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REMSYNC(1)                  General Commands Manual                 REMSYNC(1)

NAME
       remsync - remotely synchronize file trees

SYNOPSIS
       remsync -sxv tree [state-file]
       remsync -duxvD tree [state-file [diff-file]]
       remsync [-xv] tree [diff-file]

DESCRIPTION
       Remsync synchronizes file trees of distant machines, i.e. machines that
       do not have a fast network between them.  It accomplishes this in three
       steps:

              Create  a  state file containing a description of the machine to
              be updated.

              Compute a file of differences on the source  machine  using  the
              state file to compare the two file trees.

              Update  the  target  machine  using  the data in the differences
              file.

       This process requires that you move two files, a state  file  from  the
       target  machine  to the source machine, and a differences file from the
       source machine to the target machine.  The state file is an ASCII  file
       that  may  be edited, usually to make remsync ignore some files or file
       trees.

       The argument tree may be a single file or a directory.  A directory  is
       traversed  recursively.   The state-file and diff-file arguments may be
       of any file type.  The differences file contains an end marker,  so  it
       may  be followed by trailing junk.  Standard input or output is used if
       these arguments are omitted or replaced by a minus sign.

   State file format
       A state file has a line for each file in a tree.   A  line  looks  like
       this formally for a simple file:

              name mode owner group length date [link-number [last]]

       The  best  way  to  show  how  each  type  of file is represented is by
       example:

              /         d755    0   0
              bin       d755    2   0
                [         644     2   0   233   759160857   1
                cat       755     2   0   3772  768742021
                test      755     2   0   233   759160857   1   last
              dev       d755    0   0
                fd0       b666    0   0   200
                console   c600    10  0   400
                sd2       b600    0   0   a02
                fifo      p700    2   0
              opt       ->      usr/opt
              usr       ignore (Cross-device link)

       The root of the tree is always represented by a /, no matter what  type
       of  file  it  may be.  Directory entries of the root follow at the same
       level.  Files in subdirectories are indented  by  two  spaces.   (Eight
       spaces  are  replaced  by  a  TAB.)  Normal files have their length and
       modified time in the state file, devices have their  device  number  in
       hex,  etc.  If files are hard linked to each other then they all get an
       extra "link number" to bind them together.  The  last  link  is  marked
       with the word last.

       One  usually  only  modifies a state file to ignore differences between
       two files.  One does this by replacing the  file  attributes  with  the
       word  ignore.  (Remsync generates this keyword too, with the reason why
       added in parentheses.)

OPTIONS
       -s     Generate a state file.

       -d     Generate a  differences  file.   (The  default  is  to  apply  a
              differences file.)

       -u     Only add new files or update files with newer versions.

       -x     Do  not  cross device boundaries.  This allows one to operate on
              the root file system for instance ignoring the /usr file system.

       -D     Debug differences file  generation.   With  this  flag  no  file
              contents  are added to the differences file.  The result is then
              human readable.

       -v     Lists the commands added to the differences file, or the actions
              done  applying  a  differences file.  The output looks like UNIX
              commands except for the  words  "add",  "restore"  and  "update"
              indicating  addition  of  a  new  file, replacing a file with an
              older version, or replacement by a newer version.

EXAMPLES
       Actions taken by the author to update his notebook  "finiah"  from  his
       main machine "darask":

              finiah# remsync -s /usr /tmp/finiah.state

              Edit the state file to ignore .Xauthority files and /usr/var.

              finiah# tar cvf /dev/fd0 /tmp/finiah.state

              darask# tar xvf /dev/fd0
              darask# remsync -dv /usr /tmp/finiah.state | vol 1440 /dev/fd0

              finiah# vol 1440 /dev/fd0 | remsync -v /usr

       One  could add a file compression/decompression program between remsync
       and vol, to reduce the number of  floppies  to  move  about,  but  that
       actually  slows  things down!  (Note that one only needs to shuffle two
       floppies about if the two machines are adjacent.  To  update  a  remote
       machine  it  does make sense to use compression to reduce the number of
       floppies to carry.)

SEE ALSO
       synctree(1), vol(1), tar(1).

NOTES
       Nothing stops you from using remsync over a  fast  network  of  course.
       Synctree  can  be a bit tedious if you only want to ignore a few files.
       Editing a state file is then easier.

BUGS
       Files are overwritten, not removed, when they are updated.  This  means
       that  links  outside  the  tree  are  also updated.  The less desirable
       alternative to this is to break the link before the update.

       The verbose option may say that a link is to be created when  making  a
       differences  file.   The  link  is  often already there when the update
       takes place, so no action is taken, and thus no talk about it.  So  you
       may miss a few mutterings about links if you compare the messages.

AUTHOR
       Kees J. Bot (kjb@cs.vu.nl)

                                                                    REMSYNC(1)

NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | OPTIONS | EXAMPLES | SEE ALSO | NOTES | BUGS | AUTHOR