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Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

syncthing.net

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Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#61

Post by karlicoss »

thewataccount wrote: post #50

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 sync about two hundred thousands of files without any problems, especially if your aren't changing them all the time. The only issue I can imagine is initial sync with so many files might take a while, even if total size isn't huge. As for several terabytes, for me it's a bit less than a terabyte in total for all synced folders, but also can't see why it wouldn't scale up. I guess similar, initial hashing might take some time, but otherwise it should handle it well.

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#62

Post by est31 »

celsoazevedo wrote: post #28
ajd1988 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I couldn't agree more! Syncthing is like the reliable, quiet roommate who always does their dishes, whereas dealing with different file systems feels like trying to figure out who left their half-eaten pizza on the couch. Just needs the iOS app!

There's Möbius Sync, but iOS restrictions means that it can't work in the background or access folders like it does on Android/Windows/macOS/Linux.

iOS literally doesn't have "just there for storage" directories that are not icloud. Either you use the photos pool, or you use icloud, or you use per-app directories that are local to each app. But then those directories cannot be accessed by other apps. Even if access to individual files is implemented, it's often very buggy.

Say you have a pictures directory shared via Möbius Sync. Then you want to edit one of the pictures with a pictures editing app that is not the builtin photos app. The app crashes, or cannot save an edited copy of the file into the same directory. I encountered this in real life.

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#63

Post by prophesi »

generalizations wrote: post #19
greenie_beans wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i always heard it fucks up with git repos?

I have an entire folder dedicated to various git repos...only thing it doesn't like (so far...) is some compilation artifacts. IDK why.

I would make sure that there's a `.stignore` file that's identical to your `.gitignore` (except for secret keys/configs you'd like to sync on your devices) in each of those repositories.

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#64

Post by karlicoss »

zapdrive wrote: post #33

While syncthing is excellent and I use it backup photos from my phone to my private cloud, it can sometimes glitch and delete files. I haven't got to the root cause yet, so I can't tell you what to do, but there's a way to recover your data in case of accidental deletion by syncthing. Make sure you enable "file versioning" on both your clients and server. I use the "trashcan" option. So in case a file is deleted, syn…

FWIW, never happened to me with Synching, but either way it's best to separate sync software and backup software. Sync might work flawlessly, but the user might make a mistake which would quickly wipe the files across all devices. I use borg for backups, highly recommend

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#65

Post by JeremyNT »

sneak wrote: post #34
aborsy wrote: 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).

It also phones home by default unless you turn it off (via crash and usage reporting), and in the default vendor-provided state grants arbitrary remote code execution ability to the developer (via unattended auto update which is on by default). Fortunately most distro packages and docker containers disable this dangerous behavior

> in the default vendor-provided state grants arbitrary remote code execution ability to the developer (via unattended auto update which is on by default)

I find this a curious, borderline alarmist framing of the automatic update mechanism. Many pieces of software have automatic updates. What you say is no less true for common programs like Firefox or Google Chrome.

Obviously you have to consider your threat model, but the number of people willing to trust a specific Syncthing binary they're downloading from the internet, but who are wary of trusting published updates going forward, must be relatively small.

(I am a Linux user and use the OS packages rather than automatic updates, but automatic updates are quite common outside of Linux distro packages)

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#66

Post by mholt »

barbs wrote: post #57
mholt wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Ah yeah, that's pretty cool. Something like that!!

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#67

Post by tredre3 »

sneak wrote: post #34
aborsy wrote: 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).

It also phones home by default unless you turn it off (via crash and usage reporting), and in the default vendor-provided state grants arbitrary remote code execution ability to the developer (via unattended auto update which is on by default). Fortunately most distro packages and docker containers disable this dangerous behavior

Even after disabling crash reporting, auto-update, relays, discovery, etc, it will still connect to the internet. It's actually very difficult to make it behave.

The only solution is to blank a few URLs in the configuration for things that can't be disabled. Then at first sight it seems to work... But you check your firewall logs a few days later and what do you know? Some dropped connection attempts.

Still, there aren't many alternatives that work as well as SyncThing, so you gotta pick your battles...

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#68

Post by ubermonkey »

aborsy wrote: 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).

"The only downside is that there is no good iOS app."

That's a dealbreaker for iOS folks, though.

I hate the mission creep Dropbox has embraced, and would definitely consider something else, but I need access to my stuff on Windows, MacOS, and iOS. Anything that doesn't hit all three notes isn't a contender.

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#69

Post by raffraffraff »

Joeri wrote: 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 do this too! Feels weird keeping code in sync between machines aside from git, but it works really well.
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