Windows – Live rsync/directory monitor for Windows

rsync allows you to specify patterns that trigger the inclusion or exclusion of files and directories. I think you want to use something like this:

rsync -a -f '- /*/*/' /dirA/ host:/dirB/

Explanation:

• -a triggers the archive mode that activates both recursion and preservation of "symbolic links, devices, attributes, permissions, ownerships, etc.", according to man rsync.
• -f is short for --filter=, which adds a file-filtering rule.
  • The pattern is inside single quotes so that the shell does not expand wildcards; double quotes would work equally well in this case.
  • - means this is an exclude pattern.
  • The leading / means the pattern must start at dirA/ (the rsync "transfer-root").
  • The */* part of the pattern refers to anything inside of a subdirectory.
  • The trailing / limits the exclusion to directories. Files inside a subdirectory of dirA/ are not affected.

So in the end, rsync copies nothing more than one level down (and also does not create second-level directories).

Use the p modifier:

A p indicates that a rule is perishable, meaning that it is ignored in directories that are being deleted. For instance, the -C option’s default rules that exclude things like "CVS" and "*.o" are marked as perishable, and will not prevent a directory that was removed on the source from being deleted on the destination.

For example, I use the -F option, which "tells rsync to look for per-directory .rsync-filter files that have been sprinkled through the hierarchy and use their rules to filter the files in the transfer."

My .rsync-filter contains lines like these to filter out these "droppings" that Macs leave behind them:

-p .DS_Store
-p ._*

If using exclude instead of just -, add a comma. For example :

exclude,p .DS_Store
exclude,p Thumbs.db