Does rsync follow symbolic links?

3 Answers. The -L flag to rsync will sync the contents of files or directories linked to, rather than the symbolic link. You need both -L and -K if you have symlinks on both sides, e.g. you already had your 1st rsync done and want to update the backup using rsync.

How rsync handle symbolic links?

“Copy symlinks as symlinks” means exactly what it says: If rsync sees a symlink in the source directory, it will create an identical symlink in the destination.

How do I follow a symbolic link?

In order to follow symbolic links, you must specify ls -L or provide a trailing slash. For example, ls -L /etc and ls /etc/ both display the files in the directory that the /etc symbolic link points to. Other shell commands that have differences due to symbolic links are du, find, pax, rm and tar.

How do I find the original version of a symbolic link?

Simplest way: cd to where the symbolic link is located and do ls -l to list the details of the files. The part to the right of -> after the symbolic link is the destination to which it is pointing.

Does scp copy symbolic links?

it’s not possible – scp will follow symbolic links when used with the -r option. To copy symbolic links as symbolic links you need to use f.e. rsync or similar.

How do I know if a symbolic link is working?

To determine whether the folder is a symbolic link you can use either of these methods.

1. GUI Method: The folder icon will be different. The icon of the folder would have an arrow.
2. CLI Method. The output of ls -l will clearly indicate that the folder is a symbolic link and it will also list the folder where it points to.

What are symbolic links used for?

A symbolic link, also termed a soft link, is a special kind of file that points to another file, much like a shortcut in Windows or a Macintosh alias. Unlike a hard link, a symbolic link does not contain the data in the target file. It simply points to another entry somewhere in the file system.

What is the difference between hard link and symbolic link?

Hard links and symbolic links are two different methods to refer to a file in the hard drive. A hard link is essentially a synced carbon copy of a file that refers directly to the inode of a file. Symbolic links on the other hand refer directly to the file which refers to the inode, a shortcut.

What are hard links in Linux?

A hard link is a file that points to the same underlying inode, as another file. In case you delete one file, it removes one link to the underlying inode. Whereas a symbolic link (also known as soft link) is a link to another filename in the filesystem.

What does symbolic link flag mean in rsync?

I am unsure of the exact behavior of rsync ‘s symbolic link flags. rsync ‘s -a flag includes the -l flag (i.e. “copy symlinks as symlinks”). Does this just mean it will copy the link or that it will follow the link and copy everything in the link-to directory?

What happens if there are no links in rsync?

Assuming #1 above (without the –no-links flag) is what I really want and it just copies the link without copying the linked-to files, will the links break when they are backed up? For example I may rsync source directory /home/me/projects/misc to /media/extdrive/backup/home/me/projects/misc.

Where can I find the Linux rsync manual?

Source: https://linux.die.net/man/1/rsync, or man rsync manual pages on Linux. Note also that the -a ( –archive) option also includes the -l option within it, which is awesome, since I really like using the -l option to preserve my symlinks from the source as symlinks on the destination. From the man pages:

Do you need both L and K for rsync?

And if you want rsync to treat symlinked directories as directories, you want the K option You need both -L and -K if you have symlinks on both sides, e.g. you already had your 1st rsync done and want to update the backup using rsync.