Linux: rsync Copy Directories Structures Tree Only

To copy only the directory structures (without copying the files themselves) using rsync, you can use the --dirs option:

rsync -a --dirs /source/ /destination/

Here, -a is used to preserve the permissions, ownership, timestamps, etc. of the directories. The --dirs option tells rsync to copy only the directories, and not their contents.

For example, if you have a directory tree like this:

/source/
 dir1/
 file1.txtrn file2.txtrn dir2/
 file3.txtrn file4.txt

Running the above rsync command will result in the following directory tree at the destination:

/destination/
 dir1/
 dir2/

Note that the files within the directories are not copied. Only the directory structures are copied.