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I love syncthing as much as the next guy on here, but this article feels very much like "why doesn't this square peg fit my round hole?!" Dropbox (and iCloud) a

I love syncthing as much as the next guy on here, but this article feels very much like "why doesn't this square peg fit my round hole?!" Dropbox (and iCloud) are meant more for cloud file storage than pure device-to-device synce. I couldn't go to a less tech savvy friend and say, "Oh, you use Dropbox for backups? Here, use syncthing instead!" For one, most people don't have multiple computers they want to keep in sync, and even if they do it's unlikely that those multiple computers have overlapping periods of being online, which syncthing will need to keep back ups! The author's baffling reaction to iCloud and Dropbox's warning just makes my point. Those warnings are super clear to people who use those services for backup - remove this file and it won't be backed up, hence not available elsewhere. That isn't those platforms begging for attention (???). Remove those warnings and see how many normies complain to Apple/Dropbox that they didn't know removing a file from their synced folder meant it wouldn't be synced anymore. This also applies to the bizarre complaint about cloud storage space limits - of course you need storage space on the service if those files have to live elsewhere!

foodstances 5y ago
Startup idea: provide cloud backup service through Syncthing. End users install Syncthing and then add a remote host provided by your company that is bound to their account. That instance just keeps a copy of everything it receives on some cloud infrastructure. Slap a web interface and some modest data retention on it to recover files.
- posix86 5y ago
  That's software done _only_ with end users in mind. It's the same model as redhat uses. IT companies suffer from the fact that they resist changing the design of the product s.t. the company offers much less value in the equation.
- rizalp 5y ago
  Here's hoping storage vendors (Backblaze, Wasabi, etc.) take note and sees this as worthwhile opportunity!
  - netflixandkill 5y ago
    Can already do that with rclone, although a one button setup for syncthing would likely get some play.
- babypuncher 5y ago
  That will probably ruin everything the author liked about it in this post, because then you will have to add account creation, verification, ans sign-in steps. The horror!
- benhurmarcel 5y ago
  It doesn’t have an iOS app ready though
midasuni 5y ago
If you change a file does it keep older versions?
- JackMcMack 5y ago
  Versioning is supported: * keep x previous revisions, or * keep old revisions for x time, or * diy with hook script https://docs.syncthing.net/users/versioning.html https://docs.syncthing.net/users/versioning.html
  - contravariant 5y ago
    I'm still looking for some way to have a nice (web) UI for this versioning though.
    - bspammer 5y ago
      Using "External File Versioning" on that page you could probably have it commit to a git repository. Then view that repository on GitHub or Gitlab to get nice diffs.
ubermonkey 5y ago
>Dropbox (and iCloud) are meant more for cloud file storage than pure device-to-device synce Device to device sync was literally the value prop for Dropbox when it launched > 10 years ago. That's why I started using it. Dropbox does now allow a more cloud-native file system / cloud backup usage pattern, but its roots are absolutely "keep my files in sync across several computers."
- brightball 5y ago
  Yep and when it first came out it was by far the best option too. IMO it still is.
- thaumasiotes 5y ago
  >>Dropbox (and iCloud) are meant more for cloud file storage than pure device-to-device synce > Device to device sync was literally the value prop for Dropbox when it launched > 10 years ago. It's what was advertised. I find it interesting that its initial reception on HN is so frequently slammed for saying "we could already do this, if we wanted to", and then... 10+ years later, Dropbox has had to switch to doing something people want. The only value I ever saw people getting from Dropbox was in using it as a way to hand off files to someone else across the internet. Which is a use case Dropbox has spent many years fighting against.
  - 6510 5y ago
    Computers as I used to love them A work of poetry. > A major initial motivation for both the ARPANET and the Internet was resource sharing.
    - 7thaccount 5y ago
      It's crazy how much I enjoy simple software. No crazy complicated APIs and complex installs. Just give me a binary I can call with a command line interface. I can play with it interactivity and easily automated whenever needed.
  - thrower123 5y ago
globular-toast 5y ago
You can use Syncthing for "cloud" storage as long as you keep an instance online at all times. Syncthing's functionality is a superset of Dropbox etc. People absolutely use Dropbox for device-to-device sync. They are not necessarily interested in the "cloud" backup but just want to send a file to a mate.
- frosted-flakes 5y ago
  Yes, except for "online-only" files and sharing files with others, which don't really work with Syncthing. But I use Syncthing heavily and have no use for those.
weystrom 5y ago
I have a VPS in Digitalocean that's running syncthing ever since Untrusted Enrypted Storage[1] has been introduced last year. It's great, it's even better than cloud storage, since the VPS never has access to the encryption key. [1] https://docs.syncthing.net/branch/untrusted/html/users/untrusted.html https://docs.syncthing.net/branch/untrusted/html/users/untru...
- bakoo 5y ago
  I haven't kept up with what's new, so thanks for pointing this out!
tomxor 5y ago
"Cloud" is fundamentally just another device. Syncing is not a square peg, monetisation is. There is no reason why syncthing cannot work on both a server in the "cloud" and an end-user device. Syncing files is a well researched and solved problem, at this point dropbox et al are not selling syncing, they are reselling IaaS + integration and gaffataping on anything else tangentially related they can conceive of to squeeze money out of users. The fundamental value is already there to have for free and at a much higher UX quality, while paying for the IaaS directly... if only non-technical users were aware of it, and could access it as easily.
- squarefoot 5y ago
  Exactly. It worked perfectly to sync my Android tablet data on my NAS, but I never tried it as a cloud file server. However it should be relatively easy to set up a VPN on a broadband (non NATted) connection, if it has a dynamic IP hook it to a free domain name using for example DuckDNS (.org), then redirect the VPN traffic to a *PI or similar board and a USB disk that will stay up 24/7, so that no matter when or from where, any other device with the right credentials can use that space as cloud storage from anywhere. The big difference being that there are no strings attached, no size caps, no sign this and that, no download of closed apps, no ads etc.
Shorel 5y ago
The opposite can be argued as well. Dropbox is the entity who tries to fit the "extract money from the users" peg to this file sync functionality. The cloud aspect of their solution can also be interpreted as "we need an excuse to examine all of your files while we are at it". So we can also get money from NSA or other three letter agencies.

foodstances 5y ago

Startup idea: provide cloud backup service through Syncthing. End users install Syncthing and then add a remote host provided by your company that is bound to their account. That instance just keeps a copy of everything it receives on some cloud infrastructure. Slap a web interface and some modest data retention on it to recover files.

posix86 5y ago
That's software done _only_ with end users in mind. It's the same model as redhat uses. IT companies suffer from the fact that they resist changing the design of the product s.t. the company offers much less value in the equation.
rizalp 5y ago
Here's hoping storage vendors (Backblaze, Wasabi, etc.) take note and sees this as worthwhile opportunity!
- netflixandkill 5y ago
  Can already do that with rclone, although a one button setup for syncthing would likely get some play.
babypuncher 5y ago
That will probably ruin everything the author liked about it in this post, because then you will have to add account creation, verification, ans sign-in steps. The horror!
benhurmarcel 5y ago
It doesn’t have an iOS app ready though

midasuni 5y ago

If you change a file does it keep older versions?

JackMcMack 5y ago
Versioning is supported: * keep x previous revisions, or * keep old revisions for x time, or * diy with hook script https://docs.syncthing.net/users/versioning.html https://docs.syncthing.net/users/versioning.html
- contravariant 5y ago
  I'm still looking for some way to have a nice (web) UI for this versioning though.
  - bspammer 5y ago
    Using "External File Versioning" on that page you could probably have it commit to a git repository. Then view that repository on GitHub or Gitlab to get nice diffs.

ubermonkey 5y ago

>Dropbox (and iCloud) are meant more for cloud file storage than pure device-to-device synce Device to device sync was literally the value prop for Dropbox when it launched > 10 years ago. That's why I started using it. Dropbox does now allow a more cloud-native file system / cloud backup usage pattern, but its roots are absolutely "keep my files in sync across several computers."

brightball 5y ago
Yep and when it first came out it was by far the best option too. IMO it still is.
thaumasiotes 5y ago
>>Dropbox (and iCloud) are meant more for cloud file storage than pure device-to-device synce > Device to device sync was literally the value prop for Dropbox when it launched > 10 years ago. It's what was advertised. I find it interesting that its initial reception on HN is so frequently slammed for saying "we could already do this, if we wanted to", and then... 10+ years later, Dropbox has had to switch to doing something people want. The only value I ever saw people getting from Dropbox was in using it as a way to hand off files to someone else across the internet. Which is a use case Dropbox has spent many years fighting against.
- 6510 5y ago
  Computers as I used to love them A work of poetry. > A major initial motivation for both the ARPANET and the Internet was resource sharing.
  - 7thaccount 5y ago
    It's crazy how much I enjoy simple software. No crazy complicated APIs and complex installs. Just give me a binary I can call with a command line interface. I can play with it interactivity and easily automated whenever needed.
- thrower123 5y ago

globular-toast 5y ago

You can use Syncthing for "cloud" storage as long as you keep an instance online at all times. Syncthing's functionality is a superset of Dropbox etc. People absolutely use Dropbox for device-to-device sync. They are not necessarily interested in the "cloud" backup but just want to send a file to a mate.

frosted-flakes 5y ago
Yes, except for "online-only" files and sharing files with others, which don't really work with Syncthing. But I use Syncthing heavily and have no use for those.

weystrom 5y ago

I have a VPS in Digitalocean that's running syncthing ever since Untrusted Enrypted Storage[1] has been introduced last year. It's great, it's even better than cloud storage, since the VPS never has access to the encryption key. [1] https://docs.syncthing.net/branch/untrusted/html/users/untrusted.html https://docs.syncthing.net/branch/untrusted/html/users/untru...

bakoo 5y ago
I haven't kept up with what's new, so thanks for pointing this out!

tomxor 5y ago

"Cloud" is fundamentally just another device. Syncing is not a square peg, monetisation is. There is no reason why syncthing cannot work on both a server in the "cloud" and an end-user device. Syncing files is a well researched and solved problem, at this point dropbox et al are not selling syncing, they are reselling IaaS + integration and gaffataping on anything else tangentially related they can conceive of to squeeze money out of users. The fundamental value is already there to have for free and at a much higher UX quality, while paying for the IaaS directly... if only non-technical users were aware of it, and could access it as easily.

squarefoot 5y ago
Exactly. It worked perfectly to sync my Android tablet data on my NAS, but I never tried it as a cloud file server. However it should be relatively easy to set up a VPN on a broadband (non NATted) connection, if it has a dynamic IP hook it to a free domain name using for example DuckDNS (.org), then redirect the VPN traffic to a *PI or similar board and a USB disk that will stay up 24/7, so that no matter when or from where, any other device with the right credentials can use that space as cloud storage from anywhere. The big difference being that there are no strings attached, no size caps, no sign this and that, no download of closed apps, no ads etc.

Shorel 5y ago

The opposite can be argued as well. Dropbox is the entity who tries to fit the "extract money from the users" peg to this file sync functionality. The cloud aspect of their solution can also be interpreted as "we need an excuse to examine all of your files while we are at it". So we can also get money from NSA or other three letter agencies.