about byte-level differences

✅ Summary

rsync is your go-to tool for fast, reliable file synchronization on Linux. With a solid understanding of the basic and advanced options, you can automate everything from local backups to cloud server deployments.

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