Man pages › Compared with Linux and the BSDs

`rsync(1)` on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs

rsync is not in the Solnix base system. Install pkgs.solnix.rsync to get it. The Solnix page is the upstream rsync manual, and its SYNOPSIS, USAGE and quoted option text match the Linux rsync 3.5.0 page apart from wording. The bundle has no FreeBSD, OpenBSD or NetBSD rsync pages, so no BSD comparison can be made from it.

The manual pages

Solnix: rsync(1) from pkgs.solnix.rsync
Linux: rsync(1) rsync-3.5.0

What Solnix runs

Not installed by default: add pkgs.solnix.rsync. No other illumos variant is shipped. The bundle contains no BSD rsync page, so how rsync appears on FreeBSD, OpenBSD or NetBSD is not covered here.

Differences

Compared with	Topic	What differs
Linux	same program	The Solnix page and the Linux page describe the same rsync. The SYNOPSIS (local, remote-shell and daemon forms), the trailing-slash rules and the quoted `-v`, `--version` and `-V` text agree. Only wording differs. Source: Solnix rsync(1) SYNOPSIS, USAGE, OPTIONS; Linux rsync(1) SYNOPSIS, USAGE, OPTIONS
Linux	`-h` as a help flag	Both pages let `-h` act as `--help`, but the wording differs. Solnix says only 'without any other options'. Linux says 'without any other options or arguments'. Otherwise `-h` means `--human-readable`. Scripts should not rely on bare `-h`. Source: Solnix rsync(1) --help; Linux rsync(1) --help
Linux	option list differences	The mechanically extracted flag lists differ. Linux lists `--compress-threads`, `--confine-root`, `--insecure-links`, `--new-compress`, `--no-compress`, `--no-owner`, `--no-perms`, `--no-relative`, `--old-dirs` and `--zt`. The Solnix list does not show them. The Solnix list has `--no-human-readable` and `--no-super`. The extraction is noisy and the OPTIONS text is trimmed, so check `rsync `--help`` on the installed build. Source: Solnix rsync(1) OPTION FLAGS header; Linux rsync(1) OPTION FLAGS header

Standards

POSIX: rsync is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.

Writing portable scripts

Do not assume rsync is present on a base Solnix system. Check for it, or install pkgs.solnix.rsync first.
Both manuals document the same trailing-slash rule: `rsync -av /src/foo /dest` and `rsync -av /src/foo/ /dest/foo` copy the same way.
Test for rarely used long options, such as --compress-threads or --zt, with `rsync --help` on each host before depending on them.

Every difference here is taken from the manual pages linked above: Solnix's published page, Linux (man-pages and the GNU and util-linux manuals), FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD. Each row names its source. Where a manual is silent, this page is too. Compiled 2026-10-26. Found a mistake? Mail hackers@lists.solnix.io.