diff --git a/cli/cli.lisp b/cli/cli.lisp
index ab41e7f..495581f 100644
--- a/cli/cli.lisp
+++ b/cli/cli.lisp
@@ -43,6 +43,8 @@
            (sitemap)
            (static-pages)
            ; (versioned)    ;; *Remove comment to enable symlinked, timestamped deploys.
+           ;; default deploy method is rsync
+           (rsync \"-avz\" \"--delete\" \"--exclude\" \".git/\" \"--exclude\" \".gitignore\" \"--copy-links\")
           )
  :sitenav ((:url \"http://~a.github.com/\" :name \"Home\")
            (:url \"http://twitter.com/~a\" :name \"Twitter\")
diff --git a/docs/plugin-use.md b/docs/plugin-use.md
index 735a24a..d653fea 100644
--- a/docs/plugin-use.md
+++ b/docs/plugin-use.md
@@ -7,6 +7,13 @@
 * Available plugins are listed below with usage descriptions and
   config examples.
 
+## Direct deployment via rsync
+
+**Description**: This directly sends the contents of the staging dir to the deployed directory.
+The former default deployment method.
+
+**Example**: `(rsync "--exclude" ".git/" "--exclude" ".gitignore" "--copy-links")`
+
 ## Analytics via Google
 
 **Description**: Provides traffic analysis through
diff --git a/plugins/rsync.lisp b/plugins/rsync.lisp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7ce605e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/rsync.lisp
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+
+(defpackage :coleslaw-rsync
+  (:use :cl)
+  (:import-from :coleslaw #:*config*
+                          #:deploy
+                          #:deploy-dir)
+  (:export #:enable))
+
+(in-package :coleslaw-rsync)
+
+(defvar *args* nil)
+
+(defmethod deploy (staging)
+  (coleslaw::run-program "rsync ~{~A~^ ~} ~A ~A" *args*
+                         (merge-pathnames staging)
+                         (merge-pathnames (deploy-dir *config*))))
+
+(defun enable (&rest args)
+  (setf *args* args))
diff --git a/src/coleslaw.lisp b/src/coleslaw.lisp
index d53d2e7..1517c66 100644
--- a/src/coleslaw.lisp
+++ b/src/coleslaw.lisp
@@ -46,7 +46,8 @@
 (defgeneric deploy (staging)
   (:documentation "Deploy the STAGING build to the directory specified in the config.")
   (:method (staging)
-    (run-program "rsync --delete -avz ~a ~a" staging (merge-pathnames (deploy-dir *config*)))))
+    "By default, do nothing"
+    (declare)))
 
 (defun update-symlink (path target)
   "Update the symlink at PATH to point to TARGET."
diff --git a/src/config.lisp b/src/config.lisp
index ac65ca8..9d5a45f 100644
--- a/src/config.lisp
+++ b/src/config.lisp
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
   (:default-initargs
    :feeds        nil
    :license      nil
-   :plugins      nil
+   :plugins      '((rsync "-avz" "--delete" "--exclude" ".git/" "--exclude" ".gitignore" "--copy-links"))
    :sitenav      nil
    :excerpt-sep  "<!--more-->"
    :charset      "UTF-8"