How to Install Unison on OpenBSD

Unison is a file synchronization software that allows you to synchronize files and directories between multiple machines. This tutorial will guide you through the process of installing Unison on OpenBSD.

Prerequisites

1. You must be logged in as the root user or a user with superuser privileges.
2. You must have an internet connection.

Step 1: Install Unison

1. Open your terminal and type the following command:

# pkg_add unison

2. Press "y" to confirm the installation.

Step 2: Create SSH keys

1. Generate SSH keys by typing the following command in your terminal:

# ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 2048

2. Press Enter to use the default file location and enter a passphrase if you want to add extra security to your keys.

Step 3: Configure Unison

1. Create a Unison profile by creating a new file with the ".prf" extension. For example, create a file called "myprofile.prf" and add the following lines:

root = /path/to/local/folder
root = ssh://user@remote-server//path/to/remote/folder
sshargs = -i /path/to/ssh/key

Replace "/path/to/local/folder" and "/path/to/remote/folder" with the actual paths of your folders.

2. Modify the file permissions of the SSH private key to avoid errors:

# chmod 600 /path/to/ssh/key

If you followed the instructions in Step 2, the path should be "/root/.ssh/id_rsa".

Step 4: Synchronize files

1. Type the following command in your terminal to synchronize the files and directories between the local and remote machines:

# unison myprofile.prf

2. Unison will prompt you to confirm any changes before it synchronizes the files.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured Unison on OpenBSD. Now you can easily synchronize your files and directories between multiple machines.

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