SCP/rsync Cheatsheet

File transfer.

Overview

scp and rsync are the standard SSH-based file-transfer tools. The cheatsheet captures the patterns operators actually use; rsync is the right default for non-trivial transfers because it is restartable, incremental, and correct under retry.

• SSH-based transfer. Both tunnel through SSH; preserves auth and encryption automatically.
• scp for simple copy. One-shot file copy; matches simple ad-hoc cases that do not justify rsync.
• rsync for sync. Incremental sync with delta transfer; handles large or repeated transfers efficiently.
• Resume support plus filtering. rsync resumes interrupted transfers; include/exclude patterns support targeted sync.

The approach

The practical approach: rsync over scp for anything non-trivial, archive mode by default, dry-run before destructive operations, explicit excludes, custom SSH options when ports are non-standard. The team’s discipline produces predictable transfers.

• rsync -avz src/ user@host:dst/. Archive, verbose, compress; the canonical sync invocation.
• rsync --dry-run. Test what would happen; catches mistakes before they delete the wrong files.
• rsync --delete. Remove files at destination not in source; produces true mirrors when that is the goal.
• rsync --exclude plus custom SSH. Include/exclude patterns for targeted sync; rsync -e "ssh -p 2222" for non-default ports.

Why this compounds

scp/rsync fluency compounds across operations. Each transfer captures operational knowledge; the team’s automation grows; new transfers reuse the patterns.

• Faster transfers. Rsync’s delta transfer reduces bandwidth; large repeated transfers run in seconds, not hours.
• Reliable backups. Rsync handles unreliable networks; resume on failure makes long transfers tractable.
• Reusable patterns. Standard rsync invocations capture patterns; the team library compounds across the year.
• Institutional knowledge. Each rsync command teaches Unix file semantics; the team’s automation muscle grows.

scp/rsync fluency is an operational discipline that pays off across years. Nova AI Ops integrates with operations telemetry, surfaces patterns, and supports the team’s automation discipline.