7 ms·

For folks looking for a Dropbox alternative, I recommend Syncthing [0]. Syncthing is a free software (MPL-2.0) cross-platform [1] and decentralized peer-to-pee

by bandali 10y ago

For folks looking for a Dropbox alternative, I recommend Syncthing [0]. Syncthing is a free software (MPL-2.0) cross-platform [1] and decentralized peer-to-peer file synchronization utility with end-to-end encryption, and with support for relaying [2]. Check out their getting started guide [3]. [0]: https://syncthing.net https://syncthing.net [1]: https://docs.syncthing.net/users/contrib.html https://docs.syncthing.net/users/contrib.html [2]: https://docs.syncthing.net/users/relaying.html https://docs.syncthing.net/users/relaying.html [3]: https://docs.syncthing.net/intro/getting-started.html https://docs.syncthing.net/intro/getting-started.html

mixedCase 10y ago
Have they solved their discoverability issues? I haven't used it in a looong time but too often it would fail to sync two computers in the same LAN unless the daemon was restarted several times until they saw each other. Could I rely on this just like I would rely on Dropbox to instantly get my files synced or do I still need a centralized option for that?
- deagle50 10y ago
  I have relay disabled so I can only comment on the LAN experience. Been using Syncthing for about 6 months on Mac, Windows and Linux with great success and no discovery issue.
- aban 10y ago
  This was actually the question I had when I decided to try Syncthing again a few months ago. I've been using it for a while now, and though I feel there's room for improvement, it's definitely much more reliable than it used to be before and I haven't had to restart the daemon multiple times. As for your second question about instant syncing, there's syncthing-inotify [0] which detects file changes immediately (instead of 60 second rescan interval), but I haven't tried it yet. For syncing outside your local network, Syncthing supports relaying, which I linked in my previous comment. [0]: https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing-inotify https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing-inotify
  - dragly 10y ago
    syncthing-inotify works great! I have been running Syncthing with this plugin for about a month now and I haven't had any problems with it. I started using Syncthing for some of my projects after Dropbox stopped syncing files without notice for the third time. The failed Dropbox syncs were related to either C++ or Doconce+LaTeX projects where many temporary build files were being modified often. Syncthing doesn't seem to have a problem with these files, and it is even possible to configure Syncthing to ignore specific file patterns if you just don't want it to sync such files at all.
    - radarsat1 10y ago
      Are building software in your dropbox folder? I mean, it should work, I guess.. but why on earth..
      - wernercd 10y ago
        Yeah... is there a "gitignore" option for dropbox or alternatives (like Syncthing)? I mean... there's a certain point where you are now syncronizing "crap" that shouldn't be needed (bin/obj/etc)...
        Nutomic 10y ago
        Syncthing has the .stignore file: https://docs.syncthing.net/users/ignoring.html https://docs.syncthing.net/users/ignoring.html
      - dragly 10y ago
        It isn't optimal, but it used to work. I kept C++ projects on Dropbox in addition to Git because I work on multiple computers and want to be able to continue where I left off if I get interrupted. I don't like the idea of having to commit and push to git for all work in progress, even if it is on a separate branch. The default setup in Qt Creator is to have a build folder next to the sources, but after the first big sync failure I configured Qt Creator to always build outside of Dropbox. But I experienced failed syncs after that, even with only C++ sources inside Dropbox and when building Doconce+LaTeX projects.
daenney 10y ago
In that same spirit there's also BitTorrent (BT) Sync: https://www.getsync.com https://www.getsync.com. Seems it's branded as Resilio nowadays.
- Polarity 10y ago
  yea but you need a login and have to pay for p2p. syncthing does the same but free and without a login.
  - lamontcg 10y ago
    no you don't. i p2p my files and don't list trackers in their public database so don't need a login. offhand i'm not sure what you need to pay for, but i haven't needed those features -- i think they're targeted more around permissions and acls that individual use doesn't really require.
qwertyuiop924 10y ago
What about SpiderOak, if you still want something centralized? If you want to access your own files anywhere, you're not really in it for the sync aspect, and you're willing to host your own, there's this great piece of software called OpenSSH, that implements remote shell access as well as a protocol called SFTP that you can use to remotely access files. There are clients available on all systems, frequently installed by default, it's incredibly secure - you may have heard of it. It's kinda new, and the up-and-coming thing in personal cloud software. The investors are really excited. :-D.
- nickpsecurity 10y ago
  Does it have seemless integration with drag n drop plus sll this setup automatically on install? And on each supported platform? This combo is Dropbox's market.
  - qwertyuiop924 10y ago
    No, no, and no. That's why every consumer doesn't have one. But for most HN readers, if it's the sort of thing you're looking for, it'll do the trick.
- kovek 10y ago
  I was looking fir a way to easily _move_ (not copy) a file on a different device through the syncthing interface. The alternatives I know of are scp and SFTP. However, in that case, you need to know the ip address of your devices. My devices tend to change networks often, so it would be nice to easily scp or SFTP to a device, through any (secure) means possible, without having to check their IP addresses every time. Please let me know if you know of such a solution!
  - rovr138 10y ago
    Do you have a computer that doesn't change IP? You can use it as a way to bridge all computers. Basically, have all computers create a tunnel to this computer and then you can access them. I do something similar with a small VPS, but it could be something at home. What I do is that all my computers automatically connect to this VPS and bind to a different port. This is with SSH (and autossh). If I want to access computer X, I can SSH to this VPS use the port that I know computer X has. For your scenerio, you can forward this port to your local machine and run rsync -p to it...
rdtsc 10y ago
I have been using Box at work and it is rather nice. It is fairly unobtrusive. Granted, I don't use the desktop integration just open stuff over the web page, upload files when I need. There is an interactive notes and presentation editing. I think Dropbox's problem is mostly Google. I used Dropbox at home but once Google got their drive up to speed and it integrates with other things like Gmail and such, it is hard for me to justify using Dropbox. So I uninstalled it and just use Google for everything.
lewisl9029 10y ago
I've recently started using Librevault after seeing it on HN a while ago, and really like it so far: https://librevault.com/ https://librevault.com/ HN thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12261409 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12261409 Here's a nice overview of differences compared to Syncthing from the developer: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12262704 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12262704 Offering file watching without any extra configuration and supporting decentralized discovery though the mainline DHT are its most compelling advantages over Syncthing for me.
- newscracker 10y ago
  One major reason I use Dropbox (other than the fact that it has, for the most part, "just worked") is to get files from the cloud on an as-needed basis on iOS phones and tablets. Considering my home Internet connection is not good enough to handle outgoing requests (like a server), I still need an online location to store maybe 20-30GB of files at a low price (my Dropbox account is a free one with a lot of bonus storage) that can integrate with solutions like Syncthing or Librevault or anything else. What are the options for those?
  - johntash 10y ago
    If you're okay with spending a small amount of money, you could spin up a VPS somewhere and run Syncthing/Librevault on it. For $5-$10 a month, you should at least be able to get 20 or 30gb of space.
    - tqkxzugoaupvwqr 10y ago
      You can get a VPS with 30 GB storage for $20/year[1]. Payment options allow to pay $11 per 6 months. [1] https://www.vpscheap.net/pricing.aspx https://www.vpscheap.net/pricing.aspx Section “Budget Servers”
  - exadeci 10y ago
    Syncthing can be weird at first, LibreVault seems more like Dropbox but doesn't provide a server. Try https://hubic.com/en/offers/ https://hubic.com/en/offers/ it was created by "The number 3 internet hosting company in the world" OVH works quite well if you don't mind the dated interfaces
yq 10y ago
Anyone like this comment but don't like|want|willing to deal with command line in windows, I recommand SyncTrayzor[0]. From My understanding, SyncTrayzor is the GUI version for SyncThing with MIT license[1]. [0]:https://github.com/canton7/SyncTrayzor https://github.com/canton7/SyncTrayzor [1]:https://github.com/canton7/SyncTrayzor/blob/master/LICENSE.txt https://github.com/canton7/SyncTrayzor/blob/master/LICENSE.t...
zanny 10y ago
My only problem with syncthing is how much CPU it eats up when you have a lot of files under sync, regardless of if you use file watch or not. Is there a way to reduce its tickrate so it isn't constantly checking files for changes?
- Nutomic 10y ago
  You can increase the rescan interval in the folder settings (advanced settings section). If you use inotify, you can just set it to 0 to disable automatic rescans.
danieldk 10y ago
For folks looking for a Dropbox alternative, I recommend Syncthing [0]. Syncthing is great if your goal is to synchronize files between different machines. However, if you want to share files/folders with people who do not have a strong tech background it's not really an option.
- nickcw 10y ago
  rclone ( http://rclone.org http://rclone.org ) is the perfect tool for that. It is a command line program which tries to work like rsync except copying to cloud storage providers (Dropbox, Amazon Drive, S3, Google Drive, B2 etc) . By default it will copy the files 1:1 file to remote object. I use it to share stuff on Dropbox. I run Linux and have never installed the Linux client (if there is one, I don't know!) PS I wrote rclone!
aw3c2 10y ago
Seafile is more like Dropbox, Syncthing does much less (but does so very well.). https://www.seafile.com/en/home/ https://www.seafile.com/en/home/ / https://github.com/haiwen https://github.com/haiwen This is how simple it is to set up the server https://manual.seafile.com/deploy/using_sqlite.html https://manual.seafile.com/deploy/using_sqlite.html
max_ 10y ago
The best Dropbox alternative IMO is https://mega.nz/ https://mega.nz/

by bandali 10y ago

mixedCase 10y ago

Have they solved their discoverability issues? I haven't used it in a looong time but too often it would fail to sync two computers in the same LAN unless the daemon was restarted several times until they saw each other. Could I rely on this just like I would rely on Dropbox to instantly get my files synced or do I still need a centralized option for that?

deagle50 10y ago
I have relay disabled so I can only comment on the LAN experience. Been using Syncthing for about 6 months on Mac, Windows and Linux with great success and no discovery issue.
aban 10y ago
This was actually the question I had when I decided to try Syncthing again a few months ago. I've been using it for a while now, and though I feel there's room for improvement, it's definitely much more reliable than it used to be before and I haven't had to restart the daemon multiple times. As for your second question about instant syncing, there's syncthing-inotify [0] which detects file changes immediately (instead of 60 second rescan interval), but I haven't tried it yet. For syncing outside your local network, Syncthing supports relaying, which I linked in my previous comment. [0]: https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing-inotify https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing-inotify
- dragly 10y ago
  syncthing-inotify works great! I have been running Syncthing with this plugin for about a month now and I haven't had any problems with it. I started using Syncthing for some of my projects after Dropbox stopped syncing files without notice for the third time. The failed Dropbox syncs were related to either C++ or Doconce+LaTeX projects where many temporary build files were being modified often. Syncthing doesn't seem to have a problem with these files, and it is even possible to configure Syncthing to ignore specific file patterns if you just don't want it to sync such files at all.
  - radarsat1 10y ago
    Are building software in your dropbox folder? I mean, it should work, I guess.. but why on earth..
    - wernercd 10y ago
      Yeah... is there a "gitignore" option for dropbox or alternatives (like Syncthing)? I mean... there's a certain point where you are now syncronizing "crap" that shouldn't be needed (bin/obj/etc)...
      - Nutomic 10y ago
        Syncthing has the .stignore file: https://docs.syncthing.net/users/ignoring.html https://docs.syncthing.net/users/ignoring.html
    - dragly 10y ago
      It isn't optimal, but it used to work. I kept C++ projects on Dropbox in addition to Git because I work on multiple computers and want to be able to continue where I left off if I get interrupted. I don't like the idea of having to commit and push to git for all work in progress, even if it is on a separate branch. The default setup in Qt Creator is to have a build folder next to the sources, but after the first big sync failure I configured Qt Creator to always build outside of Dropbox. But I experienced failed syncs after that, even with only C++ sources inside Dropbox and when building Doconce+LaTeX projects.

daenney 10y ago

In that same spirit there's also BitTorrent (BT) Sync: https://www.getsync.com https://www.getsync.com. Seems it's branded as Resilio nowadays.

Polarity 10y ago
yea but you need a login and have to pay for p2p. syncthing does the same but free and without a login.
- lamontcg 10y ago
  no you don't. i p2p my files and don't list trackers in their public database so don't need a login. offhand i'm not sure what you need to pay for, but i haven't needed those features -- i think they're targeted more around permissions and acls that individual use doesn't really require.

qwertyuiop924 10y ago

What about SpiderOak, if you still want something centralized? If you want to access your own files anywhere, you're not really in it for the sync aspect, and you're willing to host your own, there's this great piece of software called OpenSSH, that implements remote shell access as well as a protocol called SFTP that you can use to remotely access files. There are clients available on all systems, frequently installed by default, it's incredibly secure - you may have heard of it. It's kinda new, and the up-and-coming thing in personal cloud software. The investors are really excited. :-D.

nickpsecurity 10y ago
Does it have seemless integration with drag n drop plus sll this setup automatically on install? And on each supported platform? This combo is Dropbox's market.
- qwertyuiop924 10y ago
  No, no, and no. That's why every consumer doesn't have one. But for most HN readers, if it's the sort of thing you're looking for, it'll do the trick.
kovek 10y ago
I was looking fir a way to easily _move_ (not copy) a file on a different device through the syncthing interface. The alternatives I know of are scp and SFTP. However, in that case, you need to know the ip address of your devices. My devices tend to change networks often, so it would be nice to easily scp or SFTP to a device, through any (secure) means possible, without having to check their IP addresses every time. Please let me know if you know of such a solution!
- rovr138 10y ago
  Do you have a computer that doesn't change IP? You can use it as a way to bridge all computers. Basically, have all computers create a tunnel to this computer and then you can access them. I do something similar with a small VPS, but it could be something at home. What I do is that all my computers automatically connect to this VPS and bind to a different port. This is with SSH (and autossh). If I want to access computer X, I can SSH to this VPS use the port that I know computer X has. For your scenerio, you can forward this port to your local machine and run rsync -p to it...

rdtsc 10y ago

I have been using Box at work and it is rather nice. It is fairly unobtrusive. Granted, I don't use the desktop integration just open stuff over the web page, upload files when I need. There is an interactive notes and presentation editing. I think Dropbox's problem is mostly Google. I used Dropbox at home but once Google got their drive up to speed and it integrates with other things like Gmail and such, it is hard for me to justify using Dropbox. So I uninstalled it and just use Google for everything.

lewisl9029 10y ago

I've recently started using Librevault after seeing it on HN a while ago, and really like it so far: https://librevault.com/ https://librevault.com/ HN thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12261409 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12261409 Here's a nice overview of differences compared to Syncthing from the developer: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12262704 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12262704 Offering file watching without any extra configuration and supporting decentralized discovery though the mainline DHT are its most compelling advantages over Syncthing for me.

newscracker 10y ago
One major reason I use Dropbox (other than the fact that it has, for the most part, "just worked") is to get files from the cloud on an as-needed basis on iOS phones and tablets. Considering my home Internet connection is not good enough to handle outgoing requests (like a server), I still need an online location to store maybe 20-30GB of files at a low price (my Dropbox account is a free one with a lot of bonus storage) that can integrate with solutions like Syncthing or Librevault or anything else. What are the options for those?
- johntash 10y ago
  If you're okay with spending a small amount of money, you could spin up a VPS somewhere and run Syncthing/Librevault on it. For $5-$10 a month, you should at least be able to get 20 or 30gb of space.
  - tqkxzugoaupvwqr 10y ago
    You can get a VPS with 30 GB storage for $20/year[1]. Payment options allow to pay $11 per 6 months. [1] https://www.vpscheap.net/pricing.aspx https://www.vpscheap.net/pricing.aspx Section “Budget Servers”
- exadeci 10y ago
  Syncthing can be weird at first, LibreVault seems more like Dropbox but doesn't provide a server. Try https://hubic.com/en/offers/ https://hubic.com/en/offers/ it was created by "The number 3 internet hosting company in the world" OVH works quite well if you don't mind the dated interfaces

yq 10y ago

Anyone like this comment but don't like|want|willing to deal with command line in windows, I recommand SyncTrayzor[0]. From My understanding, SyncTrayzor is the GUI version for SyncThing with MIT license[1]. [0]:https://github.com/canton7/SyncTrayzor https://github.com/canton7/SyncTrayzor [1]:https://github.com/canton7/SyncTrayzor/blob/master/LICENSE.txt https://github.com/canton7/SyncTrayzor/blob/master/LICENSE.t...

zanny 10y ago

My only problem with syncthing is how much CPU it eats up when you have a lot of files under sync, regardless of if you use file watch or not. Is there a way to reduce its tickrate so it isn't constantly checking files for changes?

Nutomic 10y ago
You can increase the rescan interval in the folder settings (advanced settings section). If you use inotify, you can just set it to 0 to disable automatic rescans.

danieldk 10y ago

For folks looking for a Dropbox alternative, I recommend Syncthing [0]. Syncthing is great if your goal is to synchronize files between different machines. However, if you want to share files/folders with people who do not have a strong tech background it's not really an option.

nickcw 10y ago
rclone ( http://rclone.org http://rclone.org ) is the perfect tool for that. It is a command line program which tries to work like rsync except copying to cloud storage providers (Dropbox, Amazon Drive, S3, Google Drive, B2 etc) . By default it will copy the files 1:1 file to remote object. I use it to share stuff on Dropbox. I run Linux and have never installed the Linux client (if there is one, I don't know!) PS I wrote rclone!

aw3c2 10y ago

Seafile is more like Dropbox, Syncthing does much less (but does so very well.). https://www.seafile.com/en/home/ https://www.seafile.com/en/home/ / https://github.com/haiwen https://github.com/haiwen This is how simple it is to set up the server https://manual.seafile.com/deploy/using_sqlite.html https://manual.seafile.com/deploy/using_sqlite.html

max_ 10y ago

The best Dropbox alternative IMO is https://mega.nz/ https://mega.nz/