Rsync dry-run command planner
Prepare a quoted local-folder rsync dry-run command. Compare trailing-slash behaviour and review the paths before copying files.
Preview command · always a dry run
Change an input to update the result.
No command runs here. Keep the dry-run option while checking output on your own machine. Destination deletion is never added.
Inputs are processed in this tab. No text, paths or results are sent to our server or saved in an account. Privacy details.
From input to a useful answer.
- 01
Enter real absolute source and destination folder paths.
- 02
Choose the source folder’s contents or the folder itself.
- 03
Review the dry-run command and verify both locations yourself.
Plan a local preview with explicit paths
The planner builds a local rsync command with archive, verbose, dry-run and itemised-output options. It never executes the command, mounts a drive or copies files. Both paths must be absolute. Use an actual location rather than a tilde abbreviation or an unexpanded shell variable.
It rejects the filesystem root, dot segments, newlines, identical paths and a destination lexically inside the source. That check compares path text: it cannot resolve symlinks or prove which physical drive contains a folder. Check the actual mounted destination and free space yourself.
Choose contents or the enclosing folder
Contents mode adds a trailing slash to the source, placing its contents directly inside the destination. Folder mode omits that slash, preserving a level named after the source folder. The destination is always shown with a trailing slash.
Copying the contents of Work notes into a prepared notes destination places a document directly inside notes. Copying the folder itself places it inside notes/Work notes. The command quotes spaces and apostrophes; inspect the complete paths rather than only their final names.
A preview starts the verification process
Every generated command retains dry-run mode and omits destination-deletion options. Running the preview yourself can show proposed changes, but it does not test a completed transfer. Read errors and filenames before considering a real copy through the separate rsync backup guide.
Archive mode does not automatically include ACLs, extended attributes or hard-link preservation. Destination filesystem support also matters. A later real copy can overwrite same-path files even without removing destination-only files. Keep a separate recovery copy and rehearse restoration into an empty test folder.
References
Rsync project — rsync manual ↗Ubuntu Server — Backups and version control ↗A few useful answers
Will the website back up my files?
No. It generates text only, has no access to these paths and never executes rsync.
Can I enter a remote SSH destination?
No. This planner is for absolute local paths. It does not construct or validate remote-host syntax.
Does a valid command prove the backup drive is connected?
No. Path checks are lexical. Confirm the physical destination, mount and free space independently.