Rsync Hard Links Enable Efficient Backups, Saving Significant Disk Space

A developer demonstrates a method for efficient disk backups using rsync with the `--link-dest` flag. This technique uses hard links to avoid storing duplicate copies of unchanged files across multiple backup snapshots. In a test, three full-looking snapshots occupied only 1,380 KB of disk space, whereas three naive copies would have required 3,540 KB. The method creates independent, restorable snapshots while significantly reducing storage costs. The author notes the core command is freely available, though they also offer a packaged version for sale.