Synchronize your files with these GUI and command-line applications.

Table of Contents

rsync (CLI)

Maybe the most popular file-copying tool on Linux.

rsync [option] <source> <dest>

You can check my post about rsync for more info about how to use it (or check rsync extensive man page).

grsync (GUI)

grsync is a frontend for rsync. It’s easy to use: checkboxes for every rsync option, ‘sessions’ (profiles) to save your settings.

grsync

grsync

rclone (CLI)

A powerful tool to manage cloud storage: you can sync files from (and to) Google Drive, AWS S3, Nextcloud and many more (check “Storage Systems” section on their website). To configure a cloud storage provider, type rclone config and follow the steps.

To sync:

rclone sync [option] <source> <dest>

An example for AWS S3:

rclone sync --dry-run --size-only myproject/ s3:mybucket
  • --dry-run: do a simulation, don’t transfer anything.
  • --size-only: sync only if file sizes are different (do not check timestamp).

There are more rclone commands, like ls, delete, copy. Check man page or website for more info.

  • ls: lists objects only. --max-depth <number> limits the recursion.
  • lsf: lists folders and files, non-recursive unless use -R.

Filezilla (GUI)

Transfer files between your computer and FTP/SFTP servers. Check my post about Filezilla for more info.

Filezilla

FreeFileSync (GUI)

Sync files locally or from/to Google Drive, FTP and SFTP. A bit clunky design, but it works and you can use it without reading the manual before. It includes an automated synchronization tool called ‘RealTimeSync’ that can execute a command line each time it detects changes in one of the monitored directories, or when a directory becomes available.

FreeFileSync

FreeFileSync

If you have any suggestion, feel free to contact me via social media or email.