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rsync and Logging

rsync Options

This tool uses rsync with the following key options:

  • -a : Archive mode (preserves permissions, times, symbolic links, etc.)
  • -i : Itemize changes (shows a change summary for each file)
  • -v : Verbose output
  • --stats : Print a detailed set of statistics on the file transfer
  • --delete : Delete extraneous files from the destination dirs (if enabled in the job)
  • --exclude=PATTERN : Exclude files matching PATTERN (from job or source/target exclusions)
  • --log-file=FILE : Write rsync output to the specified log file
  • --dry-run : Show what would be done, but make no changes (for simulation/dry-run mode)

Understanding the -i (itemize changes) Output

The -i flag produces a change summary for each file, with a string of characters indicating what changed. For example:

>f.st...... somefile.txt
cd+++++++++ newdir/

The first character indicates the file type and action:

  • > : File sent to the receiver
  • < : File received from the sender
  • c : Local change/creation of a directory

The next characters indicate what changed:

  • f : File
  • d : Directory
  • L : Symlink
  • D : Device
  • S : Special file

The remaining characters show what changed (see man rsync for full details):

  • s : Size
  • t : Modification time
  • p : Permissions
  • o : Owner
  • g : Group
  • a : ACL
  • x : Extended attributes
  • + : Creation (for directories)

Logging

Each job writes its rsync output to a dedicated log file, typically named job-<jobname>.log in a timestamped log directory (e.g., logs/sync-YYYY-MM-DDTHH-MM-SS/).

The log files contain the full rsync output, including the itemized changes and statistics. A summary.log file records the status (SUCCESS, FAILURE, SKIPPED) for each job in the run.

You can review these logs to audit what was copied, changed, or deleted during each backup run.