rtr

 remote /srv/files                                │ local: ~/Downloads                          
                                                  │                                             
   [ ]           backups/                         │             project-backup/                 
   [x]     5.7G  ubuntu-24.04.2-desktop-amd64.iso │     248.0K  report-final.pdf                
 ➤ [x]     4.2G  screen-recording.mp4             │       1.2M  screenshot.png                  
                                                                                                
                             ╭────────────────────────────────────╮
                             │ Download 2 items • 9.9G            │
                             │ ubuntu-24.04.2-desktop-amd64.iso   │
                             │ screen-recording.mp4               │
                             │                                    │
                             │ Save to:                           │
                             │ ~/Downloads                        │
                             │                                    │
                             │ enter start • esc cancel           │
                             ╰────────────────────────────────────╯
                                                                                                
 2 selected                                                                            rtr — nas
 ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 transfers (2 active)
   ↓ archlinux-2024.04.01-x86_64.iso  ████████░░░░░  62%   18MB/s ETA 0:42
   ↑ site-backup.tar.zst              ███░░░░░░░░░░  24%  9.1MB/s ETA 1:55
 ↑/↓ move • → open • ← up • x/space select • / search • l local • enter download • t/n sort:newest • . hidden • a all • c clear • r refresh • esc back • ~ compare • tab panes

A terminal UI for moving files over SSH. Bookmark hosts, browse them over SFTP, and pull files down or push them back up with rsync (the command and its flags are configurable). Transfers run in the background while you keep browsing.

Install

rsync and ssh must be on your PATH.

Download a prebuilt binary for your OS/arch from the latest release, or build from source (requires Go 1.23+):

go install github.com/rjayasin/rtr@latest
# or, from a clone:
make build && ./rtr

Usage

rtr                      # launch the TUI
rtr config               # open the config file in $EDITOR (creating it if needed)
rtr --config-path        # print where the config lives
rtr update               # update to the latest release
rtr version              # print the version

Keys

Screen	Keys
Bookmarks	↑/↓ move enter connect n new e edit d delete tab focus transfers ? toggle keyboard tips q quit
Browser	↑/↓ move → open dir ← up x/space select a all c clear / search l toggle local pane ~ toggle compare t sort by time (toggle newest/oldest) n sort by name (toggle A→Z/Z→A) . toggle hidden files enter download tab/shift+tab switch pane (forward/back) ? toggle keyboard tips r refresh esc disconnect (or clear filter)
Search (/)	type to filter by name (case-insensitive, matches anywhere) enter accept and return to the list esc clear
Compare (~)	with the local pane open, dims files present in both panes and sinks them to the bottom of each pane (unique files stay on top); each group still follows the pane's sort order
Transfers (tab)	↑/↓ select c cancel highlighted x clear finished tab/esc back

In-progress transfers (downloads and uploads) are recorded in transfers.json (beside the config) and resumed on the next launch if you quit or rtr is interrupted.

Configuration

Config lives at $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/rtr/config.toml (default ~/.config/rtr/config.toml) and is created on first run. Bookmarks added through the UI are written back to it.

[rsync]
  binary = "rsync"
  flags  = ["-a", "-z", "--partial", "--human-readable"]
  extra_args = ["--exclude", ".DS_Store"]   # appended verbatim

[[bookmarks]]
  name        = "nas"
  user        = "me"
  host        = "nas.local"
  port        = 2222
  remote_path = "/volume1/media"            # starting directory when browsing
  identity    = "~/.ssh/id_ed25519"         # optional
  jump_host   = "me@bastion:22"             # optional ProxyJump

[[bookmarks]]
  name      = "box"
  ssh_alias = "box"   # inherit HostName/User/Port/IdentityFile from ~/.ssh/config

Auth prefers ssh-agent, then the bookmark's identity file, then the usual ~/.ssh/id_{ed25519,ecdsa,rsa}. Host keys are checked against ~/.ssh/known_hosts: unknown hosts are trusted on first use, changed keys are rejected.

Updating

If you installed a release binary, rtr can update itself in place:

rtr update    # fetch the latest release and replace the running binary

rtr also checks for a newer release at startup and shows a notice on the bookmarks screen when one is available. Set RTR_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1 to disable that check. (Source builds report version dev and are not auto-nagged; run rtr update to move onto a published release.)

Development

make          # compile and launch rtr
make test     # run the test suite
make vet      # run go vet
make fmt      # format all Go sources

Releases

Pushing to main automatically cuts a release. The version bump is inferred from Conventional Commit messages since the last tag: feat: bumps the minor, fix: bumps the patch, and a ! after the type (e.g. feat!:) or a BREAKING CHANGE: footer bumps the major. Commits without a recognized type still ship as a patch release.

Why does this project exist

I wanted the ease of navigation you get from an SFTP browser with the speed of rsync.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.