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Folder Comparison and Synchronization App FreeFileSync 11.2 Released

Last updated: October 4, 2020

FreeFileSync 11.2, folder comparison and synchronization software to create and manage backup copies of all your important files, was released a few days ago.

Changes in FreeFileSync 11.2 include:

  • Improved grid layout with file icons hidden
  • Improved rendering of inactive and disabled grid items
  • Remember last user-selected paths for file and folder pickers
  • Fixed folder name hidden in “item name” view type
  • Fixed determination of unsupported trash folder (Linux)
  • Fixed copying broken symlinks (macOS)
  • Fixed default action when pressing Enter in popup dialogs
  • Fixed default popup dialog size (macOS)
  • Use localized start of week for %WeekDay% (Linux, macOS)
  • Swap sides using CTRL+W instead of F10
  • Show confirmation dialog before swapping sides

How to Install FreeFileSync in Ubuntu:

The software offers official Linux package (portable tarball contains executable and most run-time libraries) available to download at the link below:

Simply grab the Linux package, extract, and run the executable. You may also read this step by step guide to create an app launcher for this program.

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How to Install FreeFileSync (14.2 Updated) in Ubuntu 24.04 & 22.04

Last updated: February 20, 2025

This simple tutorial shows how to install (and uninstall) FreeFileSync, open-source file synchronization software, and create application shortcut in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04,  and Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

FreeFileSync is a free and open-source software to create and manage backup copies of all your important files. Instead of copying every file every time, it determines the differences between a source and a target folder and transfers only the minimum amount of data needed.

How to Install FreeFileSync in Ubuntu:

1.) The software now provides an official .run installer, available to download at its website:

Download FreeFileSync

Scroll down a little and select download the Linux package.

2.) Extract the source tarball in file manager, then you can navigate to the extracted folder and click Run the installer to get start installing FreeFileSync.

3.) The installer starts a terminal window. And, you have to answer ‘y’ to access license terms. Or, press ‘s’ to show details then ‘y’ to accept, or ‘n’ to refuse.

4.) The installer by default to install the software for system wide into /opt/ directory. Meaning, all users in this Ubuntu system can run it.
For choice, you can type 1 to switch to current user only. If you want, also type 2 to change installation directory, and type 3 to choose whether to add the app icon to the desktop.

When done selecting installation type, directory, and whether to create desktop shortcuts, hit Enter to start the process. If everything goes well, it will show you something as the screenshot below, indicates that all done.

5.) Enable desktop icons.
The desktop icons by default are not usable due to permission issue. Just right click on them one by one and select “Allow Launching” will make them work.

Or, simply delete the desktop icons (move to trash) since you can launch FreeFileSync from start menu or Gnome overview (depends on your desktop environment).

How to Uninstall FreeFileSync:

The installation folder contains a uninstall script to remove FreeFileSync from your system.

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, then run either command below to uninstall:

  • If installed for current user only, then run command: 
    $HOME/FreeFileSync/uninstall.sh
  • For all users (if installed system wide), use command: 
    /opt/FreeFileSync/uninstall.sh

If you selected non-default installation directory, then replace $HOME/FreeFileSync or /opt/FreeFileSync in the command above according where you installed the software.

In case you forgot where it was installed, use either command below to tell:

cat /usr/share/applications/FreeFileSync.desktop |grep Exec
cat $HOME/.local/share/applications/FreeFileSync.desktop |grep Exec
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How to Install FreeFileSync via PPA in Ubuntu Linux Mint

Last updated: December 29, 2013

FreeFileSync a folder comparison and synchronization tool that provides highly optimized performance and usability without needless user interface complexity.

Key Features of FreeFileSync:

  • Detect moved and renamed files and folders
  • Copy locked files (Volume Shadow Copy Service)
  • Detect conflicts and propagate deletions
  • Binary file comparison
  • Configure handling of Symbolic Links
  • Automate sync as a batch job
  • Process multiple folder pairs
  • Comprehensive and detailed error reporting
  • Copy NTFS extended attributes (compressed, encrypted, sparse)
  • Copy NTFS security permissions
  • Support long file paths with more than 260 characters
  • Fail-safe file copy
  • Cross-platform: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
  • Expand environment variables like %USERPROFILE%
  • Access variable drive letters by volume name (USB sticks)
  • Native 64-bit support
  • Keep versions of deleted/updated files
  • Prevent disc space bottlenecks via optimal sync sequence
  • Full Unicode support
  • Highly optimized runtime performance
  • Include/exclude files via filter
  • FreeFileSync portable and local installation available
  • Handle daylight saving time changes on FAT/FAT32
  • Use macros %time%, %date%, et al. for recurring backups
  • Case-sensitive synchronization
  • Built-in locking: serialize multiple jobs running against the same network share

Install FreeFileSync in Ubuntu:

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run commands below one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:freefilesync/ffs

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install freefilesync

Currently support Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04 and Linux Mint. Go to the launchpad page to check out if your Ubuntu release is supported.

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