rsync

Guide for synchronizing files and directories between systems using rsync over SSH.

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Local to remote

1. Install

   Ensure rsync is installed on both the local (source) and remote (destination) systems.

   sudo apt update && sudo apt install rsync -y

2. Basic sync

   Synchronize a local directory to a remote server. The -a flag preserves permissions/links, and -v provides verbose output.

   rsync -av {{RSYNC_LOCAL_PATH_VAR}} {{USERNAME_VAR}}@{{SERVER_IP_VAR}}:{{RSYNC_REMOTE_PATH_VAR}}

3. Sync with compression and progress

   Use -z to compress data during transfer and -P to show a progress bar and allow resuming partial transfers.

   rsync -avzP {{RSYNC_LOCAL_PATH_VAR}} {{USERNAME_VAR}}@{{SERVER_IP_VAR}}:{{RSYNC_REMOTE_PATH_VAR}}

4. Delete extraneous files

   Use the --delete flag to remove files on the destination that no longer exist on the source, keeping them perfectly in sync.

   rsync -av --delete {{RSYNC_LOCAL_PATH_VAR}} {{USERNAME_VAR}}@{{SERVER_IP_VAR}}:{{RSYNC_REMOTE_PATH_VAR}}

Remote to local (pull)

1. Pull files

   Download a directory from a remote server to your local machine.

   rsync -av {{USERNAME_VAR}}@{{SERVER_IP_VAR}}:{{RSYNC_REMOTE_PATH_VAR}} {{RSYNC_LOCAL_PATH_VAR}}

2. Custom SSH port

   If the remote server uses a non-standard SSH port, specify it using the -e flag.

   rsync -av -e 'ssh -p 2222' {{USERNAME_VAR}}@{{SERVER_IP_VAR}}:{{RSYNC_REMOTE_PATH_VAR}} {{RSYNC_LOCAL_PATH_VAR}}

Maintenance

1. Dry run

   Always perform a dry run before executing a command with --delete to see what changes will be made without actually transferring files.

   rsync -av --dry-run {{RSYNC_LOCAL_PATH_VAR}} {{USERNAME_VAR}}@{{SERVER_IP_VAR}}:{{RSYNC_REMOTE_PATH_VAR}}

2. Exclude files

   Exclude specific files or directories (like node_modules or .git) from being synchronized.

   rsync -av --exclude '{{PATTERN_VAR}}' {{RSYNC_LOCAL_PATH_VAR}} {{USERNAME_VAR}}@{{SERVER_IP_VAR}}:{{RSYNC_REMOTE_PATH_VAR}}