Technical Deep Dives on RsyncUI

Compiling RsyncUI

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

There are at least three methods to compile RsyncUI, one without an Apple Developer account and two with an Apple Developer account. Regardless of the method used, it is straightforward to compile RsyncUI, as it is not dependent on any third-party code or library.

The easiest method is by using the included Makefile. The default make in /usr/bin/make does the job.

Compile by make

If you have an Apple Developer account, you should open the RsyncUI project and replace the Signing & Capabilities section with your own Apple Developer ID before using make and the procedure outlined below.

Verify remote

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

The “verify remote” function has been removed in RsyncUI version 2.8.6, which was released on January 8, 2026. It is now being developed as a standalone application, RsyncVerify. Further refinement of the user interface is still required.

Currently, the function is being developed as a standalone application. Its continued use is essential, and it is preferable to use it independently rather than as a component of RsyncUI.

Swift concurrency

Sat, 01 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I’m developing a new macOS application, RawCull, that uses Swift concurrency in a unique way. My understanding of Swift concurrency is still limited, so I recommend exploring articles from experts in the field. However, RawCull also has a technical blog that covers how Swift concurrency is used to solve “heavy work” without blocking the UI.

RsyncUI is a GUI app; most work happens on the main thread. Heavier tasks run on threads from the cooperative thread pool (CTP) without blocking the UI. The Swift runtime manages the executors and CTP. There are three kinds of executors:

Tagging of data

Sat, 01 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

RsyncUI must tag data accurately; otherwise some source data might not synchronize. RsyncUI supports both the latest rsync release and the legacy macOS default version.

Tagging is computed in the ParseRsyncOutput Swift package bundled with RsyncUI.

Example:

Input string: Number of created files: 7,191 (reg: 6,846, dir: 345)
Converted to: [7191, 6846, 345] (the thousands separator is also removed from the string before parsing)

The function below extracts only numbers from the input: