Version 3.5.0 — Scheduling and Simplified Chinese

RsyncUI 3.5.0

Simplified Chinese translation

The application interface now includes a Simplified Chinese translation. Many thanks to @markawonge for contributing it.

Native Chinese speakers: please help review the translation. Check whether the wording is accurate, natural, and clear. Please open an issue in the RsyncUI repository to confirm that the translation is suitable or to report incorrect wording, unclear terminology, missing translations, or layout problems. For corrections, include the current text, your suggested wording, and a screenshot where helpful.

The translation may be revised in later updates based on feedback. It was first available for review in RsyncUI 3.2.0, build 211.

Scheduling changes

Built-in scheduling is removed in version 3.5.0. Choose a scheduling tool to start your profiles:

• ScheduleRsync: a dedicated application with a calendar, repeat schedules, spacing between starts, and quiet hours. See Scheduling in ScheduleRsync.
• Apple Shortcuts: an option for simple time-based schedules on macOS Tahoe 26 or later. See Schedule with Apple Shortcuts.
• Other scheduling tools: any tool that can open a macOS URL can trigger RsyncUI, as described below.

Versions 3.1.0 and 3.2.0 support external URL commands but require a manual restart of RsyncUI before another command can run. Version 3.5.0 automatically quits after each external URL command completes, allowing the next scheduled command to launch it again.

Trigger RsyncUI with a URL

You can use any scheduling tool to schedule backups with RsyncUI, provided it can open a URL through macOS. For example, run this command in Terminal:

open "rsyncuiapp://loadprofileandestimate?profile=Default"

This opens RsyncUI, loads the selected profile, estimates its tasks, and automatically starts synchronization. Replace Default with your profile name, URL-encoding it when necessary. RsyncUI must be installed, and the Mac must be awake when the scheduling tool runs the command. ScheduleRsync provides a dedicated interface for managing these schedules, but you can choose another tool that supports running this command.

In a macOS Swift application, use AppKit to open the same URL:

import AppKit

@MainActor
func triggerRsyncUI(profile: String = "Default") {
    var components = URLComponents()
    components.scheme = "rsyncuiapp"
    components.host = "loadprofileandestimate"
    components.queryItems = [URLQueryItem(name: "profile", value: profile)]

    guard let url = components.url else { return }
    if !NSWorkspace.shared.open(url) {
        print("Unable to open RsyncUI.")
    }
}

URLComponents encodes the profile name for the URL. Call triggerRsyncUI(profile: "Default") on the main actor when the schedule is due. Opening the URL hands the command to RsyncUI; it does not confirm that synchronization has completed.

Schedule with Apple Shortcuts

Apple Shortcuts is a straightforward alternative to ScheduleRsync for simple daily or weekly schedules. It is included with macOS. Time-based automations require macOS Tahoe 26 or later; older macOS versions can run shortcuts manually but do not offer this built-in time trigger.

Create the shortcut

1. Open Shortcuts on your Mac and create a new shortcut, for example RsyncUI — Default.

2. Add the URL action and enter:

   rsyncuiapp://loadprofileandestimate?profile=Default
   

3. Add Open URLs after the URL action, using the URL from the previous action as its input.

4. Replace Default with the required RsyncUI profile name. URL-encode special characters in the profile name, for example My%20Backup for My Backup.

5. Run the shortcut manually once to check that RsyncUI opens with the correct profile, and approve any macOS permission prompt. This test can start synchronization, so use a profile that is ready to run.

Schedule the shortcut

1. In Shortcuts, open Automation and add a new automation.
2. Select Time of Day, choose the start time, and select the required daily, weekly, or monthly recurrence.
3. Choose the shortcut you created. Select Run Immediately so it runs without waiting for confirmation; wording and placement can vary with the macOS version.
4. Create additional shortcuts or time automations for other profiles and start times as needed.

RsyncUI must be installed and registered for the rsyncuiapp URL scheme. Keep the Mac awake and the user logged in for the scheduled run; this setup does not configure the Mac to wake. Shortcuts sends the same URL command as ScheduleRsync, so RsyncUI remains responsible for estimation and synchronization.

This alternative does not read ScheduleRsync’s schedule file or automatically apply its quiet hours, global minimum gap, adjusted/skipped-run planning, or wake catch-up rules. Choose times outside your quiet hours and leave enough time between profiles for synchronization to finish. Disable equivalent schedules in other tools to avoid duplicate starts.

For background and setup information, see Apple’s Shortcuts User Guide for Mac and macOS Tahoe feature overview.

Scheduling in ScheduleRsync

In ScheduleRsync, select an RsyncUI profile, choose its first run date and time, and create a schedule:

• Once: run at the selected date and time.
• Daily: repeat each day.
• Weekly: repeat each week.
• Repeat: run at a fixed interval in whole minutes, with a minimum of 30 minutes.

ScheduleRsync shows upcoming runs in a calendar and schedule list. You can inspect the profiles and times for a day, or delete a schedule series to remove its future runs.

Spacing and quiet hours

A global Minimum between tasks setting spaces scheduled starts across all profiles. The default is 15 minutes. This is a gap between start times; ScheduleRsync does not receive a completion notification from RsyncUI.

An optional Quiet period, enabled by default from 23:00 to 07:00 local time, moves starts out of those hours. Conflicting starts are delayed while keeping the original recurrence. If a delayed run would reach the next occurrence in its series, or fall outside the planning horizon, it is skipped. Adjusted runs are shown in yellow and skipped runs in red.

Keep ScheduleRsync running

ScheduleRsync must remain running with its main window open. Closing that window quits the app and stops scheduling. It does not install a background service or wake the Mac, so keep the Mac awake for runs to start on time.

After the Mac wakes, ScheduleRsync catches up on overdue runs. Multiple missed repeats are combined into one catch-up run per schedule, subject to spacing and quiet hours. Runs missed while ScheduleRsync was closed are skipped when it next opens.

Existing schedules

ScheduleRsync uses the existing RsyncUI schedule file, ~/.rsyncosx/<Mac serial>/schedule.json, and reads profiles from the same configuration directory. Existing once, daily, and weekly schedules remain readable without copying or migrating the file. Avoid running the scheduler in an older RsyncUI version alongside ScheduleRsync, as both applications could trigger the same schedules.

How ScheduleRsync triggers RsyncUI

When a schedule becomes due, ScheduleRsync opens RsyncUI using its external URL command. For the Default profile, the command is:

rsyncuiapp://loadprofileandestimate?profile=Default

ScheduleRsync substitutes the selected profile name and URL-encodes it. macOS delivers the URL to RsyncUI, launching the application if needed. RsyncUI loads that profile, estimates its tasks, and automatically starts synchronization. RsyncUI must be installed and registered to handle the rsyncuiapp URL scheme. See URL commands for more details.

ScheduleRsync manages the timing; RsyncUI performs the actual synchronization. RsyncUI may reject an incoming command if another operation is already in progress, so allow enough time between scheduled starts for your profiles to finish.

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