Here LinuxAndUbuntu is back after a month. We’re busy with another project that you’ll get to know soon. In this post, I’m going to mention a very useful tool for your Linux machine, FreeFileSync. People who have more data, FreeFileSync can help them sync and backup their data easily, fastly and with more customization. Let’s know more about FreeFileSync and install it in our Linux system.

I am sure LinuxAndUbuntu readers missed us and our latest articles, updates, and reviews. As we are now done with all the important work of our new project, so we’ll continue writing at LinuxAndUbuntu.

FreeFileSync

FreeFileSync is an Open-Source and cross-platform tool to compare and sync files and folders. It’s a very useful tool as you can compare two folders at different locations with FreeFileSync. You can update two folders and updation will copy all the new files from one folder (source folder) to another (target folder). It is helpful in taking backup of your important folders at a different location in different folders, such as in USB, Network, or internally. The way I use FreeFileSync is that I take backup of my ‘Downloads’ folder to the folder in my cloud storage. This way I don’t have to manually compare both the folders to find and copy new files. I just select ‘Downloads’ (source folder) and ‘Downloads backup’ (target folder), select update rules and hit Synchronize to sync all newly downloaded files to my cloud storage. You can also mirror two folders very quickly. Mirroring two folders matches the source folder with the target folder. Beside update and mirror rules, you can also set your own rules to synchronize folders.

More Features

Synchronize network shares and local disks

shares and local disks Synchronize MTP devices (Android, iPhone, tablet, digital camera)

devices (Android, iPhone, tablet, digital camera) Synchronize via SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol)

(SSH File Transfer Protocol) Detect moved and renamed files and folders

and renamed files and folders Show disk space usage with directory trees

with directory trees Copy locked files (Volume Shadow Copy Service)

files (Volume Shadow Copy Service) Detect conflicts and propagate deletions

and propagate deletions Compare files by content

Configure handling of Symbolic Links

Automate sync as a batch job

Process multiple folder pairs

folder pairs Comprehensive and detailed error reporting

error reporting Copy NTFS extended attributes (compressed, encrypted, sparse)

Copy NTFS security permissions

Support long file paths with more than 260 characters

with more than 260 characters Fail-safe file copy prevents data corruption

file copy prevents data corruption Cross-platform : Runs on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X

: Runs on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X Expand environment variables like %UserProfile%

Access variable drive letters by volume name (USB sticks)

Native 64-bit support

support Manage versions of deleted/updated files

of deleted/updated files Prevent disc space bottlenecks via optimal sync sequence

sync sequence Full Unicode support

support Highly optimized run time performance

Include and exclude files via filter

FreeFileSync portable and local installation available

and local installation available Handle daylight saving time changes on FAT/FAT32

changes on FAT/FAT32 Use macros %time%, %date%, et al. for recurring backups

%time%, %date%, et al. for recurring backups Case-sensitive synchronization

Built-in locking serializes multiple users synchronizing the same network folder

serializes multiple users synchronizing the same network folder … download and use for free!

How To Use FreeFileSync

First of all, select the source folder in the left side and target folder on the right side.

Select the Source folder in left side & target folder in the right side

Now click the settings icon from top right and set sync rules. You can set your own rules by selecting ‘Custom’. Click ‘OK’ to save sync rules.

When you’ve selected rules, click ‘Synchronize’ to sync folders. To confirm sync click ‘start’. Now sync will start.

Done! Sync has been completed and finally you’ve log of your sync.

How To Install FreeFileSync

You can easily install FreeFileSync by adding ppa to your Linux system. Type the below commands to add ppa and install FreeFileSync.Install FreeFileSync 7.8 in Ubuntu and Linux Mint unfortunately 7.8 is not compatible with Ubuntu 15.04. Don’t worry you can use FreeFileSync 7.5 version and it works fine on Ubuntu 15.04.

Install FreeFileSync 7.5 In Ubuntu 15.04

unfortunately, 7.8 is not compatible with Ubuntu 15.04. Don’t worry you can use FreeFileSync 7.5 version and it works fine on Ubuntu 15.04. You can simply download FreeFileSync 7.5 archive from the official website and extract it to use the portable version of FreeFileSync.

Download (64-bit only)

Conclusion

FreeFileSync is really a useful tool. You can perform the lengthy task of comparing and copying files within minutes or even seconds. One of the most important point about FreeFileSync is that it’s ZERO open bugs. Developers work hard to provide new releases quickly.