.\" Hey, EMACS: -*- nroff -*- .\" First parameter, NAME, should be all caps .\" Second parameter, SECTION, should be 1-8, maybe w/ subsection .\" other parameters are allowed: see man(7), man(1) .TH UNISON-2.40.65 1 "September 23, 2001" .\" Please adjust this date whenever revising the manpage. .\" .\" Some roff macros, for reference: .\" .nh disable hyphenation .\" .hy enable hyphenation .\" .ad l left justify .\" .ad b justify to both left and right margins .\" .nf disable filling .\" .fi enable filling .\" .br insert line break .\" .sp insert n+1 empty lines .\" for manpage-specific macros, see man(7) .SH NAME unison-2.40.65 \- a file-synchronization tool for Unix and Windows .SH SYNOPSIS .B unison-2.40.65 .RI [ options ] .br .B unison-2.40.65 root1 root2 .RI [ options ] .br .B unison-2.40.65 profilename .RI [ options ] .br .B unison-2.40.65-gtk .RI [ options ] .SH DESCRIPTION This manual page briefly documents Unison, and was written for the Debian GNU/Linux distribution because the original program does not have a manual page. For a full description, please refer to the inbuilt documentation or the manuals in /usr/share/doc/unison/. The unison-2.40.65-gtk binary has similar command-line options, but allows the user to select and create profiles and configure options from within the program. .PP Unison is a file-synchronization tool for Unix and Windows. It allows two replicas of a collection of files and directories to be stored on different hosts (or different disks on the same host), modified separately, and then brought up to date by propagating the changes in each replica to the other. .PP Unison offers several advantages over various synchronization methods such as CVS, Coda, rsync, Intellisync, etc. Unison can run on and synchronize between Windows and many UNIX platforms. Unison requires no root privileges, system access or kernel changes to function. Unison can synchronize changes to files and directories in both directions, on the same machine, or across a network using ssh or a direct socket connection. .PP Transfers are optimised using a version of the rsync protocol, making it ideal for slower links. Unison has a clear and precise specification, and is resilient to failure due to its careful handling of the replicas and its private structures. .PP The two roots can be specified using an URI or a path. The URI must follow the convention: protocol://[user@][host][:port][/path]. The protocol part can be file, socket, ssh or rsh. .SH OPTIONS All Unison options are long, starting with one dash (`-') only. A summary of options is included here. For a complete description, see the inbuilt documentation or the manuals in /usr/share/doc/unison/. .TP .B \-auto automatically accept default (nonconflicting) actions .TP .B \-batch batch mode: ask no questions at all .TP .B \-doc xxx show documentation ('-doc topics' lists topics) .TP .B \-fat use appropriate options for FAT filesystems .TP .B \-group synchronize group attributes .TP .B \-ignore xxx add a pattern to the ignore list .TP .B \-ignorenot xxx add a pattern to the ignorenot list .TP .B \-nocreation xxx prevent file creations on one replica .TP .B \-nodeletion xxx prevent file deletions on one replica .TP .B \-noupdate xxx prevent file updates and deletions on one replica .TP .B \-owner synchronize owner .TP .B \-path xxx path to synchronize .TP .B \-perms n part of the permissions which is synchronized .TP .B \-root xxx root of a replica (should be used exactly twice) .TP .B \-silent print nothing except error messages .TP .B \-terse suppress status messages .TP .B \-testserver exit immediately after the connection to the server .TP .B \-times synchronize modification times .TP .B \-version print version and exit .TP .B \-addprefsto xxx file to add new prefs to .TP .B \-addversionno add version number to name of unison on server .TP .B \-backup xxx add a pattern to the backup list .TP .B \-backupcurr xxx add a pattern to the backupcurr list .TP .B \-backupcurrnot xxx add a pattern to the backupcurrnot list .TP .B \-backupdir xxx directory for storing centralized backups .TP .B \-backuploc xxx where backups are stored ('local' or 'central') .TP .B \-backupnot xxx add a pattern to the backupnot list .TP .B \-backupprefix xxx prefix for the names of backup files .TP .B \-backups keep backup copies of all files (see also 'backup') .TP .B \-backupsuffix xxx a suffix to be added to names of backup files .TP .B \-confirmbigdel ask about whole-replica (or path) deletes (default true) .TP .B \-confirmmerge ask for confirmation before committing results of a merge .TP .B \-contactquietly suppress the 'contacting server' message during startup .TP .B \-copymax n maximum number of simultaneous copyprog transfers .TP .B \-copyprog xxx external program for copying large files .TP .B \-copyprogrest xxx variant of copyprog for resuming partial transfers .TP .B \-copyquoterem xxx add quotes to remote file name for copyprog (true/false/default) .TP .B \-copythreshold n use copyprog on files bigger than this (if >=0, in Kb) .TP .B \-debug xxx debug module xxx ('all' -> everything, 'verbose' -> more) .TP .B \-diff xxx set command for showing differences between files .TP .B \-dontchmod when set, never use the chmod system call .TP .B \-dumbtty do not change terminal settings in text UI .TP .B \-fastcheck xxx do fast update detection (true/false/default) .TP .B \-follow xxx add a pattern to the follow list .TP .B \-force xxx force changes from this replica to the other .TP .B \-forcepartial xxx add a pattern to the forcepartial list .TP .B \-halfduplex force half-duplex communication with the server .TP .B \-height n height (in lines) of main window in graphical interface .TP .B \-host xxx bind the socket to this host name in server socket mode .TP .B \-ignorearchives ignore existing archive files .TP .B \-ignorecase xxx identify upper/lowercase filenames (true/false/default) .TP .B \-ignoreinodenumbers ignore inode number changes when detecting updates .TP .B \-ignorelocks ignore locks left over from previous run (dangerous!) .TP .B \-immutable xxx add a pattern to the immutable list .TP .B \-immutablenot xxx add a pattern to the immutablenot list .TP .B \-key xxx define a keyboard shortcut for this profile (in some UIs) .TP .B \-killserver kill server when done (even when using sockets) .TP .B \-label xxx provide a descriptive string label for this profile .TP .B \-links xxx allow the synchronization of symbolic links (true/false/default) .TP .B \-log record actions in logfile (default true) .TP .B \-logfile xxx logfile name .TP .B \-maxbackups n number of backed up versions of a file .TP .B \-maxerrors n maximum number of errors before a directory transfer is aborted .TP .B \-maxthreads n maximum number of simultaneous file transfers .TP .B \-merge xxx add a pattern to the merge list .TP .B \-mountpoint xxx abort if this path does not exist .TP .B \-nocreationpartial xxx add a pattern to the nocreationpartial list .TP .B \-nodeletionpartial xxx add a pattern to the nodeletionpartial list .TP .B \-noupdatepartial xxx add a pattern to the noupdatepartial list .TP .B \-numericids don't map uid/gid values by user/group names .TP .B \-prefer xxx choose this replica's version for conflicting changes .TP .B \-preferpartial xxx add a pattern to the preferpartial list .TP .B \-repeat xxx synchronize repeatedly (text interface only) .TP .B \-retry n re-try failed synchronizations N times (text ui only) .TP .B \-rootalias xxx register alias for canonical root names .TP .B \-rsrc xxx synchronize resource forks (true/false/default) .TP .B \-rsync activate the rsync transfer mode (default true) .TP .B \-selftest run internal tests and exit .TP .B \-servercmd xxx name of unison executable on remote server .TP .B \-showarchive show 'true names' (for rootalias) of roots and archive .TP .B \-socket xxx act as a server on a socket .TP .B \-sortbysize list changed files by size, not name .TP .B \-sortfirst xxx add a pattern to the sortfirst list .TP .B \-sortlast xxx add a pattern to the sortlast list .TP .B \-sortnewfirst list new before changed files .TP .B \-sshargs xxx other arguments (if any) for remote shell command .TP .B \-sshcmd xxx path to the ssh executable .TP .B \-stream use a streaming protocol for transferring file contents (default true) .TP .B \-ui xxx select UI ('text' or 'graphic'); command-line only .TP .B \-unicode xxx assume Unicode encoding in case insensitive mode .TP .B \-xferbycopying optimize transfers using local copies (default true) .PP Some preferences are just boolean flags. Others take numeric or string arguments, indicated in the preferences list by n or xxx. Most of the string preferences can be given several times; the arguments are accumulated into a list internally. .SH SEE ALSO The program is documented fully in the in-built documentation and the manual, available as text in /usr/share/doc/unison/. .SH AUTHOR Options are automatically extracted from `unison -help'. The rest of this manual page was written by Robert McQueen , for the Debian GNU/Linux system (but may be used by others).