I've got 200GB of music files and a 512GB Pixel 8 Pro, and I'd like to copy all that music to /sdcard/Music. rsync would appear to be an ideal means to do this as it would allow syncing of any changes made to my local library. However, it appears impossible. Here's the rsync command I've been trying, with my phone connected by USB cable to my Linux laptop:

rsync -avz --recursive --size-only --info=progress --verbose --omit-dir-times --no-perms --usermap=:1000 --groupmap=:1000  ~/Music/ '/run/user/1000/doc/1587bc07/Music/'

The result is a lot of:

rsync: [generator] failed to set times on "/run/user/1000/doc/1587bc07/Music/MyMusicTaste/IsAwesome/Track01.mp3": Operation not supported (95)

I'm out of ideas for rsync options at the moment. I also tried starting an FTP server on the phone via Solid Explorer, and copying files with Filezilla. This works, as long as Solid Explorer's FTP server keeps running (which it doesn't, despite permission to run in the background). Does anyone have any other suggestions? Ideally I could connect the phone via cable for the initial copy as rsyncing 200GB over the home network is a bit slow.

I have a 512GB Android phone with 150GB+ 15k+ photos and videos. Step 1. On my Macbook, I used better-adb-sync with a USB cable and debugging enabled to copy a large amount of files from my phone to my Macbook's disk...DONE adb-sync -Rdt /sdcard/DCIM/ ~/Documents/phone/AndroidPhone/DCIM Step 2. Now after a month or two, I want to sync the phone with the disk again for the additional new photos. Now, I don't want to use the cable and turn on the debugging, etc. as the number of files is not much, so I want to use the rsync tool over WiFi with SimpleSSHD . The problem: On the Macbook terminal, when I run the rsync command below, rsync --delete -azuvPe 'ssh -p 2222' 192.168.1.3:/sdcard/DCIM/ ~/Documents/phone/AndroidPhone/DCIM Instead of finding the incremental of new files in the phone quickly and copying them to disk, the output is showing to be copying all the files again which already exist on disk and even the date-time stamps of files are exactly the same. This syncing is taking hours and hours to complete. This thing, I believe will be happening the first time only and may not happen the 2nd onward incremental backing process from phone to disk. But I want to know what is happening and why. I expect rsync to compare and diff the 2 folders and determine initially what new files to copy from the phone to disk and delete from disk what has been deleted from the phone based on size and timestamps (pre-processing), and then simply copy the new incremental extra files even if it is the first time of processing the rsync command. How can I make this work the above way? Any flags I can pass to ignore some parameters, etc.? Please Guide.

After upgrading my OnePlus 6T from Android 9 to 11, all my images disappeared in WhatsApp, with typical error message: > "Sorry, this media file doesn't exist on your internal storage" The reason seems to be (see this link ) due to the fact that the location of the media folder changed, from WhatsApp/Media at the first level to Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Media. So I am now trying to migrate this folder, by connecting my phone to my (Linux ) computer and using rsync: rsync -avhz /path on computer/Internal\ shared\ storage/WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp\ Images /path on computer/Internal\ shared\ storage/Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp\ Images. However, I am facing a few issues: - I am not sure which folder I should transfer? I see in particular some .Links folder, should I include it? - Some files fail to be transferred with rsync, with message: `rsync: mkstemp "/run/user/1000/gvfs/mtp:host=OnePlus_OnePlus_11e47384/Internal shared storage/Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp Images/WhatsApp Images/.IMG-20200210-WA0124.jpg.8YamlC" failed: Operation not supported (95) ` what are those files? - Lastly, I am not sure I am using the right parameters to rsync :-( Thanks!

**NOTE**: I asked a similar question here several days ago, but I was told to re-post it to "Stack Exchange Software Recommendations", which I did. Now, I posted this current question to "Stack Exchange Software Recommendations", but I was told to re-post it here. I hope this current question indeed will now be accepted here. I know that I can use adb from my desktop computer to take a backup of my sdcard ... adb pull /sdcard/ . This downloads everything from my sdcard to the specified directory on my desktop machine. However, I'm wondering if there is some way to download in an rsync-like manner: *i.e.*, only downloading and updating files that have actually changed between my device's sdcard and the directory on the desktop machine. Or is there perhaps a non-adb-based way to do this? Also, I want to initiate this from the desktop machine, not the Android device. Any ideas? **PS**: This is an Android-10 device, a OnePlus 7Pro (GM-1917) running OOS 10.3.2. However, the answer to my question is probably unrelated to that, since it has to do more with adb than the android device itself. Thanks in advance.

I have tried to sync from a Linux device to Android device using Rsync Wrapper . The source file size is about 6 GB. But the problem is that the file manager shows the destination file is much smaller. There is enough space. I use --append-verify for rsync, and sometimes the resulting file just gets smaller after retry. Logs seem to show that it loaded what was expected anyway. Rsync Wrapper version is 1.9.8 rev.27. Android version is 9. I also tried using rsync (version 3.1.2, protocol version 31) directly over USB with MTP protocol. I had to delete the destination first, because AFAIK --append-verify does not work with MTP. Still the resulting file is too small, 1727886774 bytes reported by ls -l. I got that size before, too. Again, the log shows that the whole file was sent: 2021/10/03 09:23:23 sent 6,024,324,598 bytes received 588 bytes 5,591,021.05 bytes/sec 2021/10/03 09:23:23 total size is 6,022,854,070 speedup is 1.00 I renamed the old destination file and tried copying in file manager. Again, copying stops at 1.7GB. File manager reports *libmtp* error.

SimpleSSHD is a free (open source, no ads) SSH server based on dropbear that supports scp, sftp, and rsync. How do I run the latest version of rsync as root when accessing my phone from a remote host?

I am trying to use rsync to transfer some files from my Android phone (Samsung Galaxy S10+ / Android V10) to my local machine (OSX / Mojave). I did the following: 1. Installed [SSH/SFTP server](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.xnano.android.sshserver&hl=en) on my Android device and started the server 2. Verified that I am able to ssh into the phone (although it logs me in as user u0_a312 and not my_user?)

$ ssh my_user@192.168.0.16 -p 2222

The authenticity of host '[192.168.0.16]:2222 ([192.168.0.16]:2222)' can't be established.
RSA key fingerprint is SHA256:3mNL574rJyHCOGm1e7Upx4NHXMg/YnJJzq+jXhdQQxI.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? yes
Warning: Permanently added '[192.168.0.16]:2222' (RSA) to the list of known hosts.
Password authentication
Password:
:/ $ whoami
u0_a312

3. Attempted to run rsync from my local OSX machine to copy remote Android files to my laptop

rsync -avzhP -e "ssh -p 2222" my_user@192.168.0.16:/storage/6632-6330/DCIM/Camera/* .

Password authentication
Password:
exec request failed on channel 0
rsync: connection unexpectedly closed (0 bytes received so far) [receiver]
rsync error: error in rsync protocol data stream (code 12) at /BuildRoot/Library/Caches/com.apple.xbs/Sources/rsync/rsync-52.200.1/rsync/io.c(453) [receiver=2.6.9]

As you can see, I ran into an error on step 3. From some basic snooping on forums, it seems like rsync needs to be installed on the Android remote device. (That's also backed up by the fact that which rsync returns nothing when executed from the Android shell) However: - How do I go about installing rsync on the phone? Is this even the right solution here? - I never needed to do this on my previous phone (Galaxy S7), the above rsync process "just worked". Did something change with the standard installation of Android with regards to rsync ?

adb push seems to push everything into the dest folder regardless of their changed/unchanged states. So it wastes a lot of time. Is it possible to sync rather than copy (i.e. to rsync rather than cp)? I see adb has a sync option, but I'm not quite sure whether it's relevant or not.

I asked a somewhat similar question to this recently (see https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/224753/rsync-like-downloads-over-adb) , but what I'm asking here is a little bit different. Also, if this question belongs in a different forum, I apologize in advance, and am happy to repost it elsewhere. I want to set up an actual rsync server on my Android device, but one which works without a WiFi connection. In other words, I want it to work over a normal "cell phone" data connection. The only ways I've been able to get an rsync server to work so far is over a WiFi connection. I know how to determine the device's assigned IP address in real time (even with a cell-based, non-WiFi data connection) and how make that IP address available to sources outside of the device. But I haven't been able to get the device to listen on that specific IP address when I do not have a WiFi connection. Does anyone know if this is even possible? Thank you in advance.

I (linux user but not an expert) just moved from iOS to android, my device is rooted (Samsung s9) and I want a ssh server running all the time on my android device (I prefer openssh over dropbear) since I have to rsync files. I also prefer linux style commands e.g., systemctl restart service or similar. I noticed that one can use Termux but it is an emulator, it won't work upon reboot. MagiskSSH seems to be interesting. Also noticed this thread where pre-built Native OpenSSH and BASH are shared. Also, I am not sure if they run upon reboot). Buildroot has also been suggested to compile the package on my own (but my knowledge is limited on this topic). On the top of this, I have to install rsync and bash. So, how do I run ssh server persistent (works on reboot)

**tl;dr** - I want to backup my internal storage and SD card contents when connected via USB cable - due to potentially large amounts of data I don't want to use WiFi-based programs - failed attempt at using rsync and gvfs Is there anything I can do? **Full story** I would like to backup data from my Android based phone (5.1.1 that is currently). I do not want to use an WiFi-based unstable and insecure hacky solutions with SSH and server here and client there (you name it - actually Samsung's very unreliable kies software made me think that way). By now I used a current Linux Mint (18.2), I tried to read data from the phone using rsync and the mapped storage from gvfs which failed miserably (permission issues, unstable connection). I would like to script which directories I backup and automate that process as far as possible. Can I make Android act as some sort of virtual device on Windows/Linux that allows some sort of file based access? Or a Web-DAV server connected via USB cable? No free cloud solutions (Google, OneDrive, Dropbox), either, please! Thank you for your help.

Running [SSHelper](https://arachnoid.com/android/SSHelper/) is a great way to access files on your phone. But completion of remote files (scp and rsync) using zsh doesn't work though. While using sshfs is a workaround but sometimes you just want to pull/push a quick file, it's not really satisfying. Where lies the culprit, and how can I get file completion working properly via zsh?

I'd like to be able to push PDF files onto a phone/tablet with a Bash script. Is it possible to transfer data using scp (or even rsync) from a Linux computer to an Android phone over wireless? Could I even run Unison on the phone? And is it possible to run Bash (or only POSIX Shell) scripts on the phone remotely?

**Device Details** * Moto X Play - Android 6.0.1, Rooted (Systemless root) * Samsung 64 GB ext SD * [San Disk 128 GB USB](http://www.amazon.in/SanDisk-SDCZ43-128G-G46-128GB-Ultra-Flash/dp/B00YFI1EBC) - came shipped with FAT 32 reformatted to exFAT since I have folders > 4 GB on external SD **Use Case** Sync **entire contents of ext SD to USB (one way sync without deletion of SD card contents )** on weekly schedule / on demand , as [incremental backup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incremental_backup) **without** using a PC ( I do have one but reasons for not wanting to use it are not relevant) **Other Details** * USB drive recognised by device correctly connected by standard OTG (*Settings → Storage & USB* ) * [Busybox](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jrummy.busybox.installer) installed . It came bundled with ROM Toolbox Pro. I haven't used it directly. If another busy box is to be installed, it's fine as long it doesn't clash * Mount points as below **Things tried** * Unsuccessful app search- I wasn't able to find an app that can do this ([Folder Sync](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.t2k269.foldersync) claims to but it can't see USB) * Googling for alternatives * MacroDroid automation fails, since app can't see USB (raised this in app forum) **Question:** How can I do this ? I am open to **any means** Please note that I intend placing a **bounty of 100** , any answer meeting needs before I post bounty will be awarded similarly (I may delay posting the bounty to ensure I get a solution) Please **avoid** solutions that * are not tested - it should have been tested on your device and USB configuration to give it credibility * Involve PC , uploading to cloud, transferring to remote server etc * References to claims from doubtful sources which can't be verified * Involving use of File Managers ( I had mixed results with these but then that is for another question) Aim of the above is not to deter solutions but to discourage frivolous attempts. If clarity is needed, please ask I discussed this need on chat and some potential candidates for solution included *BusyBox, rsync and Tasker*. I know **nothing** of these means so **Please do provide complete details**. Being a bounty question (almost), I expect that I should be able to straightaway implement successfully without seeking clarifications. ( Being a rooted device with systemless root, solutions using root are fine. However, if OS is to be modified on any way, please highlight as systemless doesn't permit it, though there is a work around ) I am strapped for time and need to get this working ASAP

I restored an automatic backup on Cyanogenmod 12.1 created with rsync of my /data partition, but now SELinux is denying apps access to their data. Disabling SELinux "fixes" this problem, but can I repair the SELinux labels once after restoring and keep SELinux enforced?

I am running Android Revolution HD 52.0 custom ROM (Android 4.3) with Koush's superuser 1.0.3.0 on a Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-I9300. In the hope of using some native shell applications on my phone for the purpose of backup and synchronization it with my GNU/Linux computers, I installed opkg from here: http://dan.drown.org/android/ , and went on to install openssh and rsync. All of the new binaries are in /data/local/bin, and my own scripts are also in /data/local. Using Jack Palevich's Android Terminal I am able to use rsync via ssh to push files onto my computers from my phone, but only when *not* logged in as root (ie when I haven't used the 'su' command). When I run the scripts as root (after running su in the terminal emulator), I get the following error: rsync: failed to exec ssh: Permission denied (13) I get the same error message using adb shell + su. The relevant line from the script is: /data/local/bin/rsync --itemize-changes --verbose --human-readable \ --log-file=$local_path/log/nbbak-$(date +%F-%H-%M-%S).log \ --recursive --update --times --modify-window=1 \ --rsh="/data/local/bin/ssh -i $keyfile -p $port" \ $local_path/ $remote_path/ local_path is currently /storage/extSdCard. I have added the \ here for readability. As I said, this operation (rsync put) works when using the script from Palevich's Terminal without su. My questions are: What is the problem? Is it about how Android assigns userids to processes? (As I understand it, new processes all run with their own userid. Is this what is happening here - is rsync not actually running as root, so it is not able to launch the ssh process as root either.) Or is something else going on? How could I troubleshoot this? I have tried running logcat, but don't know what I'm looking for. What might the solution be with my current configuration? I would like to run rysnc via ssh as root, as although it works in the terminal emulator without su, I am only able to push, not pull files that way, whereas I would hope as root that I could pull files too.

Is it a bug in Jelly Bean 4.2.1 that subdirectories within the Music directory are not scanned for music files? UPDATE: I just verified that copying using cp or using Nautilus on Ubuntu or Windows Explorer works just fine. They are scanned immediately by the player. But if I use rsync they are not! This is very strange. I also checked file permissions and they are the same in both cases. I am trying to sync the music collection on my desktop to my Nexus 4. On my desktop my music is organized as follows. Artist1/ Artist1/Art1_Track1.mp3 Artist1/Art1_Track.mp3 Artist2/ Artist2/Art2_Track1.mp3 Artist2/Art2_Track2.mp3 ... When I copy the same directory structure into the Music directory the stock music player does not scan the music in subdirectories. It works fine for files in the base Music directory though. FYI, I use rsync to sync the music collection to the Music directory. I am using Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean on the LG Nexus 4. The device is mounted using go-mtpfs on a Ubuntu installation. ---------- ### Update: Some summary from the comments (by Izzy) * the problem only exists when files are transferred using rsync. While rsync is in progress, files get a temporary file name extension like e.g. .test.mp3.xdGHsk -- but they are correctly renamed to .mp3 once the transfer is finished (normal behaviour for rsync) * there are no .nomedia files in the affected directories * [Rescan Media](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.addz.mediascanner) is used to force the Media Scanner to update the library *after rsync completed its job* ### Update: More summary from the comments and correction (by Srinath) * USB connection mode is MTP, on the Linux PC the device is mounted using [go-mtpfs](https://github.com/hanwen/go-mtpfs) (MTP file system implementation in Go language) * The files transferred using rsync can be viewed and played using a file browser app like ES File Explorer

I am trying to do rsync from my android phone to my laptop. The problem that I am facing is that the permissions are not getting preserved even when the -p flag is used. I have also used the other flags such as -o, -g. What may be the reason and a fix for this?

I have a SGS2 with ICS. The phone is rooted. I use Titanium Backup Pro for backup, but that only backups to the phone itself, so if the phone is stolen or lost those backups are gone as well. I have SSHDroid installed, and yesterday I made a backup of the sdcard folder to my home server using rsync. Now I would like to know if there are other folders that have data in them that I miss. I don't necessarily need a full backup of the phone, don't know if that's useful. I just want all user data safe. So is there something that I'm missing? If so, what folders should I backup as well?

I'm planning to get a new android phone and I'm wondering what's considered best practice to move all data and settings. I know that lots of stuff goes to google, but I'd like to migrate app data as well. I know that I can do an rsync of the SD card and move things like pictures, but which directories should I move? Could anything bad happen from me just doing an rsync of the entire old card to the new one? My old phone isn't rooted (yet) so I can't access /data, but if I did root it to grab that stuff, I'm not sure how I would feel about rooting the new phone - is there somewhere I could drop the files grabbed from /data on the old phone to somewhere on the new one to get things to "just work"? I'm migrating from Moto Droid 1 to 4