rsync - Sep 2022 - rsync --daemon complains parsing nonexistant /etc/rsyncd.conf

This is on a system where /etc/rsyncd.conf does not exist and goes away if
/etc/rsyncd.conf is an empty file.

Version: rsync  version 3.2.5  protocol version 31
Command: rsync --daemon
What happens: The program outputs "Failed to parse config file:
/etc/rsyncd.conf"
What I expect: The program should run with the same default values it does when
/etc/rsyncd.conf is an empty file.
Bonus: The install process installs an example file at /etc/rsyncd.conf with the
intended defaults and documented with comments.

If there are security concerns enough to require creating a config file before
enabling,
the error message should explicitly say that. The current behavior is probably
known and not a large concern, but it
is still an annoying usability shock for such a mature piece of software.


-- Colton Lewis

On Sat 17 Sep 2022, Colton Lewis via rsync wrote:
> This is on a system where /etc/rsyncd.conf does not exist and goes away if
/etc/rsyncd.conf is an empty file.
> 
> Version: rsync  version 3.2.5  protocol version 31
> Command: rsync --daemon
> What happens: The program outputs "Failed to parse config file:
/etc/rsyncd.conf"
> What I expect: The program should run with the same default values it does
when /etc/rsyncd.conf is an empty file.
So what functionality does rsync as a daemon have if there is an empty
rsyncd.conf file?

IMHO rsync is correct in refusing to run with a missing rsyncd.conf.


Paul