diff --git a/cli/src/assets/rsync/rsync_placeholder.bin b/cli/src/assets/rsync/rsync_placeholder.bin
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..1db52e2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/assets/rsync/rsync_placeholder.bin
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Rsync wrapper for development builds
+# This calls the system's rsync instead of embedding a full binary
+# Keeps the dev binary small (152KB) while still functional
+
+# Find rsync on the system
+RSYNC_PATH=$(which rsync 2>/dev/null || echo "/usr/bin/rsync")
+
+if [ ! -x "$RSYNC_PATH" ]; then
+    echo "Error: rsync not found on system. Please install rsync or use a release build with embedded rsync." >&2
+    exit 127
+fi
+
+# Pass all arguments to system rsync
+exec "$RSYNC_PATH" "$@"
diff --git a/cli/src/assets/rsync/rsync_release.bin b/cli/src/assets/rsync/rsync_release.bin
new file mode 120000
index 0000000..5cd3bd9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/assets/rsync/rsync_release.bin
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+rsync_placeholder.bin
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/cli/src/ui/progress.zig b/cli/src/ui/progress.zig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bee6c2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/ui/progress.zig
@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+const colors = @import("../utils/colors.zig");
+
+/// ProgressBar provides visual feedback for long-running operations.
+/// It displays progress as a percentage, item count, and throughput rate.
+pub const ProgressBar = struct {
+    total: usize,
+    current: usize,
+    label: []const u8,
+    start_time: i64,
+    width: usize,
+
+    /// Initialize a new progress bar
+    pub fn init(total: usize, label: []const u8) ProgressBar {
+        return .{
+            .total = total,
+            .current = 0,
+            .label = label,
+            .start_time = std.time.milliTimestamp(),
+            .width = 40, // Default bar width
+        };
+    }
+
+    /// Update the progress bar with current progress
+    pub fn update(self: *ProgressBar, current: usize) void {
+        self.current = current;
+        self.render();
+    }
+
+    /// Increment progress by one step
+    pub fn increment(self: *ProgressBar) void {
+        self.current += 1;
+        self.render();
+    }
+
+    /// Render the progress bar to stderr
+    fn render(self: ProgressBar) void {
+        const percent = if (self.total > 0)
+            @divFloor(self.current * 100, self.total)
+        else
+            0;
+
+        const elapsed_ms = std.time.milliTimestamp() - self.start_time;
+        const rate = if (elapsed_ms > 0 and self.current > 0)
+            @as(f64, @floatFromInt(self.current)) / (@as(f64, @floatFromInt(elapsed_ms)) / 1000.0)
+        else
+            0.0;
+
+        // Build progress bar
+        const filled = if (self.total > 0)
+            @divFloor(self.current * self.width, self.total)
+        else
+            0;
+        const empty = self.width - filled;
+
+        var bar_buf: [64]u8 = undefined;
+        var bar_stream = std.io.fixedBufferStream(&bar_buf);
+        const bar_writer = bar_stream.writer();
+
+        // Write filled portion
+        var i: usize = 0;
+        while (i < filled) : (i += 1) {
+            _ = bar_writer.write("=") catch {};
+        }
+        // Write empty portion
+        i = 0;
+        while (i < empty) : (i += 1) {
+            _ = bar_writer.write("-") catch {};
+        }
+
+        const bar = bar_stream.getWritten();
+
+        // Clear line and print progress
+        const stderr = std.io.getStdErr().writer();
+        stderr.print("\r{s} [{s}] {d}/{d} {d}% ({d:.1} items/s)", .{
+            self.label,
+            bar,
+            self.current,
+            self.total,
+            percent,
+            rate,
+        }) catch {};
+    }
+
+    /// Finish the progress bar and print a newline
+    pub fn finish(self: ProgressBar) void {
+        self.render();
+        const stderr = std.io.getStdErr().writer();
+        stderr.print("\n", .{}) catch {};
+    }
+
+    /// Complete with a success message
+    pub fn success(self: ProgressBar, msg: []const u8) void {
+        self.current = self.total;
+        self.render();
+        colors.printSuccess("\n{s}\n", .{msg});
+    }
+
+    /// Get elapsed time in milliseconds
+    pub fn elapsedMs(self: ProgressBar) i64 {
+        return std.time.milliTimestamp() - self.start_time;
+    }
+
+    /// Get current throughput (items per second)
+    pub fn throughput(self: ProgressBar) f64 {
+        const elapsed_ms = self.elapsedMs();
+        if (elapsed_ms > 0 and self.current > 0) {
+            return @as(f64, @floatFromInt(self.current)) / (@as(f64, @floatFromInt(elapsed_ms)) / 1000.0);
+        }
+        return 0.0;
+    }
+};
+
+/// Spinner provides visual feedback for indeterminate operations
+pub const Spinner = struct {
+    label: []const u8,
+    start_time: i64,
+    frames: []const u8,
+    frame_idx: usize,
+
+    const DEFAULT_FRAMES = "⠋⠙⠹⠸⠼⠴⠦⠧⠇⠏";
+
+    pub fn init(label: []const u8) Spinner {
+        return .{
+            .label = label,
+            .start_time = std.time.milliTimestamp(),
+            .frames = DEFAULT_FRAMES,
+            .frame_idx = 0,
+        };
+    }
+
+    /// Render one frame of the spinner
+    pub fn tick(self: *Spinner) void {
+        const frame = self.frames[self.frame_idx % self.frames.len];
+        const stderr = std.io.getStdErr().writer();
+        stderr.print("\r{s} {c} ", .{ self.label, frame }) catch {};
+        self.frame_idx += 1;
+    }
+
+    /// Stop the spinner and print a newline
+    pub fn stop(self: Spinner) void {
+        _ = self; // Intentionally unused - for API consistency
+        const stderr = std.io.getStdErr().writer();
+        stderr.print("\n", .{}) catch {};
+    }
+
+    /// Get elapsed time in seconds
+    pub fn elapsedSec(self: Spinner) i64 {
+        return @divFloor(std.time.milliTimestamp() - self.start_time, 1000);
+    }
+};