Rsync how to include directories but not files?

Question

I have a directory structure and files like this

data/
data/a.txt
data/folder/
data/folder/b.txt
data/folder/folder/
data/folder/folder/c.txt
...

a.txt, b.txt, and c.txt are large files that are computer-generated and renewed frequently. They should NOT be backuped -- but I want to backup the directory structure :

data/
data/folder/
data/folder/folder/

How can I do this with rsync and --exclude-from, without specifying every folder, but something like rsync -a data/* --exclude-from=exclude.rsync "" --onlyfoldersandnotfiles""?

Thanks for help !

score 62 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 14 '16 at 10:13

62

rsync -a --include='*/' --exclude='*' source/ destination/

Basically, first include all directories, then exclude all files.

answered Nov 14 '16 at 10:13

Nikana Reklawyks

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Isn't this the same as [this other answer](https://stackoverflow.com/a/9242883)? – roaima Mar 16 '20 at 12:54
2

@roaima Yes I precisely posted Steve's comment as an answer, because I agree with him that it's a lot more readable that way than with those weird `-f"±` arguments. – Nikana Reklawyks Mar 16 '20 at 16:32
1

@NikanaReklawyks thank you for making this a separate answer – geneorama Sep 02 '20 at 20:16

score 45 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 11 '12 at 18:33

45

$ rsync -a -f"+ */" -f"- *" source/ destination/

"The two -f arguments mean, respectively, "copy all directories" and then "do not copy anything else"."

Further details: http://psung.blogspot.com/2008/05/copying-directory-trees-with-rsync.html

answered Feb 11 '12 at 18:33

luison

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A really brilliant solution. Way simpler than combining `--include` and `--exclude` for basic use. – Nicolás Ozimica May 17 '12 at 22:19
51

IMHO this is much more readable: `rsync -a --include='*/' --exclude='*' source/ destination/` – Steve Bennett May 27 '13 at 04:25
@SteveBennett include and exclude are just synonyms for filters + and -. How could they be more reliable? – Yaroslav Nikitenko Mar 18 '21 at 21:02
@YaroslavNikitenko "readable" not "reliable". – grebneke Oct 18 '21 at 22:04

score 5 · Answer 3 · edited Mar 03 '20 at 15:29

5

rsync -a -f"-! */" source/ destination/

Filter rule means "Exclude anything that's not a directory."

edited Mar 03 '20 at 15:29

Miss Chanandler Bong

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answered Feb 26 '20 at 12:30

GabrielA1

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score -1 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 22 '19 at 03:16

If you want to sync everything except one folder but you still want to keep the directory structure of that excluded folder, you should do the following:

$ rsync -a -f"+ /var/log/**/*/" -f"- /var/log/**/*" source/ destination/

See the exclude-list and the rsync command as an example.

Rsync how to include directories but not files?

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