Rsync Command Generator Free Online Tool 2026

Last updated March 22, 2026

Basic Local Directory Sync

Synchronize two local directories:

rsync -av /source/directory/ /destination/directory/

Options:
  -a  Archive mode (preserves permissions, timestamps, symlinks, etc.)
  -v  Verbose output (shows files being transferred)

Note: Trailing slash on source means "sync contents of this directory"
      No trailing slash means "sync the directory itself"

Dry Run — Preview Without Transferring

See what would be transferred without actually doing it:

rsync -avn /source/directory/ /destination/directory/

  -n  Dry run (no files are transferred)

Output shows:
  sending incremental file list
  new-file.txt
  modified-file.txt
  sent 1,234 bytes  received 89 bytes  2,646.00 bytes/sec
  total size is 45,678  speedup is 17.32 (DRY RUN)

Sync to Remote Server via SSH

Transfer files to a remote server:

rsync -avz /local/path/ user@server.example.com:/remote/path/

Options:
  -z  Compress data during transfer (reduces bandwidth)

With custom SSH port:
rsync -avz -e 'ssh -p 2222' /local/path/ user@server.example.com:/remote/path/

With specific SSH key:
rsync -avz -e 'ssh -i ~/.ssh/deploy_key' /local/path/ user@server.example.com:/remote/path/

Sync from Remote Server (Download)

rsync -avz user@server.example.com:/remote/path/ /local/path/

Exclude Files and Directories

Skip specific files and directories during sync:

# Exclude node_modules and .git
rsync -av --exclude='node_modules' --exclude='.git' /source/ /destination/

# Exclude multiple patterns
rsync -av \
  --exclude='node_modules/' \
  --exclude='.git/' \
  --exclude='*.log' \
  --exclude='*.tmp' \
  --exclude='.DS_Store' \
  /source/ /destination/

# Use an exclude file
rsync -av --exclude-from='.rsyncignore' /source/ /destination/

# .rsyncignore contents:
node_modules/
.git/
*.log
*.tmp
.DS_Store
dist/

Website Deployment

Deploy a built website to a web server:

rsync -avz --delete \
  --exclude='.git' \
  --exclude='node_modules' \
  --exclude='src' \
  ./dist/ \
  deploy@webserver.example.com:/var/www/html/

Options used:
  -a      Preserve file attributes
  -v      Verbose output
  -z      Compress during transfer
  --delete Remove files deleted from dist/

Incremental Backup

Create a backup that only transfers changed files:

rsync -avz --delete \
  --backup \
  --backup-dir=/backups/$(date +%Y-%m-%d) \
  /data/ \
  /backups/current/

  --backup          Keep copies of overwritten/deleted files
  --backup-dir=DIR  Store backup copies in this directory

Result:
  /backups/current/     — latest version of all files
  /backups/2026-03-17/  — files that changed on March 17
  /backups/2026-03-16/  — files that changed on March 16

Bandwidth Limiting

Limit transfer speed to avoid saturating the network:

# Limit to 1 MB/s (1024 KB/s)
rsync -avz --bwlimit=1024 /source/ user@server:/destination/

# Limit to 500 KB/s for background backup
rsync -avz --bwlimit=500 /data/ backup@nas:/backups/

Common values:
  --bwlimit=512    512 KB/s (background, minimal impact)
  --bwlimit=1024   1 MB/s
  --bwlimit=5120   5 MB/s
  --bwlimit=10240  10 MB/s

Resume Interrupted Transfer

Resume a large file transfer that was interrupted:

rsync -avz --partial --progress /large-files/ user@server:/destination/

  --partial   Keep partially transferred files (enables resume)
  --progress  Show transfer progress for each file

Output:
  large-video.mp4
        1,234,567,890 100%   45.23MB/s    0:00:26 (xfr#1, to-chk=0/1)

Checksum Verification

Force comparison by file content rather than modification time:

rsync -avc /source/ /destination/

  -c  Checksum mode — compare files by MD5 hash, not mtime+size

Use when:
  - File modification times may be unreliable
  - You need to verify file integrity after transfer
  - Files were copied without preserving timestamps

Note: Slower than default comparison but more thorough

With Logging

Log all transferred files for auditing:

rsync -avz \
  --log-file=/var/log/rsync/backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).log \
  --stats \
  /data/ \
  backup@nas:/backups/

  --log-file=FILE  Write log to this file
  --stats          Show summary statistics after transfer

Log output includes:
  Number of files transferred
  Total bytes sent/received
  Transfer speed
  Any errors encountered

SSH Configuration Options

Customize the SSH connection for remote rsync:

# Custom port + specific key + compression
rsync -avz \
  -e 'ssh -p 2222 -i ~/.ssh/deploy_key -C' \
  /source/ \
  deploy@server.example.com:/destination/

# Disable host key checking (for automated scripts — use carefully)
rsync -avz \
  -e 'ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no' \
  /source/ \
  deploy@server.example.com:/destination/

• Local and remote (SSH) directory synchronization
• Dry run mode to preview changes before transferring
• --delete flag to mirror source exactly
• Exclude patterns for node_modules, .git, logs, and more
• Bandwidth limiting for background operations
• --partial and --progress for large file transfers
• Checksum verification for thorough file comparison
• Logging and statistics for backup auditing

rsync -av --delete /source/directory/ /destination/directory/

  --delete  Remove files from destination that no longer exist in source

Warning: Always do a dry run first when using --delete:
rsync -avn --delete /source/directory/ /destination/directory/