Resolved rsync --exclude-from and --include-from options not working

[rhimbo]

I'm trying to use rsync on macOS 10.15.5 to do a "local" backup, that is, to an external disk, thus no network involved.

I do "dry runs" using the "-n" (--dry-run) option and "-v" to see the list of files that would be transferred. When I specify --exclude or --include on the command line it works. But if I use the --include-from=FILE and --exclude-from=FILE command line options there is no effect.

These options are listed on the rsync man page on my Mac. I have tried with the minimal test set, that is, only one entry in the files contains the include and exclude patterns.

I do not get any error messages. The result is simply the same as if no include or exclude patterns were specified.

 

[rhimbo]

It seems that the semantics of the "filter patterns" in the FILE supplied to the --include-from and the --exclude-from command line options use shell syntax, not the "filter" syntax indicated in the man page.