The first parameters in the file (before a [module] header) are
the global parameters. Rsync also allows for the use of a
"[global]" module name to indicate the start of one or more
global-parameter sections (the name must be lower case).
You may also include any module parameters in the global part of
the config file in which case the supplied value will override
the default for that parameter.
You may use references to environment variables in the values of
parameters. String parameters will have %VAR% references
expanded as late as possible (when the string is first used in
the program), allowing for the use of variables that rsync sets
at connection time, such as RSYNC_USER_NAME. Non-string
parameters (such as true/false settings) are expanded when read
from the config file. If a variable does not exist in the
environment, or if a sequence of characters is not a valid
reference (such as an un-paired percent sign), the raw characters
are passed through unchanged. This helps with backward
compatibility and safety (e.g. expanding a non-existent %VAR% to
an empty string in a path could result in a very unsafe path).
The safest way to insert a literal % into a value is to use %%.
motd file
This parameter allows you to specify a "message of the
day" to display to clients on each connect. This usually
contains site information and any legal notices. The
default is no motd file. This can be overridden by the
--dparam=motdfile=FILE command-line option when starting
the daemon.
pid file
This parameter tells the rsync daemon to write its process
ID to that file. The rsync keeps the file locked so that
it can know when it is safe to overwrite an existing file.
The filename can be overridden by the
--dparam=pidfile=FILE command-line option when starting
the daemon.
port You can override the default port the daemon will listen
on by specifying this value (defaults to 873). This is
ignored if the daemon is being run by inetd, and is
superseded by the --port command-line option.
address
You can override the default IP address the daemon will
listen on by specifying this value. This is ignored if
the daemon is being run by inetd, and is superseded by the
--address command-line option.
socket options
This parameter can provide endless fun for people who like
to tune their systems to the utmost degree. You can set
all sorts of socket options which may make transfers
faster (or slower!). Read the man page for the
setsockopt() system call for details on some of the
options you may be able to set. By default no special
socket options are set. These settings can also be
specified via the --sockopts command-line option.
listen backlog
You can override the default backlog value when the daemon
listens for connections. It defaults to 5.
