rsync [OPTION]... SRC [SRC]... [USER@]HOST:DEST
-rsync [OPTION]... [USER@]HOST:SRC DEST
+rsync [OPTION]... [USER@]HOST:SRC [DEST]
rsync [OPTION]... SRC [SRC]... DEST
manpagesection(GENERAL)
-There are eight different ways of using rsync. They are:
-
-itemize(
- it() for copying local files. This is invoked when neither
- source nor destination path contains a : separator
- it() for copying from the local machine to a remote machine using
- a remote shell program as the transport (such as ssh or
- rsh). This is invoked when the destination path contains a
- single : separator.
- it() for copying from a remote machine to the local machine
- using a remote shell program. This is invoked when the source
- contains a : separator.
- it() for copying from a remote rsync server to the local
- machine. This is invoked when the source path contains a ::
- separator or an rsync:// URL.
- it() for copying from the local machine to a remote rsync
- server. This is invoked when the destination path contains a ::
- separator or an rsync:// URL.
- it() for copying from a remote machine using a remote shell
- program as the transport, using rsync server on the remote
- machine. This is invoked when the source path contains a ::
- separator and the bf(--rsh=COMMAND) (aka "bf(-e COMMAND)") option is
- also provided.
- it() for copying from the local machine to a remote machine
- using a remote shell program as the transport, using rsync
- server on the remote machine. This is invoked when the
- destination path contains a :: separator and the
- bf(--rsh=COMMAND) option is also provided.
- it() for listing files on a remote machine. This is done the
- same way as rsync transfers except that you leave off the
- local destination.
-)
-
-Note that in all cases (other than listing) at least one of the source
-and destination paths must be local.
+Rsync copies files either to or from a remote host, or locally on the
+current host (it does not support copying files between two remote hosts).
+
+There are two different ways for rsync to contact a remote system: using a
+remote-shell program as the transport (such as ssh or rsh) or contacting an
+rsync daemon directly via TCP. The remote-shell transport is used whenever
+the source or destination path contains a single colon (:) separator after
+a host specification. Contacting an rsync daemon directly happens when the
+source or destination path contains a double colon (::) separator after a
+host specification, OR when an rsync:// URL is specified.
+
+As a special case, if a remote source is specified without a destination,
+the remote files are listed in an output format similar to "ls -l".
+
+As expected, if neither the source or destination path specify a remote
+host, the copy occurs locally (see also the bf(--list-only) option).
+
+Finally, it is possible to use a remote-shell transport to contact a remote
+host and then to spawn a single-use rsync daemon. This allows the use of
+some of the daemon features (such as named modules) without having to run a
+daemon as a service. To achieve this, invoke rsync with an explicit
+bf(--rsh=COMMAND) (aka "bf(-e COMMAND)") option combined with either the
+source or destination path specified as an rsync daemon (i.e. either a ::
+separator or an rsync:// URL). In this case, rsync contacts the remote
+host specified using the specified remote shell, and then starts a
+single-use rsync daemon to deal with that copy request. See the section
+"CONNECTING TO AN RSYNC SERVER OVER A REMOTE SHELL PROGRAM" below.
manpagesection(SETUP)
--include=PATTERN don't exclude files matching PATTERN
--include-from=FILE read include patterns from FILE
--files-from=FILE read list of source-file names from FILE
- -0, --from0 all *from file lists are delimited by nulls
- --version print version number
+ -0, --from0 all *from/filter files are delimited by 0s
--address=ADDRESS bind address for outgoing socket to daemon
--port=PORT specify double-colon alternate port number
--blocking-io use blocking I/O for the remote shell
--progress show progress during transfer
-P same as --partial --progress
-i, --itemize-changes output a change-summary for all updates
- --log-format=FORMAT log file-transfers using specified format
+ --log-format=FORMAT output filenames using the specified format
--password-file=FILE read password from FILE
--list-only list the files instead of copying them
--bwlimit=KBPS limit I/O bandwidth; KBytes per second
--checksum-seed=NUM set block/file checksum seed (advanced)
-4, --ipv4 prefer IPv4
-6, --ipv6 prefer IPv6
+ --version print version number
-h, --help show this help screen)
Rsync can also be run as a daemon, in which case the following options are
Note that the names of the transferred files that are output are done using
a default bf(--log-format) of "%n%L", which tells you just the name of the
-file and, if the item is a symlink, where it points. At the single bf(-v)
+file and, if the item is a link, where it points. At the single bf(-v)
level of verbosity, this does not mention when a file gets its attributes
changed. If you ask for an itemized list of changed attributes (either
bf(--itemize-changes) or adding "%i" to the bf(--log-format) setting), the
This would copy all the files specified in the /path/file-list file that
was located on the remote "src" host.
-dit(bf(-0, --from0)) This tells rsync that the filenames it reads from a
+dit(bf(-0, --from0)) This tells rsync that the rules/filenames it reads from a
file are terminated by a null ('\0') character, not a NL, CR, or CR+LF.
This affects bf(--exclude-from), bf(--include-from), bf(--files-from), and any
merged files specified in a bf(--filter) rule.
a "." for no change. Three exceptions to this are: (1) a newly created
item replaces each letter with a "+", (2) an identical item replaces the
dots with spaces, and (3) an unknown attribute replaces each letter with
-a "?" (this happens when talking to an older rsync).
+a "?" (this can happen when talking to an older rsync).
The attribute that is associated with each letter is as follows:
in a significant way (a transferred file, a recreated symlink/device, or a
touched directory) unless the itemized-changes escape (%i) is included in
the string, in which case the logging of names increases to mention any
-item that is updated in any way (as long as the receiving side is version
+item that is changed in any way (as long as the receiving side is at least
2.6.4). See the bf(--itemized-changes) option for a description of the
output of "%i".
dit(bf(--list-only)) This option will cause the source files to be listed
instead of transferred. This option is inferred if there is no destination
specified, so you don't usually need to use it explicitly. However, it can
-come in handy for a power user that wants to avoid the "bf(-r --exclude='/*/*')"
+come in handy for a user that wants to avoid the "bf(-r --exclude='/*/*')"
options that rsync might use as a compatibility kluge when generating a
-non-recursive listing.
+non-recursive listing, or to list the files that are involved in a local
+copy (since the destination path is not optional for a local copy, you
+must specify this option explicitly and still include a destination).
dit(bf(--bwlimit=KBPS)) This option allows you to specify a maximum
transfer rate in kilobytes per second. This option is most effective when
is useful for creating a batch file that is compatible with an older
version of rsync. For instance, if rsync 2.6.4 is being used with the
bf(--write-batch) option, but rsync 2.6.3 is what will be used to run the
-bf(--read-batch) option, you should use "--protocol=28" (when creating the
-batch file) to force the older protocol version to be used in the batch
-file (assuming you can't upgrade the rsync on the reading system to 2.6.4).
+bf(--read-batch) option, you should use "--protocol=28" when creating the
+batch file to force the older protocol version to be used in the batch
+file (assuming you can't upgrade the rsync on the reading system).
dit(bf(-4, --ipv4) or bf(-6, --ipv6)) Tells rsync to prefer IPv4/IPv6
when creating sockets. This only affects sockets that rsync has direct
Please report bugs! See the website at
url(http://rsync.samba.org/)(http://rsync.samba.org/)
+manpagesection(VERSION)
+
+This man page is current for version 2.6.4 of rsync.
+
manpagesection(CREDITS)
rsync is distributed under the GNU public license. See the file
Matt McCutchen's Web Site / rsync / rsync.git / blobdiff