I m trying to find an easy way of deploying only changed files to the webserver for deployment purpose In times past I ve used MSBuild which could be told to only copy files that were newer than the ones on the target but I m in a hurry and don t want to try to figure out the newer version of MSBuild Can I use ROBOCOPY for this There is a list of options for exclusion which is XC eXclude Changed files XN eXclude Newer files XO eXclude Older files XX eXclude eXtra files and directories XL eXclude Lonely files and directories What exactly does it mean to exclude Exclude copying or exclude overwriting For example if I wrote ROBOCOPY C SourceFolder ABC dll D DestinationFolder XO would this copy only newer files not files of the same age Or is there a better tool to do this

Use Robocopy to copy only changed files?

To answer all your questions:

Can I use ROBOCOPY for this?

Yes, RC should fit your requirements (simplicity, only copy what needed)

What exactly does it mean to exclude?

It will exclude copying - RC calls it skipping

Would the /XO option copy only newer files, not files of the same age?

Yes, RC will only copy newer files. Files of the same age will be skipped.

(the correct command would be robocopy C:\SourceFolder D:\DestinationFolder ABC.dll /XO)

Maybe in your case using the /MIR option could be useful. In general RC is rather targeted at directories and directory trees than single files.

~ Answered on 2014-04-25 22:24:51