Rsync directory tree with symlinks

[^rooker]

I wanted to backup an image of a directory structure on a server using rsync. I've found a handful of articles and knowledge base entries which said it can be done with this:

Code: Select all

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

The command seemed alright, although I prefer the more readable form:

Code: Select all

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

Looking good, but didn't move a finger in my setup.

I've used symlinks for gathering multiple partitions together in the source-dir I wanted to copy the directories from with rsync.

The solution is to add a "-k" to the rsync command:

-k, --copy-dirlinks transform symlink to dir into referent dir

So the correct command for this case looks like this:

Code: Select all

$ rsync -ak --include='*/' --exclude='*' source/ destination/

Links:

• Linux: rsync Copy Directories Structures Tree Only
• Copying directory trees with rsync
• Rsync how to include directories but not files?