Some advanced features

• 1: URL commands
• 2: Passwordless login
• 3: Tools for passwordless login
• 4: Export and import
• 5: Snapshots

1 - URL commands

Deep links provide direct access to app features via URL. Using deep links, you can estimate and synchronize in a single click. Deep links in RsyncUI group actions that typically require multiple steps.

There are three methods of using deep links:

• enable RsyncUI widgets
• use URL functions direct within RsyncUI
• save an URL-link in e.g. Notepad

RsyncUI Widget

One widget is embedded in RsyncUI:

• estimating and synchronizing

The widget retrieves a saved URL from storage. In the Tasks view, there is a URL view where you can save the required URL. The widget shows whether a validated URL is present. To enable the widget on macOS, click the date and time icon in the upper right corner of your screen. Edit widgets and select RsyncUI, then add the widget.

After enabling the widget, a single click on the widget will launch RsyncUI and execute the corresponding action. To modify the URL, update and save the new URL.

Execute URL´s from within RsyncUI

Deep links also enable automation of actions within RsyncUI. A single click on the toolbar icon executes the URL action. RsyncUI generates the necessary URL based on the loaded profile and the required action. The two yellow toolbar icons allow execution of URL commands from within RsyncUI, as demonstrated in section above.

URL´s and Notepad

URL´s must start with rsyncuiapp://:

• Estimate all tasks and automatically synchronize data
  • load profile, estimate all tasks and automatically synchronize data

View URL

You may copy the correct URLs and save the URLs in e.g Notepad for easy access to start a synchronize task.

Errors in URL link

If RsyncUI encounters an invalid URL link, it will generate errors. Only well-defined URLs (specifically those supported by RsyncUI) are processed and executed. All URLs are validated as valid, but only defined URLs for RsyncUI are actually executed.

2 - Passwordless login

To synchronize to a remote server using RsyncUI, passwordless SSH key authentication is required. RsyncUI does not support password-based authentication. SSH keys are generally more secure than passwords.

If default values for RSA-based SSH keys are used, no additional SSH info is needed in RsyncUI. Custom SSH keypaths, identity files, or port numbers must be configured.

The SSH keypath and identity file are specified as follows:

-e "ssh -i ~/.keypath/identityfile -p NN"

where:

• -i ~/.keypath/identityfile is the SSH keypath and identity file
• -p NN is the port number used for communication (default port 22)

To use custom SSH key and keypath data, add the following information to RsyncUI in the settings:

To configure the SSH keypath and identity file, refer to the user configuration in the SSH settings. When enabling a custom SSH keypath and identity file, please ensure they follow this format:

~/.mynewsshdirectory/mynewkey

For example:

~/.ssh_rsyncosx/rsyncosx

The path must start with ~ followed by /. RsyncUI will verify that the SSH keypath begins with ~ and contains at least two forward slashes (/) before saving the new SSH keypath.

The rsync command to synchronize my Documents directory to my Raspberry Pi server is set by RsyncUI as:

/opt/homebrew/bin/rsync --archive --verbose --compress \
-e "ssh -i ~/.ssh_rsyncosx/rsyncosx -p 22" --stats \
/Users/thomas/Documents/ thomas@raspberrypi:/backups/Documents/

For more information on passwordless login, please refer to the Tools for passwordless login section.

3 - Tools for passwordless login

RsyncUI uses standard SSH tools ssh-keygen and ssh-copy-id to help you set up passwordless login via SSH key authentication.

SSH Key Methods

RsyncUI supports two approaches:

1. Default SSH keys: Uses the standard RSA key location (~/.ssh/id_rsa)
2. Custom SSH keys: Uses a user-specified location (e.g., ~/.ssh_rsyncosx/rsyncosx)

With default keys, RsyncUI doesn’t add extra SSH parameters. Custom keys require additional parameters.

Step-by-Step: Creating Custom SSH Keys

Step 1: Create the SSH Directory

cd
mkdir .ssh_rsyncosx

Step 2: Generate the Key Pair

ssh-keygen -t rsa -N "" -f ~/.ssh_rsyncosx/rsyncosx

Parameters explained:

• -t rsa - Creates an RSA-based key pair
• -N "" - Sets no password (empty passphrase)
• -f ~/.ssh_rsyncosx/rsyncosx - Specifies where to save the keys

Step 3: Copy Public Key to Server

ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh_rsyncosx/rsyncosx.pub -p NN user@server

Replace:

• NN with your SSH port number (default is 22)
• user with your remote username
• server with your server address

Step 4: Set Correct Permissions

chmod 700 ~/.ssh_rsyncosx

Step 5: Verify the SSH-key

/usr/bin/ssh -p NN -i ~/.ssh_rsyncosx/rsyncosx user@server

Replace:

• NN with your SSH port number (default is 22)
• user with your remote username
• server with your server address

Step 6: Configure RsyncUI

Add your custom SSH keypath and identity file in RsyncUI’s user configuration. RsyncUI will automatically apply these settings.

You can also set custom SSH parameters for individual tasks, which will override the global settings.

4 - Export and import

Tasks can be exported and imported between profiles and to new Macs. Select the “File” menu and then “Export and import.”

5 - Snapshots

In each snapshot task, RsyncUI stores the next snapshot number. The number increments by one after each run. Rsync automatically creates the next snapshot directory, and RsyncUI updates the stored number. The number is displayed as part of the log timestamp.

If a file named “file.txt” is saved in the initial snapshot and remains unchanged or is deleted, the “file.txt” in the latest snapshot is a hardlink to the original file in the first snapshot.

If “file.txt” is deleted from the source, the filesystem manages the hardlink appropriately during the delete operation.

In RsyncUI, the first and last snapshots are never deleted, even if all snapshots are marked for deletion.

Snapshots

A snapshot is a saved state or backup of data at a specific point in time. Each snapshot is synchronized with the source at the time of creation.

Remote Server

The rsync parameter for the next snapshot to synchronize to a remote.server is:

--link-dest=~/snapshots/n-1 /Users/thomas/data/ user@remote.server:~/snapshots/n

where:

• n is the number of the next snapshot to be synchronized
• n-1 is the latest synchronized snapshot
• /Users/thomas/data/ is the source directory, only read by rsync
• ~/snapshots/ is the destination directory where snapshots are synchronized

Local Attached Disk

The above example with a local attached disk, mounted at /Volumes/backup, is:

--link-dest=/Volumes/backup/snapshots/n-1 /Users/thomas/data/ /Volumes/backup/snapshots/n

where:

• n is the number of the next snapshot to be synchronized
• n-1 is the latest synchronized snapshot
• /Users/thomas/data/ is the source directory, only read by rsync
• /Volumes/backup/snapshots/ is the destination directory where snapshots are synchronized

Snapshot Creation

To create a snapshot task, select “snapshot” as the action in the Add tasks section. RsyncUI automatically manages the snapshot number “n” for the task. This number represents the next available snapshot number and is used to calculate the rsync parameter.

Snapshot Administration

Snapshot administration is essential for maintaining an organized and efficient backup system. It involves regularly reviewing and deleting unnecessary or outdated snapshots to prevent clutter and optimize backup space usage.

Deleting Snapshots

Deleting snapshots is a destructive operation that should be performed with caution. It is important to have a plan in place to determine which snapshots to keep and which to delete. RsyncUI provides a simple plan for managing snapshot retention.

The Plan for Keep and Delete

Selecting the “Tag” button evaluates all snapshots based on the date within the log record. Based on the selected plan and date, snapshots are either tagged with “keep” or “delete.” Snapshots tagged with “delete” are also preselected for deletion. To delete the marked snapshots, select the “Delete” button.

Even if all snapshots are tagged for deletion, the first and last snapshots are never deleted. They are automatically removed from the delete list during the internal preparation for deletion.

The plan is based on three time periods, where the plan parameter affects previous months (and years):

• The current week

  • keep all snapshots within the current week
  • the value of plan has no effect on the current week

• The current month (minus the current week)

  • keep all snapshots for the selected day of week, e.g., all snapshots every Sunday this month
  • the value of plan has no effect on the current month

• Previous months (and years)

  • keep the snapshot in the last week of the month for the selected day of week, e.g., the last Sunday in the month
  • if plan == Every, keep snapshots for the selected day of week, e.g., all snapshots every Sunday in previous periods
  • if plan == Last, keep snapshots for the selected day of week, e.g., all snapshots on the last Sunday of every month in previous periods

Tagging and Deleting Snapshots

It is recommended to optimize the number of snapshots regularly. Select a plan, tag the snapshots, and delete the snapshots marked for deletion.