FreeFileSync Open Source File Synchronization

FreeFileSync User Manual:

#Quick Start Command Line Comparison Settings Daylight Saving Time Exclude Files Expert Settings External Applications Macros Performance RealTimeSync RTS: Run as Service Schedule Batch Jobs Synchronization Settings (S)FTP Setup Tips and Tricks Variable Drive Letters Versioning Volume Shadow Copy

Schedule Batch Jobs

Create a new batch job via FreeFileSync's main dialog: Menu → File → Save as a batch job...
By default, FreeFileSync will show a progress dialog during synchronization and will wait while the summary dialog is shown. If the progress dialog is not needed, enable checkbox Run minimized and also set Auto-Close if you want to skip the summary dialog at the end.

Note
Even if the progress dialog is not shown at the beginning, you can make it visible at any time during synchronization by double-clicking the FreeFileSync icon in the notification area.
If you don't want error or warning messages to stall synchronization when no user is available to respond, either check Ignore errors or set Cancel to stop the synchronization at the first error.
The FreeFileSync batch job can be started by double-clicking on the ffs_batch file or it can be set up in your operating system's scheduler:

Note
Be sure to enable Auto-Close and Ignore errors/Cancel if you schedule the ffs_batch file to run under a different user account. With no one there to close the results dialog manually, the task would hang indefinitely.

Windows Task Scheduler

Open the Task Scheduler either via the start menu, or enter taskschd.msc in the run dialog (keyboard shortcut: Windows + R).
Create a new basic task and follow the wizard.
Make Program/script point to the location of FreeFileSync.exe and insert the ffs_batch file into Add arguments.
Use quotation marks to protect spaces in path names, e.g. "D:\Backup Projects.ffs_batch"

Note

Program/script always needs to point to an executable file like FreeFileSync.exe even when the ffs_batch file association is registered. If an ffs_batch file was entered instead, the task would return with error code 2147942593 (0x800700C1), "%1 is not a valid Win32 application".
If you schedule FreeFileSync to run under a different user account, note that the configuration file GlobalSettings.xml will also be read from a different path, C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\FreeFileSync, or in the case of the SYSTEM account from C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Roaming\FreeFileSync.
You can force usage of a particular GlobalSettings.xml file by passing it as a Command Line parameter.

macOS Automator and Calendar

Open Launchpad and run Automator.
Create a new Calendar Alarm.
Drag and drop the ffs_batch file on the workflow panel.
Drag and drop action Files & Folders/Open Finder Items and add it to the workflow.
Go to File → Save... and save the Automator job.
The Calendar app will start automatically with the Automator job scheduled to the current day. You can now select a different time for synchronization or make it a recurring task.

Ubuntu Linux Gnome Scheduled Tasks

Install Gnome-schedule if necessary: sudo apt-get install gnome-schedule
Search the Ubuntu Unity Dash for Scheduled tasks
Enter the command: <FreeFileSync installation folder>/FreeFileSync <job name>.ffs_batch
Select X application since FreeFileSync requires access to GUI