MacOS 15.4 removes rsync —log-file option?

Question

secondstagerob OP

Created Apr ’25

Replies 6

Boosts 2

Participants 5

I installed MacOS Sequoia 15.4 and now my backup script no longer works.

My script is using rsync in this way: rsync -avz —delete —log-file=“$LOG_FILE” “$SRC_DIR” “$DEST_DIR”

This has been working fine for a very long time.

After updating to 15.4, this produces the error “rsync: unrecognized action —log-file=/users/admin/logs/backuplog_xxx.log”.

The log file path is correct (and hasn’t changed).

Interestingly, the man page for rsync no longer shows the —log-file as an option.

I know I can use: rsync -avz —delete “$SRC_DIR” “$DEST_DIR” > “$LOG_FILE”`

or even rsync -avz —delete “$SRC_DIR” “$DEST_DIR” > “$LOG_FILE” 2>&1`

to also capture stderr.

However, I liked the output from the built-In log option.

Does anyone know why this might have been removed or if there is a way to get it back?

Thanks.

Answered by DTS Engineer in 833158022

So, yeah, macOS 15.4 does include a significant revision to the built-in rsync. If that’s causing you grief, I encourage you to file a bug about the specific problem you’re having. Please post your bug number, just for the record.

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

Boost

Answer 1

MPR3 OP

Apr ’25

I am experiencing the same problem. All my automation scripts are now broken. This is absolutely terrible. When will it be fixed?

1

Answer 2

sql2sec OP

Apr ’25

I am using the older Intel based Mac so I checked my version of rsync --version which returned the 2.6.9 version.
So, I installed rsync via Homebrew and then did brew --prefix rsync which gave me the directory of /usr/local/opt/rsync. Then I found the executable at /usr/local/opt/rsync/bin/rsync.

I changed my scripts then to use that full path instead of just rsync. In your example I would then use: /usr/local/opt/rsync/bin/rsync -avz —delete —log-file=“$LOG_FILE” “$SRC_DIR” “$DEST_DIR” OR /opt/homebrew/bin/rsync -avz —delete —log-file=“$LOG_FILE” “$SRC_DIR” “$DEST_DIR” if you are using Apple Silicon.

Hope this helps.

0

Answer 3

markatlnk OP

Apr ’25

I am running a mac studio M2 Ultra and have been running the same backup script for years. After updating to 15.4, rsync now gives an unexpected end of file error and bombs. Checking the version of rsync, it is also 2.6.9

0

Answer 4

markatlnk OP

Apr ’25

I solved it by just running: brew install rsync The brew path is searched first so it now functions as expected. Odd that the version is still 2.6.9.

0

Answer 5

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

Apr ’25

Recommended

So, yeah, macOS 15.4 does include a significant revision to the built-in rsync. If that’s causing you grief, I encourage you to file a bug about the specific problem you’re having. Please post your bug number, just for the record.

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

1

Answer 6

secondstagerob OP

Apr ’25

I filed feedback: FB17130207.

I sure hope this gets addressed.

From above, I realize that I could install a different version of rsync, but for my purposes, I’d really like to stick with the built-in version.

0