How to exclude files and folders when using rsync

An rsync filter that is too broad can skip files that should be copied or transfer caches, logs, and temporary files that should stay local. Exclude rules let rsync build a smaller file list before the transfer starts, and a dry run shows the exact paths that would still move.

Rsync applies include and exclude rules in order while it scans the source tree. A directory pattern such as cache/ prevents traversal into that directory, while a filename pattern such as *.tmp matches temporary files at the scanned levels. Repeat --exclude for short rule lists, or move longer rule sets into --exclude-from so the command stays readable.

The examples below use a local project/ source tree and a backup/ destination so the filter effect is visible before any files are copied. Keep the trailing slash on project/ when the destination should receive the source directory contents, and review delete behavior separately because excluded files are normally protected from --delete unless --delete-excluded is used.

1. Review the source tree and choose the paths that should stay out of the transfer.
2. Preview the transfer with inline exclude rules.

   $ rsync -a --dry-run --itemize-changes --exclude='cache/' --exclude='*.tmp' project/ backup/
   created directory backup
   cd+++++++++ ./
   >f+++++++++ README.md
   cd+++++++++ logs/
   >f+++++++++ logs/app.log
   cd+++++++++ reports/
   >f+++++++++ reports/summary.txt
   cd+++++++++ src/
   >f+++++++++ src/app.py

   The output includes reports/summary.txt and src/app.py, but it does not include cache/ or reports/draft.tmp.

   Related: How to preview rsync changes before syncing

3. Verify that the dry-run output contains only files that should be copied before removing --dry-run from the command.
4. Put include rules before the final catch-all exclude when the transfer should keep only one part of the source tree.

   $ rsync -a --dry-run --itemize-changes --include='reports/***' --exclude='*' project/ backup/
   created directory backup
   cd+++++++++ ./
   cd+++++++++ reports/
   >f+++++++++ reports/draft.tmp
   >f+++++++++ reports/summary.txt

   Rsync stops at the first matching filter rule, so the include rule must appear before the final --exclude='*' rule.

1. Create an exclude pattern file for rules that should be reused.

   cache/
   *.tmp

   Blank lines and whole-line comments starting with # are ignored in --exclude-from files.

2. Run the dry run with the pattern file.

   $ rsync -a --dry-run --itemize-changes --exclude-from=exclude-rules.txt project/ backup/
   created directory backup
   cd+++++++++ ./
   >f+++++++++ README.md
   cd+++++++++ logs/
   >f+++++++++ logs/app.log
   cd+++++++++ reports/
   >f+++++++++ reports/summary.txt
   cd+++++++++ src/
   >f+++++++++ src/app.py

3. Add more patterns to the file when a later run exposes files that should be skipped.

   Use How to debug rsync filter rules when a rule does not match the path you expected.

1. Create a source-file list when the transfer should copy only named paths instead of excluding everything else.

   README.md
   reports/summary.txt
   src/app.py

   --files-from is an allow-list. Each entry is relative to the source path, and rsync preserves the listed path structure by default.

2. Preview the file-list transfer.

   $ rsync -a --dry-run --itemize-changes --files-from=rsync-files.txt project/ backup/
   created directory backup
   >f+++++++++ README.md
   cd+++++++++ reports/
   >f+++++++++ reports/summary.txt
   cd+++++++++ src/
   >f+++++++++ src/app.py

3. Run the live sync only after the dry-run output contains the intended files and no skipped path is required by the destination.

   When a mirror command also uses --delete, review delete behavior with the same filter rules before running it against an important destination.

   Related: How to mirror a directory with rsync and delete extra files