Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program • Hacker News Board

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#31

Post by ceeam » Tue, May 09, 2023, 8:12 PM UTC

ceeam wrote: 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.

And - yes - a program like Resilio/Syncthing is the paradigm shift to how you use your computers, if you're a serious user and have more than one machine (incl. mobile devices).

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#32

Post by benbjohnson » Tue, May 09, 2023, 8:13 PM UTC

alexbezhan wrote: post #25

benbjohnson wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Litestream author here. I haven't personally tried Syncthing on SQLite databases but I suspect it wouldn't work well. Syncthing doesn't have any concept of SQLite's locks so even in the best case scenario where you only have one writer and the replica is read-only, the reader on the replica would have pages changed out from under it by Syncthing and that would appear corrupt to the reader. One case where you could ma…

What if I do sqlite backup with cron and then sync the backup?

If you're just using the sync'd version as read-only or as a backup then I suspect that's fine. It seems kinda complicated but you should be ok. :)

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#33

Post by zapdrive » Tue, May 09, 2023, 8:14 PM UTC

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, syncthing saves it in a folder for a pre-selected number of days instead of deleting it.

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#34

Post by sneak » Tue, May 09, 2023, 8:14 PM UTC

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

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#35

Post by reaperducer » Tue, May 09, 2023, 8:16 PM UTC

jbverschoor wrote: post #2

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.

or the buggy back-to-my-mac.

Back to My Mac was awesome. When it worked.

I had about an 80% success rate with it, dragging my MacBook Air to about 30 countries around the world. It was tremendously useful at a time when storage was far more expensive and internal drives much smaller than they are today.

Often when it didn't work, I could just leave the computer running in the hotel while I went out and did touristy stuff, and by the time I came back things had sorted themselves out.

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#36

Post by celsoazevedo » Tue, May 09, 2023, 8:16 PM UTC

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

> It also phones home by default unless you turn it off (via crash and usage reporting)

Is this new behaviour? I haven't set up a new device recently, but it always asked me if I want to enable that or not.

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#37

Post by aborsy » Tue, May 09, 2023, 8:16 PM UTC

riceart wrote: post #22

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).

What’s wrong with möbius sync?

Not available in my region!

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#38

Post by sneak » Tue, May 09, 2023, 8:18 PM UTC

celsoazevedo wrote: post #36

sneak wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

> It also phones home by default unless you turn it off (via crash and usage reporting) Is this new behaviour? I haven't set up a new device recently, but it always asked me if I want to enable that or not.

Usage reporting. Crash reporting is on by default without asking, as is use of the public relays.

The arbitrary remote code execution vulnerability is much more troubling and critical, however. Most people don't realize that by running syncthing they grant the syncthing developer the ability to execute any code they want on their machine (including the ability to read or exfiltrate any file on the filesystem).

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#39

Post by generalizations » Tue, May 09, 2023, 8:18 PM UTC

riceart wrote: post #22

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).

What’s wrong with möbius sync?

It doesn't work in the background. But that's not the app's fault, it's just an iOS restriction.

Re: Syncthing: A continuous file synchronization program

#40

Post by zqna » Tue, May 09, 2023, 8:19 PM UTC

Used syncthing to: - transfer executables from my home to a ship (over sattelite link) in Indian Ocean. Much better alternative than sftp. - sync filesystems while doing on-going (several months of testing) migration from on-prem to mixed cloud (google/azure). Requires a bit of understanding why conflicts can happen (when using more than 2 hosts), once understood works like a charm. Was never disappointed, solid work.