Fast rsync - Shell/Bash

Fast rsync is a command-line utility that allows for fast and efficient synchronization of files and directories between remote servers and local systems. It is built on the popular rsync utility, but with added optimizations to increase transfer speed and reduce resource usage.

Installation

Fast rsync can be installed on Linux and macOS systems using the following commands:

git clone https://github.com/fast-rsync/fast-rsync.git
cd fast-rsync
sudo make install

These commands will download the source code from the project's GitHub repository and compile and install the utility.

Usage

Fast rsync can be used in the same way as the standard rsync utility, with some additional flags for optimization. Here's a basic example:

fast-rsync -avz user@remote:/path/to/source /path/to/destination

This will synchronize the contents of the "/path/to/source" directory on the remote server with the "/path/to/destination" directory on the local system. The "-avz" flags tell fast rsync to preserve file attributes, transfer files in compressed format, and show verbose output.

The following additional flags can be used for optimization:

• -P, --progress: Show progress during transfer
• -H, --hard-links: Copy hard links as hard links
• -B, --block-size: Set block size for checksumming (default is 7000 bytes)
• --rsync-path: Set path to rsync binary (if not in default $PATH)

Fast rsync also supports the use of SSH keys for authentication with remote servers. Simply specify the path to your private key file with the "-i" flag:

fast-rsync -avz -e 'ssh -i /path/to/private/key' user@remote:/path/to/source /path/to/destination

Conclusion

Fast rsync is a reliable and efficient tool for transferring files and directories between local and remote systems. Its speed and optimizations make it ideal for large-scale synchronization tasks, and its ease of use and compatibility with rsync make it a valuable addition to any developer's toolkit.