How to Install lsyncd on CentOS 7

Posted on September 23, 2014 by J. Mays

Category: Tutorials | Tags: CentOS, CentOS 7, File Synchronization, lsyncd, Replication, rsync, synchronization

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lsyncd is an rsync-based tool that monitors specified directories (including subdirectories) for updates and modifications, then syncs those changes to a specified destination.

Pre-Flight Check

These instructions are intended specifically for installing the lsyncd on CentOS 7.
I’ll be working from a Liquid Web Core Managed CentOS 7 server, and I’ll be logged in as root.

Step 1: Add the EPEL Repository

lsyncd is part of Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL), which is a community repository of non-standard packages for the RHEL distribution. First, we’ll install the EPEL repository, for directions see How to enable EPEL repository?

Step 2: Install lsyncd

First, you’ll follow a simple best practice: ensuring the list of available packages is up to date before installing anything new.

yum -y update

At this point, installing lsyncd is as simple as running just one command:

yum -y install lsyncd

Step 3: Example Configuration File Locations

Example configuration files can be found in the following directory:

cd /usr/share/doc/lsyncd-2.1.5/examples

A basic configuration can be found in lrsync.lua:

/usr/share/doc/lsyncd-2.1.5/examples/lrsync.lua

For a refresher on editing files with vim see: New User Tutorial: Overview of the Vim Text Editor

To view or edit lrsync.lua:

vim /usr/share/doc/lsyncd-2.1.5/examples/lrsync.lua

The lsyncd configuration file is written in the programming language Lua. Learn more about Lua here: http://www.lua.org/docs.html

About the Author: J. Mays

As a previous contributor, JMays shares his insight with our Knowledge Base center. In our Knowledge Base, you'll be able to find how-to articles on Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora and much more!