MajorLinux
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Add three new articles to 03-opensource/dev-tools/: - tmux: persistent terminal sessions, background jobs, capture-pane - screen: lightweight alternative, comparison table - rsync: flags reference, resumable transfers, SSH usage Update all indexes (SUMMARY, section index, main index, README). Article count: 28 → 31. Remove tmux from writing backlog. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
103 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
103 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
# rsync — Fast, Resumable File Transfers
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## Problem
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Copying large files or directory trees between drives or servers is slow, fragile, and unresumable with `cp`. A dropped connection or a single error means starting over. You also want to skip files that already exist at the destination without re-copying them.
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## Solution
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`rsync` is a file synchronization tool that only transfers what has changed, preserves metadata, and can resume interrupted transfers. It works locally and over SSH.
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### Installation (Fedora)
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```bash
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sudo dnf install rsync
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```
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### Basic Local Copy
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```bash
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rsync -av /source/ /destination/
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```
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- `-a` — archive mode: preserves permissions, timestamps, symlinks, ownership
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- `-v` — verbose: shows what's being transferred
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**Trailing slash on source matters:**
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- `/source/` — copy the *contents* of source into destination
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- `/source` — copy the source *directory itself* into destination
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### Resume an Interrupted Transfer
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```bash
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rsync -av --partial --progress /source/ /destination/
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```
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- `--partial` — keeps partially transferred files so they can be resumed
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- `--progress` — shows per-file progress and speed
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### Skip Already-Transferred Files
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```bash
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rsync -av --ignore-existing /source/ /destination/
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```
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Useful when restarting a migration — skips anything already at the destination regardless of timestamp comparison.
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### Dry Run First
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Always preview what rsync will do before committing:
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```bash
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rsync -av --dry-run /source/ /destination/
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```
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No files are moved. Output shows exactly what would happen.
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### Transfer Over SSH
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```bash
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rsync -av -e ssh /source/ user@remotehost:/destination/
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```
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Or with a non-standard port:
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```bash
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rsync -av -e "ssh -p 2222" /source/ user@remotehost:/destination/
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```
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### Exclude Patterns
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```bash
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rsync -av --exclude='*.tmp' --exclude='.Trash*' /source/ /destination/
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```
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### Real-World Use
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Migrating ~286 files from `/majorRAID` to `/majorstorage` during a RAID dissolution project:
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```bash
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rsync -av --partial --progress --ignore-existing \
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/majorRAID/ /majorstorage/ \
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2>&1 | tee /root/raid_migrate.log
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```
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Run inside a `tmux` or `screen` session so it survives SSH disconnects:
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```bash
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tmux new-session -d -s rsync-migrate \
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"rsync -av --partial --progress /majorRAID/ /majorstorage/ | tee /root/raid_migrate.log"
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```
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### Check Progress on a Running Transfer
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```bash
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tail -f /root/raid_migrate.log
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```
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---
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## Tags
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#rsync #linux #storage #file-transfer #sysadmin #dev-tools
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