General Information on RsyncUI

Reference

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

License, signing, notarization, and configuration file locations for RsyncUI.

Important

Sat, 22 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Before using RsyncUI, review these key notes.

The interface may feel challenging if you are new to the rsync command-line tool. RsyncUI focuses on making rsync easier to use, not on teaching every rsync concept.

Not a backup tool for everyone

RsyncUI specializes in synchronization and file management. The command-line tool rsync performs the actual work. If you need a full system backup tool that creates complete disk images, RsyncUI is not the right fit.

Limitations

Sat, 22 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

There are a few limitations to keep in mind. None will corrupt data, but they may interrupt synchronization.

Long running tasks and sleep

When the Mac sleeps, RsyncUI tasks stop. An active rsync process does not prevent the Mac from sleeping. If sleep occurs during synchronization, rsync will likely error and stop. Restart the task in RsyncUI; rsync will resume from where it left off.

If this happens, RsyncUI will not log the run because it only logs after receiving a termination signal from rsync.

Getting started

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

New users should read Important first, then Latest version of rsync for installation guidance, then Tasks to create their first task.

Concealing Actions

Concealing actions reduces menu clutter and keeps focus on common tasks.

Use ⌘S or the Task main menu to show or hide Charts, Quick task, log view, and other options that are hidden by default. The primary Sidebar menu is also context-sensitive.

New Tasks and Verification

RsyncUI can synchronize data to:

Latest version of rsync

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The default /usr/bin/rsync differs between macOS versions:

macOS Sonoma: Uses rsync version 2.6.9 (released November 2006)
macOS Sequoia and later: Use openrsync, a BSD-licensed implementation compatible with rsync protocol 29 and version 2.6.9

I strongly recommend installing the latest version of rsync (version 3.x) to take full advantage of RsyncUI’s features.

Installing rsync via Homebrew

Install the latest version using Homebrew:

brew install rsync

After installation, configure RsyncUI:

MIT License

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The MIT License (MIT), also explained on Wikipedia.

Copyright (c) 2020 - 2025 - Thomas Evensen

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person
obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation
files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction,
including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge,
publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software,
and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject
to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included
in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR
COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION
WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

RsyncUI files, JSON

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

RsyncUI stores all data locally on your Mac in JSON format, including task configurations, logs, and settings. Understanding the file structure helps with backup and troubleshooting.

Due to historical reasons, the location of configuration files is .rsyncosx and not .rsyncui. This is because the development of RsyncUI commenced with the now-archived application RsyncOSX.

File Locations

All RsyncUI files are stored in: $HOME/.rsyncosx/<macserialnumber>, where <macserialnumber> is your Mac’s serial number, which is retrieved at startup.

Signing and notarization

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

RsyncUI is digitally signed with my Apple Developer Certificate and notarized by Apple. This verification ensures the application is free from malicious code and works with Gatekeeper. When opening a new or updated app for the first time, Apple will display a notification.

What this means for you

Gatekeeper will allow RsyncUI to run without warnings, because Apple has verified the developer signature.
No quarantine prompt — you will not be asked to confirm that you want to open a downloaded app from an unknown developer.
The SHA-256 hash published with each release lets you independently verify that the downloaded binary matches what was signed and notarized.

If installed via Homebrew, the hash is verified automatically. For direct downloads from GitHub, verify the hash manually before running the app.