Parameters to rsync

1: Default parameters to rsync

RsyncUI provides default parameters for data synchronization. However, the actual default parameters utilized in tasks are determined by whether the rsync operation is performed over a network connection or to a local attached disk.

User Parameter Management

Users have the ability to modify default parameters as necessary. Parameters to rsync are stored in tasks, including a local ssh parameter. The local ssh parameter overrides a global ssh parameter if set.

SSH Key Handling

If default ssh-key values are employed and no information regarding ssh-keys is provided in RsyncUI, the parameter -e ssh is appended to the rsync command to ensure data is tunneled and encrypted using ssh. This applies exclusively to remote servers and data restoration.

Task-Specific SSH Parameters

Task-specific ssh parameters override global ssh parameters configured in the user settings.

ssh port: Specify if ssh utilizes a port other than the standard port 22.
ssh-keypath and identity file: Typically, these are .ssh/id_rsa. Set only if alternative keypath and identity file are to be utilized by ssh.

Adding Parameters to Rsync

To add a parameter to rsync, enter it in the corresponding field. RsyncUI supports seven user-defined parameters. Users can add parameters using any of the fields. However, users are responsible for verifying the accuracy of the added parameters. If an incorrect parameter is added, rsync will generate an error message.

Parameters

Parameters are typically constructed as follows:

parameter=value
- --exclude-from=/Volumes/home/user/exclude-list.txt
--stats: Enables the display of statistics during the synchronization process.
--dry-run: Executes a simulated synchronization without modifying the files.

For a comprehensive list of parameters for rsync, please refer to the rsync documentation.

Backup Switch

The rsync command allows you to instruct it to save modified and deleted files in a separate backup catalog prior to the synchronization process. This feature can be enabled by setting the following parameters:

--backup: Enables the saving of modified files.
--backup-dir: Specifies the directory where modified or deleted files should be saved before synchronization. The RsyncUI provides a default value for this parameter, but you can customize it as per your requirements.

The default backup catalog for the <catalog to synchronize> relative to the synchronized catalog is ../backup_<catalog to synchronize>.

Verify Changes

The resulting command-line string is dynamically updated when modifying parameters. The Play icon on the toolbar allows you to test new parameters before saving them. The Play executes a --dry-run task for verification of parameters.

The Play icon is context-sensitive. If the verify switch is selected, the Verify command is executed. Similarly, the synchronize and restore switches execute the corresponding commands.

1 - Default parameters to rsync

Certain default parameters can be enabled or disabled on a task basis.

--compress: Compresses files before transmission, applicable only to networked tasks.
--delete: Deletes all files at the destination that are not present in the source.

Parameters Applicable to All Tasks:

--archive: Ensures that all files are transferred with all attributes preserved.
--verbose: Enables verbose output from rsync, necessary for counting files in RsyncUI.

Note: RsyncUI does not officially support the rsync daemon: command. However, it is possible to configure a rsync daemon setup. Please note that a rsync daemon setup does not encrypt the transfer between the client and server. To encrypt the transfer, you need to tunnel the traffic using the SSH protocol. For more information on setting up SSH passwordless logins, please refer to the documentation at passwordless logins.

Enabling the rsync Daemon: Enabling the rsync daemon involves adding a double colon :: to the address parameter in the rsync command. This forces rsync to use the rsync daemon remote.