Rsync Command Cheatsheet

rsync is a versatile command-line tool for efficiently synchronizing files and directories between local and remote systems. It’s useful for various tasks, including backups and data transfer. Here’s a quick cheatsheet to help you master rsync commands:

1. Copy Files from Local to Remote:

rsync -avzP /source/ user@remote:/destination/

• -a: Archive mode (preserves permissions and more).
• -v: Verbose mode (display progress).
• -z: Compress files during transfer.
• -P: Show progress and allow resuming.

This command copies files from a local directory to a remote server. Replace /source/ with your local directory path and user@remote:/destination/ with your server credentials and destination path.

2. Copy Files from Remote to Local:

rsync -avzP user@remote:/source/ /destination/

• Options same as in #1.

Use this command to pull files from a remote server to your local machine.

3. Exclude Unnecessary Files and Directories:

rsync -avzP --exclude=folder/ /source/ user@remote:/destination/

• Additional --exclude flags to exclude specific folders or files.

Exclude unnecessary files or directories by specifying them with --exclude.

4. Delete Remote Files Not Present Locally:

rsync -avzP --delete /source/ user@remote:/destination/

• --delete: Delete remote files not present locally.

Ensure that files deleted locally are also removed from the remote server during synchronization.

5. Specify SSH Key and Port:

rsync -avzP -e "ssh -i /path/to/private/key -p 22" /source/ user@remote:/destination/

• -e: Specify the SSH command with options.

Use this when connecting to a remote server with a non-standard SSH key or port.

6. Dry Run (Preview Changes):

rsync -avzP --dry-run /source/ user@remote:/destination/

• --dry-run: Simulate the rsync operation without making changes.

Preview changes before syncing with this command.

7. SSH Compression (Faster Transfer):

rsync -avzP -e "ssh -C" /source/ user@remote:/destination/

• -C: Enable SSH compression.

Speed up transfer by enabling SSH compression for data transmission.

Feel free to customize these commands to suit your specific needs when working with rsync.