unison-2.40 (1)

unison-2.40.102 [options]

unison-2.40.102 root1 root2 [options]

unison-2.40.102 profilename [options]

unison-2.40.102-gtk [options]

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-2.40.102-gtk binary has similar command-line options, but allows the user to select and create profiles and configure options from within the program.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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/.

-auto

automatically accept default (nonconflicting) actions

-batch

batch mode: ask no questions at all

-doc xxx

show documentation ('-doc topics' lists topics)

-fat

use appropriate options for FAT filesystems

-group

synchronize group attributes

-ignore xxx

add a pattern to the ignore list

-ignorenot xxx

add a pattern to the ignorenot list

-nocreation xxx

prevent file creations on one replica

-nodeletion xxx

prevent file deletions on one replica

-noupdate xxx

prevent file updates and deletions on one replica

-owner

synchronize owner

-path xxx

path to synchronize

-perms n

part of the permissions which is synchronized

-root xxx

root of a replica (should be used exactly twice)

-silent

print nothing except error messages

-terse

suppress status messages

-testserver

exit immediately after the connection to the server

-times

synchronize modification times

-version

print version and exit

-addprefsto xxx

file to add new prefs to

-addversionno

add version number to name of unison on server

-backup xxx

add a pattern to the backup list

-backupcurr xxx

add a pattern to the backupcurr list

-backupcurrnot xxx

add a pattern to the backupcurrnot list

-backupdir xxx

directory for storing centralized backups

-backuploc xxx

where backups are stored ('local' or 'central')

-backupnot xxx

add a pattern to the backupnot list

-backupprefix xxx

prefix for the names of backup files

-backups

keep backup copies of all files (see also 'backup')

-backupsuffix xxx

a suffix to be added to names of backup files

-confirmbigdel

ask about whole-replica (or path) deletes (default true)

-confirmmerge

ask for confirmation before committing results of a merge

-contactquietly

suppress the 'contacting server' message during startup

-copymax n

maximum number of simultaneous copyprog transfers

-copyprog xxx

external program for copying large files

-copyprogrest xxx

variant of copyprog for resuming partial transfers

-copyquoterem xxx

add quotes to remote file name for copyprog (true/false/default)

-copythreshold n

use copyprog on files bigger than this (if >=0, in Kb)

-debug xxx

debug module xxx ('all' -> everything, 'verbose' -> more)

-diff xxx

set command for showing differences between files

-dontchmod

when set, never use the chmod system call

-dumbtty

do not change terminal settings in text UI

-fastcheck xxx

do fast update detection (true/false/default)

-follow xxx

add a pattern to the follow list

-force xxx

force changes from this replica to the other

-forcepartial xxx

add a pattern to the forcepartial list

-halfduplex

force half-duplex communication with the server

-height n

height (in lines) of main window in graphical interface

-host xxx

bind the socket to this host name in server socket mode

-ignorearchives

ignore existing archive files

-ignorecase xxx

identify upper/lowercase filenames (true/false/default)

-ignoreinodenumbers

ignore inode number changes when detecting updates

-ignorelocks

ignore locks left over from previous run (dangerous!)

-immutable xxx

add a pattern to the immutable list

-immutablenot xxx

add a pattern to the immutablenot list

-key xxx

define a keyboard shortcut for this profile (in some UIs)

-killserver

kill server when done (even when using sockets)

-label xxx

provide a descriptive string label for this profile

-links xxx

allow the synchronization of symbolic links (true/false/default)

-log

record actions in logfile (default true)

-logfile xxx

logfile name

-maxbackups n

number of backed up versions of a file

-maxerrors n

maximum number of errors before a directory transfer is aborted

-maxthreads n

maximum number of simultaneous file transfers

-merge xxx

add a pattern to the merge list

-mountpoint xxx

abort if this path does not exist

-nocreationpartial xxx

add a pattern to the nocreationpartial list

-nodeletionpartial xxx

add a pattern to the nodeletionpartial list

-noupdatepartial xxx

add a pattern to the noupdatepartial list

-numericids

don't map uid/gid values by user/group names

-prefer xxx

choose this replica's version for conflicting changes

-preferpartial xxx

add a pattern to the preferpartial list

-repeat xxx

synchronize repeatedly (text interface only)

-retry n

re-try failed synchronizations N times (text ui only)

-rootalias xxx

register alias for canonical root names

-rsrc xxx

synchronize resource forks (true/false/default)

-rsync

activate the rsync transfer mode (default true)

-selftest

run internal tests and exit

-servercmd xxx

name of unison executable on remote server

-showarchive

show 'true names' (for rootalias) of roots and archive

-socket xxx

act as a server on a socket

-sortbysize

list changed files by size, not name

-sortfirst xxx

add a pattern to the sortfirst list

-sortlast xxx

add a pattern to the sortlast list

-sortnewfirst

list new before changed files

-sshargs xxx

other arguments (if any) for remote shell command

-sshcmd xxx

path to the ssh executable

-stream

use a streaming protocol for transferring file contents (default true)

-ui xxx

select UI ('text' or 'graphic'); command-line only

-unicode xxx

assume Unicode encoding in case insensitive mode

-xferbycopying

optimize transfers using local copies (default true)

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.

The program is documented fully in the in-built documentation and the manual, available as text in /usr/share/doc/unison/.

Options are automatically extracted from `unison -help'. The rest of this manual page was written by Robert McQueen <[email protected]>, for the Debian GNU/Linux system (but may be used by others).