Just like the title: --log-file is not even in the man page any more. What's up?
Whilst looking for this I also spotted the other report that it doesn't preserve last modified dates either so even my workaround is no use!
Mac mini, macOS 15.4
Barney-15E wrote:
renowden wrote:
Great - so an upgrade from v2 to v3 results in a downgrade of available features. Just what we wanted :(
If you type rsync --version then you get
openrsync: protocol version 29
rsync version 2.6.9 compatible
which it certainly is NOT
I have discovered a workaround - find any mac with an OS version prior to 15.4 and copy the file into /usr/local/bin and run it from there!
You could just install rsync 3 on your own. It’s not an implementation problem, but a licensing problem.
Seconded. rsync 3 is under GPLv3, while openrsync is under ISC - a much more permissive license. Since Apple did not agree to GPLv3, it included the alternative offering with less legal restrictions.
To get the latest version of true rsync, just install it with Homebrew or using another method.
Barney-15E wrote:
renowden wrote:
Great - so an upgrade from v2 to v3 results in a downgrade of available features. Just what we wanted :(
If you type rsync --version then you get
openrsync: protocol version 29
rsync version 2.6.9 compatible
which it certainly is NOT
I have discovered a workaround - find any mac with an OS version prior to 15.4 and copy the file into /usr/local/bin and run it from there!
You could just install rsync 3 on your own. It’s not an implementation problem, but a licensing problem.
Seconded. rsync 3 is under GPLv3, while openrsync is under ISC - a much more permissive license. Since Apple did not agree to GPLv3, it included the alternative offering with less legal restrictions.
To get the latest version of true rsync, just install it with Homebrew or using another method.
renowden wrote:
Great - so an upgrade from v2 to v3 results in a downgrade of available features. Just what we wanted :(
If you type rsync --version then you get
openrsync: protocol version 29
rsync version 2.6.9 compatible
which it certainly is NOT
I have discovered a workaround - find any mac with an OS version prior to 15.4 and copy the file into /usr/local/bin and run it from there!
You could just install rsync 3 on your own. It’s not an implementation problem, but a licensing problem.
Great - so an upgrade from v2 to v3 results in a downgrade of available features. Just what we wanted :(
If you type rsync --version then you get
openrsync: protocol version 29
rsync version 2.6.9 compatible
which it certainly is NOT
I have discovered a workaround - find any mac with an OS version prior to 15.4 and copy the file into /usr/local/bin and run it from there!
Hi renowden,
Apple replaced rsync with openrsync in macOS Sequoia 15.4. More details are available here: https://derflounder.wordpress.com/2025/04/06/rsync-replaced-with-openrsync-on-macos-sequoia/
renowden wrote:
Just like the title: --log-file is not even in the man page any more. What's up?
I tried the command posted in that other thread, "rsync -ahPv" and it seemed to emit plenty of log information. You can add more "v" flags to get even more information. You can redirect that to a file if you want.
Whilst looking for this I also spotted the other report that it doesn't preserve last modified dates either so even my workaround is no use!
It seems to work fine here.
rsync doesn't support --log-file in Sequoia 15.4
