FreeFileSync is an open source file synchronization and backup tool that helps to synchronize files across folders and various devices and keep your data updated. It is a multi-platform tool available for Windows, Linux and Mac systems.
In this tutorial, we will walk through how to install FreeFileSync on Ubuntu 22.04 step by step
prerequisite
- Pre-Installed Ubuntu 22.04 LTS system
- Sudo User with admin rights
- Stable Internet connectivity
(1) Update package list
First, log into your Ubuntu 22.04 workstation and update the package list
$ sudo apt update
(2) Download the FreeFileSync installation file
FreeFileSync is not included in the official Ubuntu repositories at
the time of writing this guide. The only way of installing it is by
downloading the binary file from the official site and then running the
installation file.
At the time of writing this guide, FreeeFileSync is not yet included in the official Ubuntu repositories. The only way to install it is to download the binary from the official website, then run the installer.
Therefore, visit the official FreeFileSync download page and download the tarball file for Linux by clicking on it as shown below.
So, visit the official FreeFileSync download page , click to download the Linux TARBALL file as shown below.
Alternatively, you can also copy the link and download it using wget command as shown below. Note that the version number may be different when you refer to this guide, so replace the version number with the latest version.
$ wget https://freefilesync.org/download/FreeFileSync_11.28_Linux.tar.gz
(3) Unzip the downloaded installation file
Once the download is complete, navigate to the file location and extract it using below tar command
Once the download is complete, extract it using the tar command below
$ tar -xvf FreeFileSync_11.28_Linux.tar.gz
The installation files already have execute permission, so you don't need to assign execute permission.
(4) Install FreeFileSync
To install FreeFile Sync, simply run the setup file shown below.
$ sudo ./FreeFileSync_11.28_Install.run
Type y and press ENTER to accept the license terms
Next, the following output will be displayed on the terminal. Keep the default settings and press ENTER to continue the installation.
In just a few seconds, the installation will complete and you will get the following output as confirmation.
After the installation is complete, you will see two icons in the lower right corner of the Ubuntu desktop as shown.
To activate the FreeFileSync desktop icon, right click on it and select Allow to start
The icon now turns green as shown. To start FreeFileSync, just double click on the icon.
The FreeFileSync desktop application will pop up, and the About pop-up box shows the version of FreeFileSync installed and the contributors to the project.
To access the dashboard, click the Close button
This is what the dashboard looks like
(5) Use FreeFileSync to synchronize files
In this section, we will demonstrate how to sync files from one folder to another. Here is our directory setup
- Source folder : /home/linuxtechi/data
- Destination folder : /home/linuxtechi/Documents
First, click the ‘Browse’ button in the first section and select the source folder. Similarly, click the ‘Browse’ button in the second section to select the destination directory in which the synchronization is going to occur.
First, click the Browse button in the first section and select the source folder. Similarly, click the Browse button in the second section to select the target directory.
Finally, click the Synchronize button.
Next, click Start to start the file synchronization process
This may take a while, depending on the size of the synced files. You should see a progress meter showing how the sync is progressing.
Once done, verify that the source and destination folders have the same files
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