this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2024
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Privacy
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I’ve found Syncthing a better way to handle file sync than NextCloud. Much more set and forget and not a single point of failure. It also syncs a notes directory in flat .md format, so anything can edit them, in a simple directory hierarchy.
SyncThing is great for encrypted, serverless, bidirectional sync, preferably with small folders... But unfortunately really eats up a lot of battery.
I'm still waiting for some company to figure out E2EE syncing with the quality of Google Drive (mobile and desktop integration built in). Proton is close, but they fumble reliable integration.
I've used it for years, across multiple devices, syncing 100gb. My average daily sync is probably 20gb.
It's been surprisingly good on battery - currently using 0.9% average. It's never been a significant battery hog for me.
I currently have 28 sync jobs (folders) on my phone, ranging from a few MB to 20gb, from a few files to 1200 files. Most only sync over wifi, but my DCIM folder (one of the larger ones) is over any connection.
Apps like Foldersync are much heavier on battery for me. Resilio is terrible for me (and it's also a memory hog because I have some large folders).
Maybe you have a stuck file that's causing it to hang. May be worth pausing all but one job, see if that affects battery. Then work though them.
Also, check out Syncthing-Fork, it has finer controls over individual sync jobs. For example, I let photos sync over any connection and on battery, but my media (music/video) only on wifi and while charging.
Between all these replies, I have to say I'm a little jealous. And I might have to look into making a SyncThing dedicated "server" on my home network using YunoHost, a thing that (IIRC) wouldn't require exposing to the Internet because SyncThing will also happily run across volunteer-run relays.
By any chance, have you had any success with a unidirectional sync between your phone and your computer, where it's possible to delete old photos on your phone to save space without worrying about them being deleted on the computer side? (This issue really only crops up for me when I'm already far away from a computer, BTW.)
By default, the built in Photos sync job works as you describe. It essentially just has the "Backup" flag set (send, ignore remote deletes set on both ends). Even manually configuring that (send/no delete) in a job works fine for me.
I don't use that job because I like to use my computer to manage photos (all files really) on my phone. So I have numerous 2-way jobs, so I can move files around on my server, and those changes get reflected back to the phone. (There are a couple send-only jobs for other things).
My storage has a folder structure for users that reflects the folder structure on a phone:
Users//Phone
SD_Internal
SD_External
The sync jobs then keep those folders in sync in their respective phone structure. Makes it easier to manage a phone, especially when I switch phones, just export the config from the old phone, install ST, import the config, and my files all come back.
I also configure versioning on each folder based on what it does. Most folders have no versioning, important stuff gets a 30 day trash can (for example, on my "server", for photos).
I currently run SyncTrayzor on a Windows desktop that's always on, so any pics I take with my phone get synced nearly instantly. I'm currently moving ST to a Linux Container on a new Proxmox server. There's a container available from Turnkey (think it's turnkeylinux.org)
I'll have to defer to your experience; I've set it up on a PC, a NAS and a phone. The phone was connected to an ethernet-equipped dock at the time of setup so the sync was quick and painless.
I don't see a hit on battery life on a Fairphone 4 running /e/OS after initial sync has completed.
I haven't had battery usage issues with it for years! Just checked now and it's below 0.4% - it doesn't even show up in the main app list in the battery settings.
Syncthing is brilliant, although for me it has had a heck of a learning curve to keep straight. Might just be me though.
It does have a bit of a learning curve, you have to think about what you're trying to do.
My biggest issue with Syncthing is that it becomes unusable for large amounts of data due to the lack of selective sync (ignore lists are cumbersome as hell) and lack of virtual file system support. I have about 8TB of data on my NAS that I want to access remotely and it is not feasible to have duplicate copies of that much data on all of my devices.
You could simply sync select subdirectories.
That's what i do. Work perfectly
Agreed.
Resilio sync works better. But the “sync identity” thing is broken, and configuring it declaratively is hard.
But 100% agree. Would love a virtual file system solution. Ideally one which you can use to fill available disk space and ensure you always have a minimum number of copies.