RsyncGUI

A professional macOS GUI for rsync with real-time progress, AI-powered insights, launchd scheduling, multi-destination sync, desktop widgets, and a local API server.

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Features

Feature	Description
100+ rsync flags	Tabbed visual editor across 14 categories (Basic, Transfer, Preserve, Filters, Comparison, Bandwidth, Output, SSH, Ownership, Backup, Logging, Network, I/O, Checksum)
Real-time progress	Animated gradient progress circle with speed, ETA, file count, and current file display
Multi-source / multi-destination	Fan-out (1:N), fan-in (N:1), and full mesh (N:N) sync modes with parallel or sequential execution
launchd scheduling	Native macOS scheduling (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, custom cron) that runs even when the app is closed
SSH remote sync	Public key authentication with Keychain credential storage, connection testing, and key path validation
iCloud Drive sync	One-click iCloud destination setup with automatic .icloud placeholder exclusion
AI insights (10 features)	Error diagnosis, change summary, anomaly detection, smart scheduling, storage prediction, exclusion suggestions, NLP job creation, health scoring, recovery assistant, sensitive file detection
Desktop widget	WidgetKit extension (Small / Medium / Large) showing health score, last sync, next sync, and recent activity
Menu bar integration	Status bar icon with quick job access and window toggle
Pre/post sync scripts	Run custom scripts with environment variables (JOB_NAME, JOB_STATUS, FILES_TRANSFERRED); only absolute paths accepted
Job dependencies	Chain jobs with conditional execution and CryptoKit-based change detection to skip unchanged sources
Delta reporting	Structured post-sync report of files added, modified, deleted, with byte-level statistics
Dry run mode	Preview all changes before execution
Nova API server	HTTP API on port 37424 (loopback only) for programmatic control

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Architecture

graph TD
    subgraph UI["SwiftUI Frontend"]
        CV[ContentView] --> JL[JobListView]
        CV --> JD[JobDetailView]
        CV --> JE[JobEditorView]
        CV --> SP[SyncProgressView]
        CV --> AI[AIInsightsView]
        CV --> HT[JobHistoryTabView]
        CV --> SV[SettingsView]
        MB[MenuBarManager] --> CV
    end

    subgraph Services["Service Layer"]
        JM[JobManager] --> RE[RsyncExecutor]
        JM --> AES[AdvancedExecutionService]
        JM --> SM[ScheduleManager]
        RE -->|Process.arguments| RSYNC["/usr/bin/rsync"]
        RE -->|stdout parsing| PP[Progress Parser]
        AES -->|parallel / sequential| RE
        AES -->|change detection| CD[CryptoKit Checksums]
        SM -->|generate plist| LA["~/Library/LaunchAgents/"]
        AIS[AIInsightsService] --> ABM[AIBackendManager]
        ABM --> OLLAMA["Ollama / MLX / TinyLLM"]
        WDS[WidgetDataSync] -->|App Group| WK[WidgetKit Extension]
    end

    subgraph Data["Persistence"]
        JOBS["jobs.json"]
        HIST["ExecutionHistory"]
        DR["DeltaReport"]
    end

    subgraph API["Nova API Server :37424"]
        STATUS["GET /api/status"]
        GETJOBS["GET /api/jobs"]
        RUN["POST /api/jobs/:id/run"]
        DRYRUN["POST /api/jobs/:id/dryrun"]
        HISTORY["GET /api/history"]
    end

    UI --> Services
    JM --> JOBS
    RE --> HIST
    RE --> DR
    API --> JM
    PP --> SP
    HIST --> WDS
    AIS --> HIST

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Installation

1. Download the latest DMG from Releases
2. Open the DMG and drag RsyncGUI.app to /Applications
3. No sandbox -- full file system access for unrestricted rsync operation

Requirements

Requirement	Minimum
macOS	14.0 (Sonoma)
Architecture	Universal (Apple Silicon + Intel)
rsync	Bundled with macOS; Homebrew version also supported
AI features (optional)	Ollama, MLX, TinyLLM, or any supported backend

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Building

git clone https://github.com/kochj23/RsyncGUI.git
cd RsyncGUI
xcodebuild -project RsyncGUI.xcodeproj -scheme RsyncGUI -configuration Release build

Testing

xcodebuild -project RsyncGUI.xcodeproj -scheme RsyncGUI -destination 'platform=macOS' test

379 tests across 15 test classes:

Test Class	Tests	Category
RsyncOptionsTests	57	Unit -- argument generation for 100+ flags, archive mode, filter sanitization, Codable
ProgressParsingTests	38	Unit -- speed/time/bytes parsing, final stats extraction, to-check lines
SyncJobTests	29	Unit -- job init, sync modes, execution strategy, destination types, Codable
NovaAPITests	29	Functional -- API endpoint routing, response shapes, status payload
FrameTests	28	Frame -- app launch, view instantiation, widget data models
PathValidationTests	26	Security -- tilde expansion, iCloud validation, SMB/USB, traversal detection
SecurityTests	25	Security -- path traversal, credential exposure, filter sanitization, binary resolution
ScheduleConfigTests	24	Unit -- plist generation, RunAtLoad, idle config, XML injection prevention
CommandInjectionTests	23	Security -- SSH host/user validation, rsync-path sanitization, shell escaping
FunctionalFlowTests	18	Functional -- end-to-end job creation, edit, and execution flows
WidgetDataTests	18	Unit -- widget data encoding, App Group sync, timeline entries
DeltaReportTests	17	Unit -- report formatting, itemize parsing, mixed change detection
ExecutionHistoryTests	17	Unit -- history entries, transfer speed calculation, Codable
IntegrationTests	15	Integration -- rsync binary verification, local sync with temp dirs, dry run, delete, exclude
DependencyCheckTests	15	Unit -- satisfied/unsatisfied dependencies, missing jobs, parallel file splitting

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Nova API Server

Port 37424 (127.0.0.1 loopback only). No authentication required.

Method	Path	Description
GET	/api/status	App status, version, job count, uptime
GET	/api/ping	Health check
GET	/api/jobs	List all sync jobs
GET	/api/jobs/:id	Single job detail
POST	/api/jobs/:id/run	Execute a job
POST	/api/jobs/:id/dryrun	Dry-run a job
GET	/api/history	Recent execution history
GET	/api/jobs/:id/history	History for a specific job

curl -s http://127.0.0.1:37424/api/status | python3 -m json.tool
curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:37424/api/jobs/<uuid>/run

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License

MIT License -- Copyright (c) 2026 Jordan Koch

See LICENSE for the full text.

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Written by Jordan Koch