RsyncOSX
If you want to discuss changes or report bugs please create an issue.
Read about the --delete parameter (below) to rsync before using rsync and RsyncOSX.
RsyncOSX is a GUI on top of the command line utility rsync. Rsync is a file-based synchronization and backup tool. There is no custom solution for the backup archive. You can quit utilizing RsyncOSX (and rsync) at any time and still have access to all synchronized files.
RsyncOSX is compiled with support for macOS El Capitan version 10.11 - macOS Catalina version 10.15. The application is implemented in pure Swift 5 (Cocoa and Foundation). RsyncOSX is not depended upon any third party binary distributions. There is, however, one third party source code included to check for TCP connections.
Scheduled tasks are added and deleted within RsyncOSX. Executing the scheduled tasks is by the menu app.
Remote servers
If destination is a remote server, RsyncOSX is dependent on setting up password-less logins. Both ssh-keys and rsync daemon setup are possible. It is advised utilizing ssh-keys because communication between source and destination (client and server) is encrypted.
If destination is a local attached volume, the above is not relevant.
Signing and notarizing
The app is signed with my Apple ID developer certificate and notarized by Apple. See signing and notarizing for info. Signing and notarizing is required to run on macOS Catalina.
Localization
RsyncOSX speaks new languages. RsyncOSX is localized to:
- Chinese (Simplified) - by StringKe
- German - by Andre
- French - translated by crowdin
- Norwegian - by me
- English - the base language of RsyncOSX
- Italian - by Stefano Steve Cutelle'
Localization is done by utilizing Crowdin to translate the xliff files which are imported into Xcode after translating. Xcode then creates the required language strings. Crowdin is free for open source projects.
Version of rsync
RsyncOSX is only verified with rsync versions 2.6.9, 3.1.2 and 3.1.3. Other versions of rsync will work but numbers about transferred files is not set in logs. It is recommended to install the latest version of rsync.
If you are only looking for utilizing stock version of rsync (version 2.6.9) and only synchronize data to either local attached disks or remote servers, there is a minor version (RsynGUI) available on Mac App Store. RsyncGUI does not support snapshots or scheduling task.
Some words about RsyncOSX
RsyncOSX is not developed to be an easy to use synchronize and backup tool. The main purpose is to assist and ease the use of rsync to synchronize files on your Mac to remote FreeBSD and Linux servers. And of course restore files from those remote servers.
The UI can for users who dont know rsync, be difficult or complex to understand. It is not required to know rsync but it will ease the use and understanding of RsyncOSX. But it is though, possible to use RsyncOSX by just adding a source and remote backup catalog using default parameters.
RsyncOSX supports synchronize and snapshots of files.
If your plan is to use RsyncOSX as your main tool for backup of files, please investigate and understand the limits of it. RsyncOSX is quite powerful, but it is might not the primary backup tool for the average user of macOS.
There is a short intro to RsyncOSX and some more documentation of RsyncOSX.
The --delete parameter
Caution about RsyncOSX and the `--delete` parameter. The `--delete` is a default parameter.
The parameter instructs rsync to keep the source and destination synchronized (in sync).
The parameter instructs rsync to delete all files in the destination which are not present
in the source.
Every time you add a new task to RsyncOSX, execute an estimation run (--dry-run) and inspect
the result before executing a real run. If you by accident set an empty catalog as source
RsyncOSX (rsync) will delete all files in the destination.
To save deleted and changes files either utilize snapshots or the --backup parameter. The --delete parameter and other default parameters might be deleted if wanted.
Main view
The main view of RsyncOSX.
Prepare for synchronizing tasks.
The source code and compile
There are some details about source and how to compile.
A Sandboxed version
There is also released a minor version, RsyncGUI of RsyncOSX on Apple Mac App Store. See the changelog. RsyncGUI utilizes stock version of rsync in macOS and RsyncGUI only supports synchronize task (no snapshots).
About bugs?
Over the years most bugs are smoked out. Thanks to users who reports bugs. Fighting bugs are difficult. I am not able to test RsyncOSX for all possible user interactions and use. I need support from other users discovering bugs or not expected results. If you discover a bug please report it.
About restoring files to a temporary restore catalog
If you do a restore from the remote to the source, some files in the source might be deleted. This is due to how rsync works in synchronize mode. As a precaution never do a restore directly from the remote to the source, always do a restore to a temporary restore catalog.
Application icon
The application icon is created by Zsolt Sándor. All rights reserved to Zsolt Sándor.
How to use RsyncOSX - YouTube videos
There are two short YouTube videos of RsyncOSX:
- getting RsyncOSX and installing it
- the video also shows how to create the two local ssh certificates for password less logins to remote server
- adding and executing the first backup
XCTest
XCTest configurations are in development.