rsync is basically used for two filesystem/directory tree synchronization which are placed in two different network locations. It also can be used for website mirroring.

Here find some simple example usages of rsync :

1. Copying/syncing the contents of one directory called “/src” to another directory called “/dst” :

rsync -a /src/ /dst

Note: “-a” option represents archive mode, which preserves most of the file attributes when copying.

If you miss a trailing slash (/) after source directory, it will create the directory as “/dst/src” in the destination and will transfer the files into it.

2. Copying the contents of a directory called “/src” in computer 1 to another directory called “/dst” in computer 2 :

rsync -a -e ssh /src/ computer2:/dst

Assume you are in computer 1, you can execute the above command to copy files to computer 2 using “ssh”. It will establish an ssh connection from computer 1 to computer 2 and transfer files over that connection. Also, it will ask you ssh login details on computer 2 to establish the connection before start transferring the data.