Delete Options

Delete Flags

Flag	When Deletes Happen	Use Case
--delete	During transfer (default)	General mirroring
--delete-before	Before transfer starts	Need space on dest first
--delete-during	While transferring	Most efficient
--delete-after	After transfer completes	Safer, no mid-transfer gaps
--delete-excluded	Also delete excluded files on dest	Full mirror
--max-delete=N	Stop after N deletions	Safety limit

Safe Deletion Workflow

# Step 1: Preview what would be deleted
rsync -avn --delete src/ dest/

# Step 2: Backup before deleting
rsync -av --delete --backup --backup-dir=/backup/quarantine/ src/ dest/

# Step 3: Execute when confident
rsync -av --delete src/ dest/

Related Flags

# Don't overwrite newer files on destination
rsync -av --update src/ dest/

# Skip files that already exist on destination
rsync -av --ignore-existing src/ dest/

# Only transfer files that exist on destination
rsync -av --existing src/ dest/

# Limit deletions (safety net)
rsync -av --delete --max-delete=100 src/ dest/

warning

--delete + --exclude = excluded files are protected from deletion. Add --delete-excluded to also remove them.