rsync (Remote Sync)

From man rsync:

Rsync is a fast and extraordinarily versatile file copying tool. It can copy locally, to/from another host over any remote shell, or to/from a remote rsync daemon.

It is famous for its delta-transfer algorithm, which reduces the amount of data sent over the network by sending only the differences between the source files and the existing files in the destination.

• Basic Usage:

  rsync [options] <src> <dest>
  

  src/dest can be local or remote, but not both remote!

• Important options:

  • –help, -h
  • –verbose, -v
  • –quiet, -q
  • –dry-run, -n
  • –recursive, -r
  • –archive, -a (recursive and preserve file metadata)
  • –backup, -b (preexisting dest files renamed)
  • –backup-dir=DIR (store backups in different dir on dest)
  • –compress, -z
  • –delete (remove dest files not in src)
  • –exclude=PATTERN
  • –include=PATTERN
  • –partial (keep partially transferred files, fill on next transfer)
  • –progress
  • –stats
  • -P = --partial + --progress

• Replicate data from folder1 to folder2:

  rsync -avrzP --delete folder1/ folder2
  

  • For scripts, remove -v -P and use -q --partial instead

  Note the trailing slash; without slash it will put folder1 inside folder2