SYNCTREE(1)						      General Commands Manual						       SYNCTREE(1)

NAME

       synctree - synchronize directory trees.

SYNOPSIS

       synctree [-iuf] [[user1@]machine1:]dir1 [[user2@]machine2:]dir2

DESCRIPTION

       Synctree  synchronizes  the directory tree rooted at dir2 with dir1. It walks recursively through both trees, and deletes and adds files in
       dir2 to make it equal to dir1. Mode, owner and group are set for each file unless the -u flag is given. In its normal  mode  of	operation,
       synctree  will  ask  if	it may delete or add directories assuming that you don't want to. Non-directories are simply deleted or added, but
       synctree will ask if it needs to update a normal file with a default answer of 'y'. Simply typing return will choose  the  default  answer,
       typing end-of-file is like typing return to this question and all other questions.

       You  can  specify a hostname and user-id to be used to access dir1 or dir2.  Synctree will use rsh(1) to run a copy of itself on the remote
       machine.  The call interface mimics that of rcp(1), but you can use more than one user@machine prefix if you want  to  make  things  really
       interesting.

       Hard links are enforced, an update is done by first deleting the old file so that links to unknown files are broken.  Links to files within
       dir2 will be restored.

       If either directory contains the file .backup, then this file will be used as an alternate inode table.	This allows one to make  a  backup
       copy of a file tree full of special files and differing user-ids on a remote machine under an unpriviledged user-id.

OPTIONS

       -i   Ask for permission (with default answer 'n') to delete or add any file or directory.

       -u   Only install newer files, i.e. merge the directory trees.

       -f   Don't ask, think 'yes' on any question.

SEE ALSO

       remsync(1), cpdir(1), rsh(1), rcp(1), perror(3).

DIAGNOSTICS

       Messages  may  come  from  three  different processes.  One named "Slave" running in dir1, one named "Master" running in dir2, and synctree
       itself in a mediator role.  The mediator will also perform the task of either the master or the slave if one of them  is  running  locally.
       You  need  to  know this to interpret the error messages coming from one of these processes.  The messages are normally based on perror(3).
       Failure to contact a remote machine will be reported by rsh.  Synctree should have a zero exit status if no errors have been encountered.

BUGS

       Directory dir2 will be created without asking.

       The master and slave processes get their error output mixed up sometimes (nice puzzle).

       The local and remote machine must use the same file type encoding.

       The link replacement strategy may lead to lack of space on a small device.  Let synctree run to completion and then rerun it to pick up the
       pieces.

       Letting the local process keep its "synctree" name may be a mistake.

       It talks too much.

AUTHOR

       Kees J. Bot, (kjb@cs.vu.nl)

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