diff --git a/src/client/client_cli.c b/src/client/client_cli.c
index 6a4399f..29b0bf9 100644
--- a/src/client/client_cli.c
+++ b/src/client/client_cli.c
@@ -11,9 +11,6 @@
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
 
-char* server_host = "127.0.0.1";
-int server_port = 8080;
-
 static void print_usage(void) {
   printf("Usage:\n");
   printf("  fastsync [options] <source> <destination>\n");
@@ -157,10 +154,10 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
       config->use_chunk_serialization = true;
       log_message(LOG_LEVEL_INFO, "Enabled Chunk Serialization");
     } else if (strcmp(argv[i], "--server-host") == 0 && i + 1 < argc) {
-      free(server_host);
-      server_host = str_dup(argv[++i]);
+      free(config->server_host);
+      config->server_host = str_dup(argv[++i]);
     } else if (strcmp(argv[i], "--server-port") == 0 && i + 1 < argc) {
-      server_port = atoi(argv[++i]);
+      config->server_port = atoi(argv[++i]);
     } else if (strcmp(argv[i], "--bwlimit") == 0 && i + 1 < argc) {
       char* end;
       errno = 0;
diff --git a/src/client/client_send.c b/src/client/client_send.c
index 8b5bb4a..c247c9d 100644
--- a/src/client/client_send.c
+++ b/src/client/client_send.c
@@ -98,7 +98,51 @@ static int send_delta(Client* client, File* file, DeltaSignature* sig, Config* c
 
 typedef bool (*file_send_fn)(File*, int, bool, int, bool);
 
-static int send_file_incremental(Client* client, File* file, Config* config, file_send_fn send_fn) {
+// Send a single file directly (non-incremental path).
+static bool send_file_direct(File* file, int fd, bool use_metadata, int compression_level) {
+  if (!send_status(fd, STATUS_NEXT))
+    return false;
+  return file_send_single_calls(file, fd, use_metadata, compression_level, true);
+}
+
+// Send a single file directly via sendfile (non-incremental path).
+static bool send_file_direct_sendfile(File* file, int fd, bool use_metadata) {
+  if (!send_status(fd, STATUS_NEXT))
+    return false;
+  return file_send_sendfile(file, fd, use_metadata, 0, true);
+}
+
+// Process one file in a chunk: either via incremental check or direct send.
+// Returns 0 on success, 1 if skipped (incremental match), -1 on error.
+static int send_single_file(Client* client, File* file, Config* config,
+                            bool use_incremental, bool use_sendfile) {
+  int compression_level = config->use_compression ? config->compression_level : 0;
+
+  if (!use_incremental) {
+    if (use_sendfile) {
+      return send_file_direct_sendfile(file, client->file_descriptor, config->use_metadata)
+                 ? 0 : -1;
+    }
+    return send_file_direct(file, client->file_descriptor, config->use_metadata,
+                            compression_level) ? 0 : -1;
+  }
+
+  // Incremental path: use sendfile for the actual data if enabled and no compression
+  if (use_sendfile) {
+    DeltaSignature* sig = NULL;
+    int rc = incremental_check(client, file, &sig);
+    if (rc == 1) { delta_signature_destroy(sig); return 1; }
+    if (rc < 0)  { delta_signature_destroy(sig); return -1; }
+    // rc == 0 or rc == 2 (delta not possible with sendfile)
+    delta_signature_destroy(sig);
+    // Fall through: send full file via sendfile (pass 0 for compression_level)
+    if (!file_send_sendfile(file, client->file_descriptor, config->use_metadata, 0, false))
+      return -1;
+    return 0;
+  }
+
+  // Incremental path with single_calls (supports compression and delta)
+  file_send_fn send_fn = (file_send_fn)file_send_single_calls;
   DeltaSignature* sig = NULL;
   int rc = incremental_check(client, file, &sig);
   if (rc < 0) {
@@ -112,15 +156,12 @@ static int send_file_incremental(Client* client, File* file, Config* config, fil
   if (rc == 2 && config->use_delta) {
     int drc = send_delta(client, file, sig, config);
     delta_signature_destroy(sig);
-    if (drc == 0)
-      return 0;
-    if (drc < 0)
-      return -1;
+    if (drc == 0) return 0;
+    if (drc < 0)  return -1;
   } else {
     delta_signature_destroy(sig);
   }
-  if (!send_fn(file, client->file_descriptor, config->use_metadata,
-               config->use_compression ? config->compression_level : 0, false))
+  if (!send_fn(file, client->file_descriptor, config->use_metadata, compression_level, false))
     return -1;
   return 0;
 }
@@ -142,40 +183,17 @@ int send_chunk(Client* client, Chunk* chunk, Config* config) {
       return -1;
     }
     data_destroy(data);
-  } else if (config->use_sendfile && !config->use_compression) {
-    for (int i = 0; i < chunk->element_count; i++) {
-      if (config->use_incremental) {
-        int rc = send_file_incremental(client, chunk->items[i], config,
-                                       (file_send_fn)file_send_sendfile);
-        if (rc == 1)
-          continue;
-        if (rc < 0)
-          return -1;
-      } else {
-        if (!send_status(client->file_descriptor, STATUS_NEXT))
-          return -1;
-        if (!file_send_sendfile(chunk->items[i], client->file_descriptor, config->use_metadata, 0,
-                                true))
-          return -1;
-      }
-    }
-  } else {
-    for (int i = 0; i < chunk->element_count; i++) {
-      if (config->use_incremental) {
-        int rc = send_file_incremental(client, chunk->items[i], config,
-                                       (file_send_fn)file_send_single_calls);
-        if (rc == 1)
-          continue;
-        if (rc < 0)
-          return -1;
-      } else {
-        if (!send_status(client->file_descriptor, STATUS_NEXT))
-          return -1;
-        if (!file_send_single_calls(chunk->items[i], client->file_descriptor, config->use_metadata,
-                                    config->use_compression ? config->compression_level : 0, true))
-          return -1;
-      }
-    }
+    return 0;
+  }
+
+  bool use_sendfile = config->use_sendfile && !config->use_compression;
+  for (int i = 0; i < chunk->element_count; i++) {
+    int rc = send_single_file(client, chunk->items[i], config,
+                              config->use_incremental, use_sendfile);
+    if (rc == 1)
+      continue;
+    if (rc < 0)
+      return -1;
   }
   return 0;
 }
@@ -191,8 +209,10 @@ static int send_chunks_multithreaded(void* pipeline_context) {
     client = client_connect_ssh(context->config->ssh_destination, context->config->ssh_port);
   } else if (context->config->use_tls) {
     client = client_create();
-    if (!client || !client_connect_tls(client, server_host, server_port, context->config->tls_cert,
-                                       context->config->tls_key, context->config->tls_ca)) {
+    if (!client || !client_connect_tls(client, context->config->server_host,
+                                       context->config->server_port,
+                                       context->config->tls_cert, context->config->tls_key,
+                                       context->config->tls_ca)) {
       if (client)
         client_delete(client);
       fprintf(stderr, "Error: could not connect to server via TLS\n");
@@ -200,7 +220,8 @@ static int send_chunks_multithreaded(void* pipeline_context) {
     }
   } else {
     client = client_create();
-    if (!client || !client_connect(client, server_host, server_port)) {
+    if (!client || !client_connect(client, context->config->server_host,
+                                   context->config->server_port)) {
       if (client)
         client_delete(client);
       fprintf(stderr, "Error: could not connect to server\n");
@@ -338,8 +359,8 @@ int send_files(Config* config) {
       return 1;
   } else if (config->use_tls) {
     client = client_create();
-    if (!client || !client_connect_tls(client, server_host, server_port, config->tls_cert,
-                                       config->tls_key, config->tls_ca)) {
+    if (!client || !client_connect_tls(client, config->server_host, config->server_port,
+                                       config->tls_cert, config->tls_key, config->tls_ca)) {
       if (client)
         client_delete(client);
       fprintf(stderr, "Error: could not connect to server via TLS\n");
@@ -347,7 +368,7 @@ int send_files(Config* config) {
     }
   } else {
     client = client_create();
-    if (!client || !client_connect(client, server_host, server_port)) {
+    if (!client || !client_connect(client, config->server_host, config->server_port)) {
       if (client)
         client_delete(client);
       fprintf(stderr, "Error: could not connect to server\n");
diff --git a/src/client/client_send.h b/src/client/client_send.h
index 83e9e00..e3c484f 100644
--- a/src/client/client_send.h
+++ b/src/client/client_send.h
@@ -5,9 +5,6 @@
 #include "config.h"
 #include "transport_tcp.h"
 
-extern char* server_host;
-extern int server_port;
-
 int send_chunk(Client* client, Chunk* chunk, Config* config);
 int send_files(Config* config);
 int send_files_multithreaded(Config* config);
diff --git a/src/client/scanner.c b/src/client/scanner.c
index c2b61aa..ad56fb2 100644
--- a/src/client/scanner.c
+++ b/src/client/scanner.c
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ static Chunk* chunk_data_to_chunk(ArrayList* chunk_data) {
   return chunk;
 }
 
+// Returns: 1 on success, 0 if no more directories in queue, -1 on opendir failure
 static int open_next_directory(DirectoryScanner* scanner) {
   if (scanner->current_dir) {
     closedir(scanner->current_dir);
@@ -71,7 +72,7 @@ static int open_next_directory(DirectoryScanner* scanner) {
     perror("Could not open directory");
     free(scanner->current_path);
     scanner->current_path = NULL;
-    return 0;
+    return -1;
   }
   return 1;
 }
@@ -82,8 +83,11 @@ Chunk* directory_scanner_next(DirectoryScanner* scanner) {
 
   while (1) {
     if (scanner->current_dir == NULL) {
-      if (!open_next_directory(scanner))
+      int ret = open_next_directory(scanner);
+      if (ret == 0)
         break;
+      if (ret < 0)
+        continue;
     }
 
     struct dirent* entry = readdir(scanner->current_dir);
diff --git a/src/shared/compression.c b/src/shared/compression.c
index aa27ecb..3641859 100644
--- a/src/shared/compression.c
+++ b/src/shared/compression.c
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
 #define INITIAL_DECOMPRESS_BUF_SIZE (1024 * 1024)
 
 Data* data_compress(Data* data_to_compress, int compression_level) {
-  (void)compression_level;
   log_message(LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG, "Starting to compress data");
   size_t dst_size = ZSTD_compressBound(data_to_compress->size);
   Data* compressed_data = data_create_empty(dst_size);
@@ -21,6 +20,14 @@ Data* data_compress(Data* data_to_compress, int compression_level) {
     return NULL;
   }
 
+  size_t zret = ZSTD_CCtx_setParameter(cctx, ZSTD_c_compressionLevel, compression_level);
+  if (ZSTD_isError(zret)) {
+    log_message(LOG_LEVEL_ERROR, "Failed to set compression level: %s", ZSTD_getErrorName(zret));
+    ZSTD_freeCCtx(cctx);
+    data_destroy(compressed_data);
+    return NULL;
+  }
+
   ZSTD_inBuffer input = {data_to_compress->data, data_to_compress->size, 0};
   ZSTD_outBuffer output = {compressed_data->data, dst_size, 0};
 
diff --git a/src/shared/config.c b/src/shared/config.c
index d16761d..cbfe502 100644
--- a/src/shared/config.c
+++ b/src/shared/config.c
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ Config* config_create(char* version, char* send_directory, char* receive_directo
   config->tls_cert = NULL;
   config->tls_key = NULL;
   config->tls_ca = NULL;
+  config->server_host = str_dup("127.0.0.1");
+  config->server_port = 8080;
   return config;
 }
 
@@ -88,6 +90,7 @@ void config_delete(Config* config) {
   free(config->tls_cert);
   free(config->tls_key);
   free(config->tls_ca);
+  free(config->server_host);
   free(config);
 }
 
@@ -110,7 +113,7 @@ bool config_send(int file_descriptor, const Config* config) {
     return false;
   if (!send_int(file_descriptor, config->compression_level))
     return false;
-  if (!send_int(file_descriptor, (int)config->chunk_size))
+  if (!send_n_data(file_descriptor, &config->chunk_size, sizeof(config->chunk_size)))
     return false;
   if (!send_int(file_descriptor, config->use_sendfile))
     return false;
@@ -183,9 +186,8 @@ Config* config_receive(int file_descriptor) {
   if (!receive_int(file_descriptor, &tmp))
     goto error;
   config->compression_level = tmp;
-  if (!receive_int(file_descriptor, &tmp))
+  if (!receive_n_data(file_descriptor, &config->chunk_size, sizeof(config->chunk_size)))
     goto error;
-  config->chunk_size = (unsigned long long)tmp;
   if (!receive_int(file_descriptor, &tmp))
     goto error;
   config->use_sendfile = tmp;
@@ -218,6 +220,8 @@ Config* config_receive(int file_descriptor) {
   config->tls_cert = NULL;
   config->tls_key = NULL;
   config->tls_ca = NULL;
+  config->server_host = str_dup("127.0.0.1");
+  config->server_port = 8080;
   if (!send_status(file_descriptor, STATUS_OK))
     goto error;
   return config;
@@ -226,6 +230,7 @@ error:
   free(config->version);
   free(config->send_directory);
   free(config->receive_root_directory);
+  free(config->server_host);
   free(config);
   return NULL;
 }
diff --git a/src/shared/config.h b/src/shared/config.h
index c1f025b..1ed85fa 100644
--- a/src/shared/config.h
+++ b/src/shared/config.h
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ typedef struct Config {
   uint32_t delta_block_size;
   unsigned long long delta_max_file_size;
   bool use_tls;
+  char* server_host;
+  int server_port;
   char* tls_cert;
   char* tls_key;
   char* tls_ca;
diff --git a/src/shared/file.c b/src/shared/file.c
index 0fb81ff..6d14238 100644
--- a/src/shared/file.c
+++ b/src/shared/file.c
@@ -409,33 +409,48 @@ File* receive_incremental_check(int fd, const Config* config, bool* skipped) {
 }
 
 bool to_disk(const char* path, const void* data, unsigned long long data_size) {
-  char* directory = str_dup(path);
-  char* dir_to_free = directory;
-  directory = dirname(directory);
-  if (!mkdir_r(directory)) {
-    free(dir_to_free);
+  // dirname() may modify its argument and may return a pointer to static storage.
+  // We must use a copy of the result to be safe.
+  char* path_dup = str_dup(path);
+  if (!path_dup)
     return false;
+  char* dir_result = dirname(path_dup);
+  char* directory = str_dup(dir_result);
+  free(path_dup);
+  if (!directory)
+    return false;
+
+  bool ok = true;
+  if (!mkdir_r(directory)) {
+    ok = false;
+    goto done;
   }
   FILE* file_pointer = fopen(path, "wb");
   if (file_pointer == NULL) {
     perror("Could not open File");
-    free(dir_to_free);
-    return false;
+    ok = false;
+    goto done;
   }
   if (fwrite(data, 1, data_size, file_pointer) != data_size) {
     perror("Failed to write all data to disk");
     fclose(file_pointer);
-    free(dir_to_free);
-    return false;
+    ok = false;
+    goto done;
   }
   fclose(file_pointer);
-  free(dir_to_free);
-  return true;
+
+done:
+  free(directory);
+  return ok;
 }
 
 bool file_send_sendfile(File* file, int file_descriptor, bool use_metadata, int compression_level,
                         bool send_path) {
-  (void)compression_level;
+  // sendfile is incompatible with compression (kernel zero-copy).
+  // If compression is requested, fall back to the regular send path.
+  if (compression_level > 0)
+    return file_send_single_calls(file, file_descriptor, use_metadata, compression_level, send_path);
+
   if (send_path && !send_str(file_descriptor, file->path))
     return false;
   if (use_metadata && !metadata_send(file_descriptor, file->metadata))
diff --git a/src/shared/metadata.c b/src/shared/metadata.c
index b1dbb57..efee84a 100644
--- a/src/shared/metadata.c
+++ b/src/shared/metadata.c
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 #include "metadata.h"
 #include "file.h"
+#include "log.h"
 #include "protocol.h"
+#include <errno.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
@@ -96,9 +98,10 @@ FileMetadata* metadata_receive(int file_descriptor, int* ok) {
 void file_restore_metadata(const char* path, FileMetadata* metadata) {
   if (metadata == NULL)
     return;
-  chmod(path, metadata->mode & 07777);
-  int chown_ret = chown(path, metadata->uid, metadata->gid);
-  (void)chown_ret;
+  if (chmod(path, metadata->mode & 07777) != 0)
+    log_message(LOG_LEVEL_WARNING, "Failed to chmod %s: %s", path, strerror(errno));
+  if (chown(path, metadata->uid, metadata->gid) != 0)
+    log_message(LOG_LEVEL_WARNING, "Failed to chown %s: %s", path, strerror(errno));
   struct timespec times[2];
   times[0].tv_sec = 0;
   times[0].tv_nsec = UTIME_OMIT;
diff --git a/src/shared/transport_ssh.c b/src/shared/transport_ssh.c
index 9eb5264..71f1e3d 100644
--- a/src/shared/transport_ssh.c
+++ b/src/shared/transport_ssh.c
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 #include "transport_ssh.h"
+#include "utils.h"
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
@@ -8,39 +9,58 @@
 #include <unistd.h>
 
 typedef struct {
-  char user[256];
-  char host[256];
-  char remote_path[4096];
+  char* user;
+  char* host;
+  char* remote_path;
 } RemoteDest;
 
+static void remote_dest_destroy(RemoteDest* r) {
+  free(r->user);
+  free(r->host);
+  free(r->remote_path);
+}
+
 static int parse_remote_dest(const char* dest, RemoteDest* r) {
+  memset(r, 0, sizeof(*r));
   const char* colon = strchr(dest, ':');
   if (!colon)
     return -1;
 
-  size_t remote_path_len = strlen(colon + 1);
-  if (remote_path_len >= sizeof(r->remote_path))
+  r->remote_path = str_dup(colon + 1);
+  if (!r->remote_path)
     return -1;
-  memcpy(r->remote_path, colon + 1, remote_path_len + 1);
 
   const char* at = memchr(dest, '@', colon - dest);
   if (at) {
     size_t user_len = at - dest;
-    if (user_len >= sizeof(r->user))
+    r->user = malloc(user_len + 1);
+    if (!r->user) {
+      remote_dest_destroy(r);
       return -1;
+    }
     memcpy(r->user, dest, user_len);
     r->user[user_len] = '\0';
 
     size_t host_len = colon - at - 1;
-    if (host_len >= sizeof(r->host))
+    r->host = malloc(host_len + 1);
+    if (!r->host) {
+      remote_dest_destroy(r);
       return -1;
+    }
     memcpy(r->host, at + 1, host_len);
     r->host[host_len] = '\0';
   } else {
-    r->user[0] = '\0';
-    size_t host_len = colon - dest;
-    if (host_len >= sizeof(r->host))
+    r->user = str_dup("");
+    if (!r->user) {
+      remote_dest_destroy(r);
       return -1;
+    }
+    size_t host_len = colon - dest;
+    r->host = malloc(host_len + 1);
+    if (!r->host) {
+      remote_dest_destroy(r);
+      return -1;
+    }
     memcpy(r->host, dest, host_len);
     r->host[host_len] = '\0';
   }
@@ -57,6 +77,7 @@ Client* client_connect_ssh(const char* destination, int port) {
   int sv[2];
   if (socketpair(AF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0, sv) < 0) {
     perror("socketpair failed");
+    remote_dest_destroy(&r);
     return NULL;
   }
 
@@ -71,6 +92,7 @@ Client* client_connect_ssh(const char* destination, int port) {
     perror("pipe failed");
     close(sv[0]);
     close(sv[1]);
+    remote_dest_destroy(&r);
     return NULL;
   }
 
@@ -81,6 +103,7 @@ Client* client_connect_ssh(const char* destination, int port) {
     close(sv[1]);
     close(exec_pipe[0]);
     close(exec_pipe[1]);
+    remote_dest_destroy(&r);
     return NULL;
   }
 
@@ -88,6 +111,8 @@ Client* client_connect_ssh(const char* destination, int port) {
     close(sv[0]);
     close(exec_pipe[0]);
     fcntl(exec_pipe[1], F_SETFD, FD_CLOEXEC);
+    // Child doesn't need the RemoteDest strings
+    remote_dest_destroy(&r);
 
     if (sv[1] != STDIN_FILENO)
       dup2(sv[1], STDIN_FILENO);
@@ -97,7 +122,7 @@ Client* client_connect_ssh(const char* destination, int port) {
       close(sv[1]);
 
     char ssh_user[512];
-    if (r.user[0] != '\0')
+    if (r.user && r.user[0] != '\0')
       snprintf(ssh_user, sizeof(ssh_user), "%s@%s", r.user, r.host);
     else
       snprintf(ssh_user, sizeof(ssh_user), "%s", r.host);
@@ -138,10 +163,13 @@ Client* client_connect_ssh(const char* destination, int port) {
   if (n > 0) {
     close(sv[0]);
     waitpid(pid, NULL, 0);
+    remote_dest_destroy(&r);
     fprintf(stderr, "Error: could not launch 'fastsync-server --stdio' on remote\n");
     return NULL;
   }
 
+  remote_dest_destroy(&r);
+
   Client* client = malloc(sizeof(Client));
   if (client == NULL) {
     close(sv[0]);
diff --git a/src/shared/utils.c b/src/shared/utils.c
index 0846e72..aa7d313 100644
--- a/src/shared/utils.c
+++ b/src/shared/utils.c
@@ -26,7 +26,8 @@ bool mkdir_r(const char* path) {
     path_current[0] = '\0';
   }
   const char* delimiter = "/";
-  const char* part = strtok(path_duplicate, delimiter);
+  char* saveptr;
+  const char* part = strtok_r(path_duplicate, delimiter, &saveptr);
   bool ok = true;
   while (part != NULL) {
     strcpy(path_current_position, part);
@@ -41,7 +42,7 @@ bool mkdir_r(const char* path) {
         break;
       }
     }
-    part = strtok(NULL, delimiter);
+    part = strtok_r(NULL, delimiter, &saveptr);
   }
   free(path_duplicate);
   free(path_current);
@@ -81,10 +82,22 @@ bool glob_match(const char* pattern, const char* str) {
   return *str == '\0';
 }
 
+static bool is_dir_in_manifest(const char* rel_path, ArrayList* manifest) {
+  size_t len = strlen(rel_path);
+  for (int i = 0; i < manifest->size; i++) {
+    const char* entry = (const char*)manifest->items[i];
+    // Check if entry starts with rel_path + '/'
+    if (strncmp(entry, rel_path, len) == 0 && entry[len] == '/')
+      return true;
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
 static void delete_extras_walk(const char* abs_path, const char* rel_path, ArrayList* manifest) {
   DIR* dir = opendir(abs_path);
   if (!dir)
     return;
+  bool all_removed = true;
   struct dirent* entry;
   while ((entry = readdir(dir)) != NULL) {
     if (strcmp(entry->d_name, ".") == 0 || strcmp(entry->d_name, "..") == 0)
@@ -99,6 +112,10 @@ static void delete_extras_walk(const char* abs_path, const char* rel_path, Array
     }
     if (S_ISDIR(st.st_mode)) {
       delete_extras_walk(child_abs, child_rel, manifest);
+      // After recursion, try to remove the subdirectory if it's now empty
+      if (rmdir(child_abs) != 0) {
+        all_removed = false;
+      }
     } else {
       // Check if relative path is in manifest
       bool found = false;
@@ -111,13 +128,19 @@ static void delete_extras_walk(const char* abs_path, const char* rel_path, Array
       if (!found) {
         unlink(child_abs);
         fprintf(stderr, "  Deleted: %s\n", child_rel);
+      } else {
+        all_removed = false;
       }
     }
     free(child_abs);
     free(child_rel);
   }
   closedir(dir);
-  rmdir(abs_path);
+  // Only remove the directory itself if it is not in the manifest
+  // and contained no kept entries.
+  if (all_removed && rel_path[0] != '\0' && !is_dir_in_manifest(rel_path, manifest)) {
+    rmdir(abs_path);
+  }
 }
 
 void delete_extras(const char* dest_root, ArrayList* manifest) {