Rsync Tasks Screens

10 minute read.

Last Modified 2025-09-12 13:56 EDT

The Rsync Task widget on the Data Protection screen shows rsync tasks configured on the TrueNAS system. It provides access to configuration screens to add single-time or scheduled recurring transfers between TrueNAS and an rsync backup server. Rsync tasks are an effective method to back up data to a remote location.

The Rsync Tasks widget shows a description about rsync tasks until the first task is configured, then it shows a list of tasks configured on the system, with th details about the task, and the task status.

The widget header opens the Rsync Task screen.

Add opens the Add Rsync Task screen.

The vertical ellipses more_vert icon to the right of each task opens a dropdown menu with three options for various functions:

edit Edit opens the Edit Rsync Task screen populated with with the settings for that task.
The Run job starts the rsync operation, running it outside of the scheduled time.
delete Delete opens a confirmation dialog.

State displays the status of the next cloud sync task as SUCCESS for completed tasks, FAILED if the task fails to complete the sync, and PENDING for tasks that have not run yet. Click on the state oval to open the Logs dialog for that task. Download Logs saves a copy of the current task logs.

Rsync Task Screen

The Rsync Task screen lists all tasks configured on the system.

The screen shows a table listing each task, with details about the task, and the task status. Table column headings sort the list in ascending or descending order.

The vertical ellipses more_vert icon to the right of each task opens a dropdown menu with three options for various functions:

edit Edit opens the Edit Rsync Task screen populated with with the settings for that task.
The Run job starts the rsync operation, running it outside of the scheduled time.
delete Delete opens a confirmation dialog.

Add opens the Add Rsync Task screen.

Add and Edit Rsync Task Screens

The Add Rsync Task and Edit Rsync Task screens show the same settings. The sections below group settings by functional area.

Source and Remote Options

Source settings specify the location of the stored data to sync with a remote server, set the user that performs the task, and the direction of the task (send or receive data). The Remote settings specify the mode for the task and remote host connection information. Settings change based on the option (Module or SSH) set in Rsync Mode.

Figure 3: Rsync Task Source and Remote Module Settings

Figure 4: Rsync Task Source and Remote SSH Settings

Browsing to select a path

Click the arrow to the left of the folder icon to expand that folder and show any child datasets and directories. A solid folder icon shows for datasets and an outlined folder for directories. A selected dataset or directory folder and name shows in blue.

Source and Remote Settings

Setting	Description
Path	(Required) Enter or browse to the dataset or directory to sync with a remote server. Use the arrow_right to the left of /mnt folder to expand the folder tree, then click on the name to select and populate the Path field. Linux file path limits apply. Other operating systems can have different limits, which might affect how to use them as sources or destinations.
User	(Required) Select the user to run the rsync task. Select a user who has permissions to write to the specified directory on the remote host. If setting Rsync Mode to SSH, the user must have an SSH private key in their home directory if Connect using is set to SSH private key stored in user’s home directory.
Direction	(Required) Select the direction of the flow of data to the remote host. Options are: Push - During a push, the dataset copies data to the remote module. Pull - During a pull, the dataset stores data copied from the remote system.
Description	(Optional) Enter a description of the rsync task.
Rsync Mode	Select the mode from the dropdown list. Options are: Module - Uses a custom-defined remote module from the rsync server. SSH - Uses an SSH configuration for the rsync task. The remote system must have SSH enabled. The host system needs an established SSH connection to the remote for the rsync task. SSH displays more settings.
Remote Host	(Required) Enter the IP address or host name and domain of the remote system. Use the format `username@remote_host` if the user name differs on the remote host.
Remote Module Name	(Required) If Rsync Mode is set to Module, specify the name of the module on the remote rsync server. Define at least one module per rsyncd.conf(5) on the remote rsync server. Enter the Module Name exactly as it appears on the remote system.
Connect using	(Required) When Rsync Mode is set to SSH, shows two options: SSH private key stored in user’s home directory - The user entered in User must have an SSH private key added and stored in the home directory for the user. Create the SSH connection and keypair, download the keys, then add the private key to the user in the UI and to the home directory either from the Shell using Linux CLI commands or while in an SSH session with the system. SSH connection from the keychain - Requires creating an SSH connection and keypair before setting up the rsync task. Shows the SSH Connection dropdown list showing SSH connections configured in the system.
SSH Connection	Shows when Rsync Mode is set to SSH, and Connect Using is set to SSH connecton from the keychain. Shows a dropdown list of SSH connections added in TrueNAS. Sets the rsync task to use the selected SSH connection to authenticate sync operations with the remote server.
Remote SSH Port	(Required) If Rsync Mode is set to SSH, enter the SSH port number of the remote system. By default, 22 is reserved in TrueNAS.
Remote Path	Enter an existing path on the remote host. Maximum path length is 255 characters.
Validate Remote Path	Shows when Rsync Mode is set to SSH. Set to test the remote server connection and verify that the defined Remote Path exists.

Schedule and More Options

Schedule defines when the remote sync task occurs. The More Options specify other settings related to when and how the rsync occurs.

Figure 6: Rsync Task Schedule and Other Options Settings

Schedule Settings

Setting	Description
Schedule	Shows a list of schedule preset options. See Schedule Presets below for more info.
Recursive	Select to include all subdirectories of the specified directory. When cleared, only the specified directory is included.
Enabled	Select to enable this rsync task. Clear to disable this rsync task without deleting it.

Schedule Presets

The Schedule dropdown list preset options are:

Hourly at the start of each hour
Daily At 00:00 (12:00 AM)
Weekly On Sundays at 00:00 (12:00 AM)
Monthly On the first day of the month at 00:00 (12:00 AM)
Create Custom schedule that opens the Advanced Scheduler window.

Advanced Scheduler

Choosing a Presets option populates the rest of the fields. To customize a schedule, enter crontab values for the Minutes/Hours/Days.

These fields accept standard cron values. The simplest option is to enter a single number in the field. The task runs when the time value matches that number. For example, entering 10 means that the job runs when the time is ten minutes past the hour.

An asterisk (*) means match all values.

Specific time ranges are set by entering hyphenated number values. For example, entering 30-35 in the Minutes field sets the task to run at minutes 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35.

You can also enter lists of values. Enter individual values separated by a comma (,). For example, entering 1,14 in the Hours field means the task runs at 1:00 AM (0100) and 2:00 PM (1400).

A slash (/) designates a step value. For example, while entering * in Days means the task runs every day of the month, */2 means the task runs every other day.

Combining all the above examples together creates a schedule running a task each minute from 1:30-1:35 AM and 2:30-2:35 PM every other day.

There is an option to select which Months the task runs. Leaving each month unset is the same as selecting every month.

The Days of Week schedules the task to run on specific days. This is in addition to any listed days. For example, entering 1 in Days and setting Wed for Days of Week creates a schedule that starts a task on the first day of the month and every Wednesday of the month.

The Schedule Preview displays when the current settings mean the task runs.

Examples of CRON syntax

Syntax	Meaning	Examples
*	Every item.	* (minutes) = every minute of the hour. * (days) = every day.
*/N	Every N^th item.	/15 (minutes) = every 15th minute of the hour (every quarter hour). /3 (days) = every 3rd day. */3 (months) = every 3rd month.
Comma and hyphen/dash	Each stated item (comma) Each item in a range (hyphen/dash).	1,31 (minutes) = on the 1st and 31st minute of the hour. 1-3,31 (minutes) = on the 1st to 3rd minutes inclusive, and the 31st minute, of the hour. mon-fri (days) = every Monday to Friday inclusive (every weekday). mar,jun,sep,dec (months) = every March, June, September, December.

Days can be specified as days of month, or days of week.

With these options, you can create flexible schedules similar to these examples:

Desired schedule	Values to enter
3 times a day (at midnight, 08:00 and 16:00)	months=; days=; hours=0/8 or 0,8,16; minutes=0 (Meaning: every day of every month, when hours=0/8/16 and minutes=0)
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, at 8.30 pm	months=*; days=mon,wed,fri; hours=20; minutes=30
1st and 15th day of the month, during October to June, at 00:01 am	months=oct-dec,jan-jun; days=1,15; hours=0; minutes=1
Every 15 minutes during the working week, which is 8am - 7pm (08:00 - 19:00) Monday to Friday	Note that this requires two tasks to achieve: (1) months=; days=mon-fri; hours=8-18; minutes=/15 (2) months=*; days=mon-fri; hours=19; minutes=0 We need the second scheduled item, to execute at 19:00, otherwise we would stop at 18:45. Another workaround would be to stop at 18:45 or 19:45 rather than 19:00.

More Options Settings

Auxiliary parameters are an unsupported configuration. Parameters entered here are not validated and can cause undefined system behavior, including data corruption or data loss.

Setting	Description
Times	Select to preserve modification times of files.
Compress	Select to reduce the size of data to transmit. Recommended for slow connections.
Archive	Select to preserve symlinks, permissions, modification times, group, and special files. When selected, rsync runs recursively. When run as root, owner, device files, and special files are also preserved. Equal to passing the flags `-rlptgoD` to rsync.
Delete	Select to delete files in the destination directory that do not exist in the source directory.
Quiet	Select to suppress informational messages from the remote server.
Preserve Permissions	Select to preserve original file permissions. Useful when the user is set to root.
Preserve Extended Attributes	Select to preserve extended attributes, but this must be supported by both systems.
Delay Updates	Select to save a temporary file from each updated file to a holding directory until the end of the transfer. All transferred files are renamed once the transfer is complete.
Auxiliary Parameters	Enter additional rsync(1) options to include. Separate entries by pressing `Enter`. Note: You must escape the `` character with a backslash (`\.txt`) or inside single quotes (`'*.txt'`).