This helper script exists to create the generated files that are needed
[rsync/rsync.git] / README
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1WHAT IS RSYNC?
2--------------
3
4rsync is a replacement for scp/rcp that has many more features.
5
6rsync uses the "rsync algorithm" which provides a very fast method for
7bringing remote files into sync. It does this by sending just the
8differences in the files across the link, without requiring that both
9sets of files are present at one of the ends of the link beforehand.
10At first glance this may seem impossible because the calculation of
11diffs between two files normally requires local access to both
12files.
13
14A technical report describing the rsync algorithm is included with
15this package.
16
17
18USAGE
19-----
20
21Basically you use rsync just like rcp, but rsync has many additional
22options. To get a complete list of supported options type
23
24 rsync --help
25
26and see the manual for more information.
27
28
29SETUP
30-----
31
32Rsync normally uses ssh or rsh for communication. It does not need to
33be setuid and requires no special privileges for installation. You
34must, however, have a working ssh or rsh system. Using ssh is
35recommended for its security features.
36
37Alternatively, rsync can run in `daemon' mode, listening on a socket.
38This is generally used for public file distribution, although
39authentication and access control are available.
40
41To install rsync, first run the "configure" script. This will create a
42Makefile and config.h appropriate for your system. Then type
43"make".
44
45Note that on some systems you will have to force configure not to use
46gcc because gcc may not support some features (such as 64 bit file
47offsets) that your system may support. Set the environment variable CC
48to the name of your native compiler before running configure in this
49case.
50
51Once built put a copy of rsync in your search path on the local and
52remote systems (or use "make install"). That's it!
53
54RSYNC DAEMONS
55-------------
56
57rsync can also talk to "rsync daemons" which can provide anonymous or
58authenticated rsync. See the rsyncd.conf(5) man page for details on how
59to setup an rsync daemon. See the rsync(1) man page for info on how to
60connect to an rsync daemon.
61
62
63MAILING LIST
64------------
65
66There is a mailing list for the discussion of rsync and its
67applications. It is open to anyone to join. I will announce new
68versions on this list.
69
70To join the mailing list see the web page at http://lists.samba.org/
71
72To send mail to everyone on the list send it to rsync@lists.samba.org
73
74
75BUG REPORTS
76-----------
77
78If you have web access then please look at
79
80 http://rsync.samba.org/
81
82That page contains links to the current bug list, and information on
83how to report a bug well. You might also like to try searching the
84internet for the error message you've received, or looking in the
85mailing list archives at
86
87 http://mail-archive.com/rsync@lists.samba.org/
88
89To send a bug report, follow the instructions on the bug-tracking
90page of the web site.
91
92If you don't have web access, email your bug report to
93rsync@lists.samba.org.
94
95
96CVS TREE
97--------
98
99If you want to get the very latest version of rsync direct from the
100source code repository then you can use anonymous cvs. You will need a
101recent version of cvs then use the following commands:
102
103 cvs -d :pserver:cvs@pserver.samba.org:/cvsroot login
104 Password: cvs
105
106 cvs -d :pserver:cvs@pserver.samba.org:/cvsroot co rsync
107
108Look at the cvs documentation for more details.
109
110
111COPYRIGHT
112---------
113
114rsync was originally written by Andrew Tridgell and has been improved
115by many developers around the world. rsync may be used, modified and
116redistributed only under the terms of the GNU General Public License,
117found in the file COPYING in this distribution, or at
118
119 http://www.fsf.org/licenses/gpl.html
120
121
122AVAILABILITY
123------------
124
125The main web site for rsync is http://rsync.samba.org/
126The main ftp site is ftp://rsync.samba.org/pub/rsync/
127This is also available as rsync://rsync.samba.org/rsyncftp/