search for: vaie

I hate to say it because it goes against my normal advice but this is one instance where using a * in the source parameter would help... rsync -vaiE --delete --dry-run source/* target/ This would ignore any top level directory that is on the target but not the source while rsyncing with --delete any top level directory that is on the source. It is normally recommended to not use a * in the source because it causes --delete to behave this way...

I'm probably missing something, but it looks like your first requirement rules out using --delete, but your third requirement seems to imply the need for it because you want the source and target to be identical - and it won't be if there are any files on the target which are not on the source. If this is the case, then you may have to use more than pass - the first at the top-level