Full Guide to Rsync in Windows and Its Best Free Alternative

Rsync, or Remote Sync, is a tool in Linux/Unix for backing up and synchronizing data. With the Rsync command, you can sync files and folders on different folders, hard drives, or computers connected in a network, whether they’re nearby or far away.

In Windows, you might need to do the same thing: copy files from one folder to another on your computer, sync files between your computer and a network server, or do it the other way around.

Since Linux isn’t run by Microsoft, getting Linux commands to work on Windows requires some initial setup. How to set it up? Just keep reading.

How to run Rsync command in Windows

To run Linux commands in Window, you can install Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) on your computer for assistance. Functioning as a Windows tool, it lets you operate a Linux distribution in command line mode. This offers a relatively simple method to utilize Windows Rsync and also applies to other Linux utilities. The whole process is as follows:

1. Install WSL.

If you are running Windows 10 2004 or later versions, open PowerShell or Command Prompt as administrator and type wsl –install.

If you are running older Windows versions, you’ll have to follow some extra steps to manually install WSL.

• First, open PowerShell as Administrator and enter dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart.
• Then, you can choose to upgrade to WSL 2 or stick with WSL 1. If you opt for the latter, you can pick a Linux distribution from the Microsoft Store. There are various choices like Ubuntu, SUSE, Debian, Fedora, Pengwin, and more.
• The first time you open the Linux distribution, you’ll need to wait a few minutes while the files are stored on your computer. Additionally, you’ll have to set up a user account with a password for the Linux distribution.

2. Run Rsync command.

Open Command Prompt as administrator and enter the required Rsync command. To get detailed information about Rsync commands, type wsl man rsync.

Free alternative to Rsync – easier way to sync files

As you see, it’s not easy to run Rsync in Windows. Is there an easier way to sync files in Windows 11/10/8/7? AOMEI Backupper Standard comes to help.

• Batch Processing: You can sync multiple folders at the same time, which helps you avoid doing repetitive tasks.
• Automatic Sync: You have the option to create a schedule for running the file sync task on a daily, weekly, monthly basis, or triggered by a specific event.
• Wide Compatibility: It works with different source and target storage devices, like local or external drives, network locations, and the cloud.

Want to know how to sync files from one location to another using AOMEI Backupper? Here are the detailed steps.

Note: If you’re aiming to synchronize files/folders with an external device, ensure you connect it and verify that File Explorer can detect it beforehand.

Step 1. Download and open the Windows alternative to Rsync. Go to the Sync tab and choose Basic Sync.

Step 2. Modify the Task Name as needed. Click on Add Folder to pick the folder you wish to sync. You can do this again to include more folders.

Step 3. Pick a destination path. If you need to set up a network share/NAS, click the small triangle next to the selection box and select Add Share or NAS Devices.

Step 4. (Optional) If desired, use Schedule Sync to automate the task on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

Step 5. Finally, click on Start Sync to initiate the file synchronization process.

That’s it. Once you’ve established a scheduled sync task, there’s no need to configure it again. It will run automatically in the background without interrupting your ongoing tasks. There are other sync settings available, such as write a comment for your sync task and set up email notification to let the program send you the sync results via emails.

What’s more, AOMEI Backupper Standard is the best free disk clone software. It offers the Disk Clone and Partition Clone features. Disk Clone lets you replicate an entire disk onto another disk. If you want to copy a particular partition to another partition, you can use Partition Clone. Why not try it yourself?

Author Bio :-

Ivy – Junior Product Editor, AOMEI

Ivy is an editor of AOMEI Technology. she covers backup & restore, hard disk &partitions management, Cloud files transfer and so on for AOMEI. She enjoys helping people find solutions to their problems. She loves traveling, eating, reading and so on. She spends most of time with her family when she is not working.