Tar: A slop-free alternative to rsync

https://drewdevault.com/2026/03/28/2026-03-28-rsync-without-rsync.html

by shscs911 • 4 months ago

13 11 4 months ago

u1hcw9nx• 4 months ago

Don't forget new GNU-format incremental backups.

    -g, --listed-incremental=FILE

t312227• 4 months ago

hello,

as always: imho (!)

tar is great, and well kown - but not particularly for "incremental backups over the net" ...

this is what rsync is/was for.

idk ... whatever the problem is with rsync, but apparently thats none of my business ;))

you could use, and which usage is very similar to rsync:

rclone

* https://rclone.org/

intro

* https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2025/4x-faster-network-fil...

and additionally its also faster than rsync ...

just my 0.02€

opan• 4 months ago

I had somehow pigeonholed it as "for cloud to local or vice-versa", and never considered it for local transfer, like over my own LAN.

Huh. Exact same thoughts here. I never used rclone because I don't use AWS or similar, just lots of bare metal on and off my LAN that I can ssh to. I am quite comfortable with rsync's quirks and args, so not sure I'll quit using it, but maybe I'll try rclone next time I do a massive transfer. Similarly I've been shown that ddrescue can act as a full dd replacement, but I'm so used to dd I still tend to use it.

g8oz• 4 months ago

I would recommend rclone as an alternative to rsync over tar.

oompydoompy742• 4 months ago

What a ridiculous position to take.

replooda2• 4 months ago

The repo it links to presents their reasons for tracking and potentially avoiding LLM-supported projects; are all of those ridiculous? Is the technology's track record so amazing as to make the conclusion ridiculous? Or did you mean tar as a replacement to rsync, specifically?

[0] https://codeberg.org/small-hack/open-slopware

oompydoompy742• 4 months ago

Yes and Yes and Yes. I’m not an AI maximalist, but this is an extreme position that I believe is, in fact, ridiculous.

rurban• 4 months ago

Drew is getting unbearable.

monkaiju2• 4 months ago

His anti-LLM stance isnt unsurprising given the values he's posted about regularly for years, if anything his ability to avoid cargo-cult/hype nonsense is why I (and seemingly others) value his writing so much.

Tar: A slop-free alternative to rsync

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