6 ms·

Syncthing: An open source Dropbox replacement

68 points by jseliger 7y ago

x3n0ph3n3 7y ago
I've been using syncthing for a couple of years for sharing files between my various devices. Couldn't recommend it more!
throwaway8879 7y ago
Syncthing is amazing. Have it running on a few machines. It's been Rock solid for the last 6 months. I primarily use it to sync org-mode files on different machines. The client worked great on Android too when I last used it. Syncthing-fork package from f-droid to be exact.
Tomte 7y ago
Is the third-party iOS client working well and trustworthy? Does it hook into the Files app?
- bluegreyred 7y ago
  Last time I checked the only iOS client was defunct and not even on the App Store. The issue discussing a native iOS app on github is tagged with not-our-bug. https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/issues/102 https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/issues/102 If there's a new client out I'd love to know about it.
  - stinkbug9o 7y ago
    Discussion from April 2019: https://forum.syncthing.net/t/ios-iphone-crowdfunding-on-bountysource/13136/4 https://forum.syncthing.net/t/ios-iphone-crowdfunding-on-bou...
jgaa 7y ago
How does it differ from Nextcloud?
- em-bee 7y ago
  https://nextcloud.com/compare/ https://nextcloud.com/compare/ gives a good answer to that. nextcloud does not support local sync, and it has a bunch of other features that you may or may not need. but most importantly, i understand that nextcloud needs to be hosted on a public server, and all your devices use a client to connect to that server, whereas syncthing is peer-to-peer (except for the use of a discovery server, or a relay server when needed)
the_common_man 7y ago
The web client lacks authentication last I checked. It is far from a Dropbox replacement
- tiernano 7y ago
  You can turn it on in the settings. I have it on a couple of servers.
1023bytes 7y ago
Calling it a Dropbox replacement is inaccurate, it is a decentralised file synchronization system. A Dropbox replacement would be Nextcloud
- kemonocode 7y ago
  Most people I know use Dropbox precisely just for that, and little more. For them, Nextcloud would be closer to a Google Drive replacement. (Yes, I'm well aware Dropbox is way more than file synchronization, but try to change how people use things...)
microcolonel 7y ago
Syncthing is not a Dropbox replacement, but it is an excellent file syncing system (more similar to BitTorrent Sync). I use it to sync my main source code directories and .emacs.d, and it does a tremendous job of that. I'm looking at the practicalities of offering a hosted Syncthing service, as I've begun doing something like that just for my company. I think that if commodity Syncthing hosting becomes a reality, Syncthing is basically unbeatable.
- McAtNite 7y ago
  I took a quick look at the documentation, and it sounds pretty much like an open source version of BitTorrent/Resilio Sync. Their documentation mentions they use an open protocol. Is this thing just running on P2P?
  - em-bee 7y ago
    it syncs directly between devices. a relay server is only used when the devices can't talk to each other (because thy are both behind a different NAT for example). that's pretty much the definition of P2P, i'd say.
    - microcolonel 7y ago
      > because thy are both behind a different NAT for example More specifically, a case where they are both behind different NATs which both do not respond to UPnP.
      - Dylan16807 7y ago
        No hole punching? Huh.
        microcolonel 7y ago
        That too, having never implemented NAT traversal I guess my mind always considered them the same mechanism.
em-bee 7y ago
i wonder if it would be possible to drop the requirement of a discovery server. i'd like syncing to work in a LAN without internet access. it should be possible to use zeroconf for the discovery.
- mercora 7y ago
  i just read in the docs that it is possible to run your own discovery server and to configure the client to use it and also to remove the built-in discovery server list.
  - txcwpalpha 7y ago
    There are options in Syncthing's settings to disable both the local and global discovery servers.
  - em-bee 7y ago
    you can remove the default discovery server and rely on your own. i'd like to not have a discovery server in the first place. it shouldn't be needed for syncing between machines in the same LAN, nor for syncing with a server on a public network. the only common situation where a discovery server is needed is to sync between a machine at home and a machine in the office. and in that case, most likely also a relay server is needed since both will be behind NAT.
    - txcwpalpha 7y ago
      I've only recently started using Syncthing so I might be wrong, but I think you can not use a discovery server at all. The only requirement is that your Syncthing devices must have static IP addresses configured in their respective settings pages on Syncthing. Once that is done, you can disable both local and global discovery servers in the settings panel.
      - em-bee 7y ago
        static ip addresses are a blocker. i want my phone to sync to my laptop when i am traveling, connected to whatever wifi is available, without needing to rely on internet working. another comment suggests that it should work with avahi/bonjour. if that's the case, that would solve my problem.
johnramsden 7y ago
I've been using the syncthing for years, and in my opinion it's so much better than a solution like Dropbox. If you want, everything can be done on your lan, it offers encryption, compression, and the ton of customizability. You can synchronize directories individually, and ignore certain files. It's from a centralized option like Dropbox, since it's not using a single location to store your files, but if you want a "centralized" set up you can still make it work by using a server which all your clients connect to instead of connecting them individually. Great project and I would highly recommend giving it a try.
- mhxion 7y ago
  rcloud (https://rclone.org https://rclone.org) is great too if you want an open source client solution for syncing to the commercial storage service. If you can setup your own server for rcloud like you'd do with Syncthing, rcloud can be enough.
xref 7y ago
I’m still looking at Dropbox replacements, is it easier to admin than Seafile? Along with native iOS/Android/win/macOS/Linux clients (not 3rd party)?
- sigsergv 7y ago
  https://www.resilio.com/individuals-sync/ https://www.resilio.com/individuals-sync/
- smush 7y ago
  It is. The first thing you do is create/select an existing directory on one of the devices to sync. Then you introduce each device (via device IDs/QR codes) to each other one time so they trust each other. Lastly you share the folder with all of the trusted devices. From there it is entirely fire n forget. The result of folders that just magically sync is not dissimilar to Dropbox. The plus side is you pay no subscription, you have no limit to how much data you can sync aside from bandwidth and local storage on each device, and you can control oodles of settings you cannot on other more centralized clients.
  - hrktb 7y ago
    I don’t see iOS clients, not even third parties. Am I missing something ?
    - smush 7y ago
      No you are not. I'm using a Nexus 6 (Android) so I was unaware that there is not a native iOS client yet. There are in progress talks to build one but apparently it is a high lift to get done. https://forum.syncthing.net/t/on-syncthing-ios-port-again/8964 https://forum.syncthing.net/t/on-syncthing-ios-port-again/89...
dang 7y ago
6 months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18832517 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18832517 2017: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13856552 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13856552 2014: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7734114 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7734114
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
thunderbong 7y ago
I do use Syncthing as a Dropbox replacement because that was my original use case. My original user case was to sync files between my computers at work and home and it worked perfectly for that. Extremely reliable as others have mentioned. But today when I started the program on my laptop while Syncthing was running on my computer it suggested the shared folder on my computer to sync. I knew it did LAN sync but I didn't know about the discovery. It was awesome. Thanks to everyone who created this wonderful software.
ronanyeah 7y ago
Been using it for like 2 years. Extremely pleased.
solarkraft 7y ago
Hey, sorry to go a bit off topic here, but it has been on my mind a lot and besides Nextcloud (Virtual drive, little supported and imo not great for other reasons) and Seafile (part commercial, confusing package) I haven't been able find any viable solutions for this. My problem seems simple. I'd like to only really synchronize a few (selected) files and directories, while other files are simply shown as stubs and only downloaded on request. I've seen that there is a Syncthing explorer that only downloads files on demand. Is it possible to build a hybrid and how difficult would it be? Thanks.
dddw 7y ago
it's nice, but not great for old hardware. quite CPU intensive.
hrktb 7y ago
While at the start it was just a synching folder, nowadays dropbox’s value proposition is: - having a client in any mildly popular operating systems. - having a fast and simple file sharing mechanism with co-workers/clients - having high quality native apps, in particular on iOS, to the point that until Files came around Dropbox could be seen a make do file manager to switch files between application even locally. Anything that doesn’t have full native iOS and android support is providing a different service. Let’s just call it another “desktop file synching” service and not a Dropbox replacement.

68 points by jseliger 7y ago

I've been using syncthing for a couple of years for sharing files between my various devices. Couldn't recommend it more!

throwaway8879 7y ago

Syncthing is amazing. Have it running on a few machines. It's been Rock solid for the last 6 months. I primarily use it to sync org-mode files on different machines. The client worked great on Android too when I last used it. Syncthing-fork package from f-droid to be exact.

Tomte 7y ago

Is the third-party iOS client working well and trustworthy? Does it hook into the Files app?

bluegreyred 7y ago
Last time I checked the only iOS client was defunct and not even on the App Store. The issue discussing a native iOS app on github is tagged with not-our-bug. https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/issues/102 https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/issues/102 If there's a new client out I'd love to know about it.
- stinkbug9o 7y ago
  Discussion from April 2019: https://forum.syncthing.net/t/ios-iphone-crowdfunding-on-bountysource/13136/4 https://forum.syncthing.net/t/ios-iphone-crowdfunding-on-bou...

jgaa 7y ago

How does it differ from Nextcloud?

em-bee 7y ago
https://nextcloud.com/compare/ https://nextcloud.com/compare/ gives a good answer to that. nextcloud does not support local sync, and it has a bunch of other features that you may or may not need. but most importantly, i understand that nextcloud needs to be hosted on a public server, and all your devices use a client to connect to that server, whereas syncthing is peer-to-peer (except for the use of a discovery server, or a relay server when needed)

the_common_man 7y ago

The web client lacks authentication last I checked. It is far from a Dropbox replacement

tiernano 7y ago
You can turn it on in the settings. I have it on a couple of servers.

1023bytes 7y ago

Calling it a Dropbox replacement is inaccurate, it is a decentralised file synchronization system. A Dropbox replacement would be Nextcloud

kemonocode 7y ago
Most people I know use Dropbox precisely just for that, and little more. For them, Nextcloud would be closer to a Google Drive replacement. (Yes, I'm well aware Dropbox is way more than file synchronization, but try to change how people use things...)

microcolonel 7y ago

Syncthing is not a Dropbox replacement, but it is an excellent file syncing system (more similar to BitTorrent Sync). I use it to sync my main source code directories and .emacs.d, and it does a tremendous job of that. I'm looking at the practicalities of offering a hosted Syncthing service, as I've begun doing something like that just for my company. I think that if commodity Syncthing hosting becomes a reality, Syncthing is basically unbeatable.

McAtNite 7y ago
I took a quick look at the documentation, and it sounds pretty much like an open source version of BitTorrent/Resilio Sync. Their documentation mentions they use an open protocol. Is this thing just running on P2P?
- em-bee 7y ago
  it syncs directly between devices. a relay server is only used when the devices can't talk to each other (because thy are both behind a different NAT for example). that's pretty much the definition of P2P, i'd say.
  - microcolonel 7y ago
    > because thy are both behind a different NAT for example More specifically, a case where they are both behind different NATs which both do not respond to UPnP.
    - Dylan16807 7y ago
      No hole punching? Huh.
      - microcolonel 7y ago
        That too, having never implemented NAT traversal I guess my mind always considered them the same mechanism.

em-bee 7y ago

i wonder if it would be possible to drop the requirement of a discovery server. i'd like syncing to work in a LAN without internet access. it should be possible to use zeroconf for the discovery.

mercora 7y ago
i just read in the docs that it is possible to run your own discovery server and to configure the client to use it and also to remove the built-in discovery server list.
- txcwpalpha 7y ago
  There are options in Syncthing's settings to disable both the local and global discovery servers.
- em-bee 7y ago
  you can remove the default discovery server and rely on your own. i'd like to not have a discovery server in the first place. it shouldn't be needed for syncing between machines in the same LAN, nor for syncing with a server on a public network. the only common situation where a discovery server is needed is to sync between a machine at home and a machine in the office. and in that case, most likely also a relay server is needed since both will be behind NAT.
  - txcwpalpha 7y ago
    I've only recently started using Syncthing so I might be wrong, but I think you can not use a discovery server at all. The only requirement is that your Syncthing devices must have static IP addresses configured in their respective settings pages on Syncthing. Once that is done, you can disable both local and global discovery servers in the settings panel.
    - em-bee 7y ago
      static ip addresses are a blocker. i want my phone to sync to my laptop when i am traveling, connected to whatever wifi is available, without needing to rely on internet working. another comment suggests that it should work with avahi/bonjour. if that's the case, that would solve my problem.

johnramsden 7y ago

I've been using the syncthing for years, and in my opinion it's so much better than a solution like Dropbox. If you want, everything can be done on your lan, it offers encryption, compression, and the ton of customizability. You can synchronize directories individually, and ignore certain files. It's from a centralized option like Dropbox, since it's not using a single location to store your files, but if you want a "centralized" set up you can still make it work by using a server which all your clients connect to instead of connecting them individually. Great project and I would highly recommend giving it a try.

mhxion 7y ago
rcloud (https://rclone.org https://rclone.org) is great too if you want an open source client solution for syncing to the commercial storage service. If you can setup your own server for rcloud like you'd do with Syncthing, rcloud can be enough.

xref 7y ago

I’m still looking at Dropbox replacements, is it easier to admin than Seafile? Along with native iOS/Android/win/macOS/Linux clients (not 3rd party)?

sigsergv 7y ago
https://www.resilio.com/individuals-sync/ https://www.resilio.com/individuals-sync/
smush 7y ago
It is. The first thing you do is create/select an existing directory on one of the devices to sync. Then you introduce each device (via device IDs/QR codes) to each other one time so they trust each other. Lastly you share the folder with all of the trusted devices. From there it is entirely fire n forget. The result of folders that just magically sync is not dissimilar to Dropbox. The plus side is you pay no subscription, you have no limit to how much data you can sync aside from bandwidth and local storage on each device, and you can control oodles of settings you cannot on other more centralized clients.
- hrktb 7y ago
  I don’t see iOS clients, not even third parties. Am I missing something ?
  - smush 7y ago
    No you are not. I'm using a Nexus 6 (Android) so I was unaware that there is not a native iOS client yet. There are in progress talks to build one but apparently it is a high lift to get done. https://forum.syncthing.net/t/on-syncthing-ios-port-again/8964 https://forum.syncthing.net/t/on-syncthing-ios-port-again/89...

dang 7y ago

6 months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18832517 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18832517 2017: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13856552 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13856552 2014: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7734114 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7734114

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

thunderbong 7y ago

I do use Syncthing as a Dropbox replacement because that was my original use case. My original user case was to sync files between my computers at work and home and it worked perfectly for that. Extremely reliable as others have mentioned. But today when I started the program on my laptop while Syncthing was running on my computer it suggested the shared folder on my computer to sync. I knew it did LAN sync but I didn't know about the discovery. It was awesome. Thanks to everyone who created this wonderful software.

ronanyeah 7y ago

Been using it for like 2 years. Extremely pleased.

solarkraft 7y ago

Hey, sorry to go a bit off topic here, but it has been on my mind a lot and besides Nextcloud (Virtual drive, little supported and imo not great for other reasons) and Seafile (part commercial, confusing package) I haven't been able find any viable solutions for this. My problem seems simple. I'd like to only really synchronize a few (selected) files and directories, while other files are simply shown as stubs and only downloaded on request. I've seen that there is a Syncthing explorer that only downloads files on demand. Is it possible to build a hybrid and how difficult would it be? Thanks.

dddw 7y ago

it's nice, but not great for old hardware. quite CPU intensive.

hrktb 7y ago

While at the start it was just a synching folder, nowadays dropbox’s value proposition is: - having a client in any mildly popular operating systems. - having a fast and simple file sharing mechanism with co-workers/clients - having high quality native apps, in particular on iOS, to the point that until Files came around Dropbox could be seen a make do file manager to switch files between application even locally. Anything that doesn’t have full native iOS and android support is providing a different service. Let’s just call it another “desktop file synching” service and not a Dropbox replacement.