snippetbashTip

rsync — Transfer files either to or from a remote host (but not between two remote hosts), by default using

Submitted by: @import:tldr-pages·Mar 2, 2026·

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Problem

How to use the rsync command: Transfer files either to or from a remote host (but not between two remote hosts), by default using SSH. To specify a remote path, use user@host:path/to/file_or_directory. More information: <https://download.samba.org/pub/rsync/rsync.1>.

Solution

rsync — Transfer files either to or from a remote host (but not between two remote hosts), by default using SSH. To specify a remote path, use user@host:path/to/file_or_directory. More information: <https://download.samba.org/pub/rsync/rsync.1>.

Transfer a file (use --dry-run to simulate the transfer):

rsync {{path/to/source}} {{path/to/destination}}

Use archive mode (recursively copy directories, copy symlinks without resolving, and preserve permissions, ownership, and modification times):

rsync {{[-a|--archive]}} {{path/to/source}} {{path/to/destination}}

Compress the data as it is sent to the destination, display verbose and human-readable progress, and keep partially transferred files if interrupted:

rsync {{[-zvhP|--compress --verbose --human-readable --partial --progress]}} {{path/to/source}} {{path/to/destination}}

Recursively copy directories and ensure each file is fully committed to disk rather than remaining in RAM:

rsync {{[-r|--recursive]}} --fsync {{path/to/source}} {{path/to/destination}}

Transfer directory contents, but not the directory itself:

rsync {{[-r|--recursive]}} {{path/to/source}}/ {{path/to/destination}}

Use archive mode, resolve symlinks, and skip files that are newer on the destination:

rsync {{[-auL|--archive --update --copy-links]}} {{path/to/source}} {{path/to/destination}}

Transfer a directory from a remote host running rsyncd and delete files on the destination that do not exist on the source:

rsync {{[-r|--recursive]}} --delete rsync://{{host}}:{{path/to/source}} {{path/to/destination}}

Transfer a file over SSH using a different port than the default (22) and show global progress:

rsync {{[-e|--rsh]}} 'ssh -p {{port}}' --info=progress2 {{host}}:{{path/to/source}} {{path/to/destination}}

Code Snippets

Transfer a file (use `--dry-run` to simulate the transfer)

rsync {{path/to/source}} {{path/to/destination}}

Use archive mode (recursively copy directories, copy symlinks without resolving, and preserve permissions, ownership, and modification times)

rsync {{[-a|--archive]}} {{path/to/source}} {{path/to/destination}}

Compress the data as it is sent to the destination, display verbose and human-readable progress, and keep partially transferred files if interrupted

rsync {{[-zvhP|--compress --verbose --human-readable --partial --progress]}} {{path/to/source}} {{path/to/destination}}

Recursively copy directories and ensure each file is fully committed to disk rather than remaining in RAM

rsync {{[-r|--recursive]}} --fsync {{path/to/source}} {{path/to/destination}}

Transfer directory contents, but not the directory itself

rsync {{[-r|--recursive]}} {{path/to/source}}/ {{path/to/destination}}

Context

tldr-pages: common/rsync

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