When using RSYNC, what does the flag -l do?

The flag -l in RSYNC is used to handle symbolic links. Specifically, it instructs RSYNC to follow symbolic links to their destination files or directories when performing a synchronization operation. This means that instead of copying the symbolic link itself as a separate entity, RSYNC will traverse the link and copy the actual content that the link points to.

This behavior is essential when you want the contents of the files or directories that the links refer to, rather than merely replicating the reference to those files or directories. When managing backups or synchronizing directories, maintaining the integrity of the data by following these links can be crucial, particularly if the data is interlinked and dependent on one another.

Using other flags might achieve different behaviors with regard to symbolic links. For example, if you were to use a different flag that doesn't follow links, you would end up with just the links themselves being transferred, not the actual files or directories those links reference.