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rsync icon

rsync

Utility for Unix file and directory synchronization using delta encoding for efficient transfer, supports compression, incremental backup, remote operation via SSH, customizable filters, permission and timestamp preservation, and daemon mode on TCP 873.

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  • Linux  Provided by distribution
  • BSD  Provided by distribution
  • Cygwin
  • Haiku
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  • humble-advisor liked rsync
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Comments and Reviews

   
Top Positive Comment
0

Powerful, fast, extensive and useful manual page.

zd2305340
3

I depend only on 2 tools to copy my files, Rsync on Linux and Gs Richcopy360 on windows. I think I will not need anything else in the future.

INSIDE
0

Not long ago I tried to sync between two computers around 500GB of data. With default rsync -a "source" "dest" I realize that it's taking really too much of time. "Too much" mean - days. On VPSes with 10Gbit/s uplink and powerful processors. This is absolutely not okay.

Then, I tried to optimize it and found: https://gist.github.com/KartikTalwar/4393116 Yes, it improves speed dramatically, but not so good as it can be.

Yes, I start to reach around 20-30MB/s, but for 500GB of data, it's not okay. Then I tried to use a totally different tool (clone) and my speed goes up to 120MB and more (due to some limitations and cap from provider side, it was manually capped to 140-150MB).

Is rsync good? Yes. Is it fast? No. Is it saves time? Depends. Is it good for file transfer (many files and massive drives?) No. Is it good for backups? Dunno. Are there any faster alternatives? Yes, a lot of them.

0x00F
1

rsync is my favorite tool to transfer files between computers without having to spend a lot of time managing the process. It supports synchronization and is very configurable in order to be added to some scripts you might already be using.

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Official Links

Install from the command line

  • brew install rsync

Be careful what you paste into a terminal. Check what a command installs before running it.

What is rsync?

Rsync is a Unix-based file transfer utility that uses the "rsync algorithm" for fast synchronization of remote files. It only transmits the differences between files, eliminating the need for both sets to be in one location before synchronization. Rsync can update entire directory trees and filesystems, and preserve file attributes such as symbolic links, hard links, ownership, permissions, devices, and timestamps. It doesn't need special privileges for installation and features a pipelining system to reduce latency when processing multiple files. Rsync can use rsh, ssh or direct sockets for transport, and supports anonymous rsync for mirroring purposes.

rsync information

  • Developed by

    US flagAndrew Tridgell
  • Licensing

    Open Source (GPL-2.0) and Free product.
  • Written in

  • Rating

    Average rating of 4.7
  • Alternatives

    146 alternatives listed
  • Badge

    Get an embeddable badge for rsync
  • Supported Languages

    • English

AlternativeTo Categories

Backup & Sync, File Management, OS & Utilities

GitHub repository

  •  5,285 Stars
  •  613 Forks
  •  326 Open Issues
  •   Updated  
View on GitHub

Our users have written 4 comments and reviews about rsync, and it has gotten 280 likes

rsync was added to AlternativeTo by TheLoneCabbage on and this page was last updated .