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Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

syncthing.net

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Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#51
post #49
post #20

Best sync software in my view. The only downside is that there is no good iOS app. I think the developers made the right decision focusing the software on peer to peer sync (i.e., not expanding to nearby “cloud features”: backup, photos, videos, office, etc).

which tool besides syncthing can do automatic backups of my phone? by automatic i mean copy photos and other data to a second device of my choosing as soon as they are created. the primary use for syncthing on my phone is to make sure data is backed up immediately. i have yet to find an app that has the resilience and flexibility of syncthing for this purpose. apart from that the primary issue i have with syncthing i…

>automatic backups of my phone? Full Android phone backup to a drive can be done with Seedvault on a schedule. I think you are asking about automatic upload though. I use Nextcloud to auto upload new pictures to my server as well as for Seedvault backup.

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#53
post #20

Best sync software in my view. The only downside is that there is no good iOS app. I think the developers made the right decision focusing the software on peer to peer sync (i.e., not expanding to nearby “cloud features”: backup, photos, videos, office, etc).

Is there a way to leverage this software and deploy something like a self hosted Google drive that also allows us to generate public links for sharing ?

Try Nextcloud, Seafile or another server installation.

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#54

If you had 10's thousands or millions of files, and several terabytes, is syncthing a good option for this? I haven't seen a ton of great options unfortunately :/

that is a hard problem. it depends on how frequently the data changes, because syncthing or any other backup solution may be to slow to keep up. one of my clients eventually switched from rsync to gluster. instead of making backups, gluster writes multiple storage servers in parallel when files are changed, thus ensuring that there are multiple copies right away.

it's not the perfect solution though because when one server is offline for a while and needs to catch up that too is very slow. the only solution there i find is to have enough redundant servers that you can afford to have a server go offline and not worry about getting it back online quickly.

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#55
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

which tool besides syncthing can do automatic backups of my phone? by automatic i mean copy photos and other data to a second device of my choosing as soon as they are created. the primary use for syncthing on my phone is to make sure data is backed up immediately. i have yet to find an app that has the resilience and flexibility of syncthing for this purpose. apart from that the primary issue i have with syncthing i…

>automatic backups of my phone? Full Android phone backup to a drive can be done with Seedvault on a schedule. I think you are asking about automatic upload though. I use Nextcloud to auto upload new pictures to my server as well as for Seedvault backup.

yes, automatic upload. schedules are impractical for phones that are not connected to wifi on a schedule.

i also occasionally use the phone to take photos of items that i want to process on my laptop right away. syncthing is faster and more convenient than taking my camera and then moving the sd card from the camera to the laptop.

for nextcloud i would need to set up a server that probably also needs to be always online. syncthing allows me to backup to my laptop and is opportunistic about it, ie whenever both are on wifi.

i am also using syncthing to manage my audio files. on the laptop i decide what i want to listen to by copying the files into a specific folder, and that gets copied to the phone. when i am done with a file i delete it from the phone, and that gets synced back to the laptop. syncthing is perfect here, and so using it for backup in the other cases is worth it over having yet another solution.

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#56
Been using Syncthing for a year or so to sync plaintext notes across my phone and PCs. Worked great, so then I began using it to sync Retroarch save files between a spare Pixel 2 I use for gaming and my PC. Worked even better! I could play games on my PC, and then continue on the go.

Recently, I switched completely off cloud storage to just using Syncthing and I love it.

Anyway, this is great software.

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#57
post #4

While SyncThjng might be encrypted, it’s yet another port or server that’s open. We need ubiquitous private networks, such as wire guard, zerotier, or the buggy back-to-my-mac.

I keep wanting Tailscale to offer a "tailnet API" whereby you can bundle a tailnet into your app, and users can connect to other instances of the app (whether their same account or other people sharing parts of their app/data) seamlessly: E2E encrypted, NAT busting, it just works. Think about it: mobile and desktop apps no longer have to upload things to some third-party service to share with yourself or a group of p…

Not sure if this is exactly what you're describing but I noticed the open-source Diablo engine DevilitionX has Zerotier built in to allow online multiplayer sessions.

https://github.com/diasurgical/devilutionX/wiki/Multiplayer#...

I thought it was interesting way for an open-source game to provide a way to find other players without relying on paid dedicated servers.

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#58
post #29

Using resilio (which is NOT open source, of course and is actually kinda abandoned) until they implement selective sync (also "cloud" files browser). This is THE feature that is the deal breaker for me to switch. No, I don't sync hundreds of gigabytes from my personal cloud to my fokken phone, or even laptop, or even work PC. Still want access to all of them on demand.

My workaround with syncthing is to have several smaller folders that I only add to devices as I want them, and a common folder across all devices. It works well enough.

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#59
post #6

Syncthing is excellent. I’ve used it for years to keep my development folders synced between mac, linux and windows, and except for some initial figuring out of ignore patterns and the occasional hiccup with filenames that windows can’t handle it has been great at doing what it needs to and getting out of my way. (I of course also use git, but syncthing lets me choose when I push while still having all my work on all…

i always heard it fucks up with git repos?

not sure what happens if you commit on two devices before syncing, but the "worst" that happened to me is I get an index conflict, in which case it's easily fixed by 'git reset'

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#60

If you had 10's thousands or millions of files, and several terabytes, is syncthing a good option for this? I haven't seen a ton of great options unfortunately :/

I've been successful with syncthing up to 2tb (never tried higher) with the caveat that I only have it function between two hosts and only one host is the writer.
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