Yes, the Rsync utility can copy file permissions and properties. Rsync, which stands for “remote synchronization”, is a fast and versatile utility in Unix/Linux systems that copies and synchronizes files and directories both locally and remotely. Rsync is widely used for backups and mirroring because of its capabilities.
You can ensure that Rsync maintains file permissions, ownership, and timestamps by applying certain flags when initiating the command. The flags relevant for copying file permissions and properties are discussed below:
‘-a, —archive’: This option tells Rsync to preserve almost everything from the source to the destination, including file permissions, symbolic links, timestamps, ownership, and group.
‘-p, —perms’: When this option is enabled, Rsync will keep the file permissions of the original/source files the same in the destination folder.
‘-o, —owner’: This flag instructs Rsync to preserve the owner (user identity) of the source files, provided the Rsync process has permissions to do so (usually requiring root or sudo access).
‘-g, —group’: This flag causes Rsync will preserve the group ownership from the source files.
‘-t, —times’: This keeps the modification timestamps of the source files.
For instance, a common use of Rsync with these options would take the following form:
rsync -avz /source/directory /destination/directory
The ‘v’ flag adds verbosity to the command and the ‘z’ flag compresses data during the transfer.
It is important to note that copying file permissions and ownership properties accurately typically requires root access on both source and destination systems. If you run the Rsync command without root or sufficient privileges, it may not copy these properties correctly.
While RSYNC is a Linux utility, it is worth noting that it can also be used on Windows systems through platforms like Cygwin which provide a substantial collection of GNU and Open Source tools which provide functionality similar to a Linux distribution on Windows.
Sources:
- “Rsync Man Page” in the Linux Man-pages Project. (https://linux.die.net/man/1/rsync)
- “Rsync (Remote Sync): 10 Practical Examples of Rsync Command in Linux,” Tecmint, September 8, 2021. (https://www.tecmint.com/rsync-local-remote-file-synchronization-commands/)
- “How to use Rsync to backup your data on Linux,” FOSS Linux, July 29, 2019. (https://www.fosslinux.com/10212/how-to-use-rsync-to-backup-your-data-on-linux.htm)
- “Rsync: Preserve / Copy Hard Links, File Attributes, Update Only Files,” NixCraft, May 13, 2015. (https://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/linux-use-rsync-transfer-mirror-files-directories.html)
- “Rsync on Windows,“Erik Jacobsen, September 2021. (https://itefix.net/cwrsync)
