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rsync output: what do the characters on the left mean?

Asked 2009-07-11T15:24:13.427
53

I do not understand the output I am getting from rsync. Can someone help me out?

The output contains lines such as:

<f.st...... somefile.txt
<f+++++++++ someOtherfile.zip
.d..t...... someDir/

I do not understand what the options on the left mean.

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2 Answers

88

I've paraphrased here the relevant portion of the manpage for people who have trouble finding it:

The first character indicates what is happening to the file:

  • < means that a file is being transferred to the remote host (sent).
  • > means that a file is being transferred to the local host (received).
  • c means that a local change/creation is occurring for the item (such as the creation of a directory or the changing of a symlink, etc.).
  • h means that the item is a hard link to another item (requires --hard-links).
  • . means that the item is not being updated (though it might have attributes that are being modified).
  • * means that the rest of the itemized-output area contains a message (e.g. "deleting").

The second character indicates what type of directory entry it is. Specifically:

  • f for file
  • d for directory
  • L for symbolic link
  • D for device
  • S for special file (e.g. socket or fifo)

The remaining columns are described below:

  • c means either that a regular file has a different checksum or that a symlink, device, or special file has a changed value.
  • s means the size of a regular file is different and will be updated by the file transfer.
  • t or T:
    • t means the modification time is different and is being updated to the sender's value
    • T means that the modification time will be set to the transfer time
  • p means the permissions are different and are being updated to the sender's value
  • o means the owner is different and is being updated to the sender's value
  • g means the group is diff
answered 2011-10-19T08:12:16.613
4

I believe that output comes from the '-i' flag, search the man page for 'itemize' a few times (or search for 'cryptic output') and it shows what all the flags mean:

  • < means that a file is being transferred to the remote host (sent).
  • f for a file
  • d for directory
  • s means the size of a regular file is different and will be updated by the file transfer.
  • t means the modification time is different and is being updated
answered 2011-03-27T03:32:14.337

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