SCP & Rsync Command Builder

Both copy files over SSH. scp is the simplest - great for a one-off copy of a file or folder. rsync is smarter: it only transfers what changed, can resume, show progress, mirror directories, and exclude paths, which makes it the better choice for deployments and repeated syncs.

Rule of thumb: reach for scp for a quick single transfer, and rsync for anything you will run more than once or that needs to stay in sync.

1. Pick scp or rsync, then choose the direction (upload or download).
2. Fill in the local path, the remote user and host, and the remote path.
3. Set a custom port or identity file if you need them - they are added in the right form for each tool.
4. Toggle the flags you want. For rsync, add an exclude pattern to skip files like node_modules.
5. Copy the generated command and run it from your local machine.

A common gotcha: scp uses an uppercase -P for the port (lowercase -p means "preserve"), while ssh and rsync use a lowercase port flag. rsync does not take a port directly - it passes one through SSH with -e "ssh -p 2222 -i ~/.ssh/key". This builder writes the correct form for whichever tool you pick, so you never have to remember which is which.

rsync --delete makes the destination an exact mirror of the source - including deleting files on the destination that are not in the source. Always pair it with -n (dry run) first: rsync will print exactly what it would add, change, and delete without touching anything. Once the output looks right, remove -n and run it for real.