Syncthing alternatives
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Hi,
As the title suggests: what are alternatives to syncthing that are basically fire and forget, works on multiple device types, and just focuses on file syncing?
I've had over the months the weirdest problems with syncthing, and lately I noticed some of my photos got corrupted, which is an absolute no no for me. I use syncthing currently as a easy automatic backup of documents, photos and other files, between my PCs and my phones (they all send only to the server. Folders are not shared with other devices).
SMB (the protocol) works across devices and OS's, and I use SMBSync2 to dump my photos to my NAS + off site
https://files.catbox.moe/rpqu4h.jpg
This has worked fine for me for years even thou the app isn't on the Play Store anymore, and is fairly granular in regards to file types and where you wanna back them up
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That is actually a good question, in this case the HDD is totally fine. Thing is, the photos only get corrupted very rarely (probably 1 every 3000 or so, and only sometimes) and often photos that got transfered several times to the phone (usually the problem is in the phone. On the desktop never had that)
As for immich, I do know about of but seems to be a bit much for what I need (and only photos AFAIK)
..could it be your phone's storage is failing then?
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Hi,
As the title suggests: what are alternatives to syncthing that are basically fire and forget, works on multiple device types, and just focuses on file syncing?
I've had over the months the weirdest problems with syncthing, and lately I noticed some of my photos got corrupted, which is an absolute no no for me. I use syncthing currently as a easy automatic backup of documents, photos and other files, between my PCs and my phones (they all send only to the server. Folders are not shared with other devices).
This seems very odd, I've been using syncthing for a good 5 years and never had a single file corrupt - might be worth opening an issue on their github
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Hi,
As the title suggests: what are alternatives to syncthing that are basically fire and forget, works on multiple device types, and just focuses on file syncing?
I've had over the months the weirdest problems with syncthing, and lately I noticed some of my photos got corrupted, which is an absolute no no for me. I use syncthing currently as a easy automatic backup of documents, photos and other files, between my PCs and my phones (they all send only to the server. Folders are not shared with other devices).
I've not had files get corrupted, that's strange, for sure.
Some options (but it really depends on what you're trying to do):
Resilio Sync (cross-platform, battery eater on mobile, but has a useful feature - Selective Sync)
FolderSync on Android (can also be battery intense)
Native tools and scheduling on Linux and Windows.
Maybe a review of the setup is in order, what your devices are, what you're trying to do. Sync may not be the tool for what you're trying to do.
I use a combination of tools for different jobs and devices.
Generally, all files on mobile are synced to home using Syncthing-Fork. For example, on Android I have a sync job("folder") in ST for every root folder on the device. These get synced to home depending on conditions (e.g. DCIM syncs over any network, any power condition, so I don't lose photos, while Backups and Download only sync on power over wifi, since they're big and not critical).
Between desktop OS's I largely use OS-specific tools, because I don't really need sync there, but file copy and comparison on a schedule.
After 10 years and probably 1TB+ of sync, I haven't lost any files via ST. Currently have 5 phones running jobs back to a server. I've even moved Syncthing from one server to another with no issues. With how ST works, I think file corruption is highly unlikely - it even handles in-use files safely.
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Hi,
As the title suggests: what are alternatives to syncthing that are basically fire and forget, works on multiple device types, and just focuses on file syncing?
I've had over the months the weirdest problems with syncthing, and lately I noticed some of my photos got corrupted, which is an absolute no no for me. I use syncthing currently as a easy automatic backup of documents, photos and other files, between my PCs and my phones (they all send only to the server. Folders are not shared with other devices).
I use roundsync for Camera upload. Works well.
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..could it be your phone's storage is failing then?
Had a pixel 8, and now a new pixel 9a. I think the problem is actually a bit messy. On my house I have several access points. There is a chance when syncthing is working, and I am going up or down, phone changes the access point. Syncthing possibly gets a ' oppsie, didn't finish that! Let's go for the next one' kind of issue. Of course, never looked into logs or anything so this is just pure speculation.
Usually the kind of corruption on the photos is the kind that beginning is always there, but at some point gets replaced with gray, hence my theory about the files.
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Hi,
As the title suggests: what are alternatives to syncthing that are basically fire and forget, works on multiple device types, and just focuses on file syncing?
I've had over the months the weirdest problems with syncthing, and lately I noticed some of my photos got corrupted, which is an absolute no no for me. I use syncthing currently as a easy automatic backup of documents, photos and other files, between my PCs and my phones (they all send only to the server. Folders are not shared with other devices).
wrote on last edited by [email protected]First and foremost Syncthing is not a 'backup' utility. Using it for backup is not at all recommended. Especially if you are dealing with Android or Raspberry pi, because the way clock / time works in these systems are pretty weird and create sync conflicts. So don't.
Now to the solution. For backup, use a proper backup solution like Kopia. Modern solutions support browsing the snapshots created as backups. Also creating periodic snapshots ensures better redundancy and better chance for disaster recovery.
Now if you will not use it for backup, take a look at 'Round Sync' available in F-Droid. It's an application built around the execptionally good app, 'rclone'. It is some what similar to Syncthing, but designed in a very different way. Also it is more difficult to configure to copy the files to PC.
I also wanted to mention that I have used Syncthing for many heavy lifting jobs and never faced issues with it. It is a feature complete app, with the philosophy of doing only one thing and doing it perfectly. So if you run into any issues, do reach out to forums or devs. They will definitely help you.
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What about Nextcloud? It's heavier than syncthing, but would be an alternative.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]From what I tried, next cloud just has so much clutter that makes the syncing part a bit of a slog. If that was rock solid with OK speeds, that would be nice. But there is somich stuff with it that I don't care and tries to enforce (like users and user groups) that I find just too much
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SMB (the protocol) works across devices and OS's, and I use SMBSync2 to dump my photos to my NAS + off site
https://files.catbox.moe/rpqu4h.jpg
This has worked fine for me for years even thou the app isn't on the Play Store anymore, and is fairly granular in regards to file types and where you wanna back them up
This is an interesting one, will check. Thanks! I do have some smb stuff already on the machine, so this might be an easier solution
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This seems very odd, I've been using syncthing for a good 5 years and never had a single file corrupt - might be worth opening an issue on their github
I could try to do that, but I simply do not have reproducible steps that are certain to make the problem happen. I am a developer myself, and I absolutely despise when someone says 'hey, something random happened the other day. I cannot say what are the steps, but it is there' just to find out in the end nothing is there, or is simply not reproducible no matter what and for reasons that I might never find out
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Hi,
As the title suggests: what are alternatives to syncthing that are basically fire and forget, works on multiple device types, and just focuses on file syncing?
I've had over the months the weirdest problems with syncthing, and lately I noticed some of my photos got corrupted, which is an absolute no no for me. I use syncthing currently as a easy automatic backup of documents, photos and other files, between my PCs and my phones (they all send only to the server. Folders are not shared with other devices).
How about Unison, Resilio, or Seafile ?
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How about Unison, Resilio, or Seafile ?
Never tried unison or resilio can check. As for seafile, that is what I had before. At some point I realized I was getting several issues with desktop mostly, and the storage was only accessible from seafile wich in my case I am not OK with. Mostly was the inconsistencies between oses
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First and foremost Syncthing is not a 'backup' utility. Using it for backup is not at all recommended. Especially if you are dealing with Android or Raspberry pi, because the way clock / time works in these systems are pretty weird and create sync conflicts. So don't.
Now to the solution. For backup, use a proper backup solution like Kopia. Modern solutions support browsing the snapshots created as backups. Also creating periodic snapshots ensures better redundancy and better chance for disaster recovery.
Now if you will not use it for backup, take a look at 'Round Sync' available in F-Droid. It's an application built around the execptionally good app, 'rclone'. It is some what similar to Syncthing, but designed in a very different way. Also it is more difficult to configure to copy the files to PC.
I also wanted to mention that I have used Syncthing for many heavy lifting jobs and never faced issues with it. It is a feature complete app, with the philosophy of doing only one thing and doing it perfectly. So if you run into any issues, do reach out to forums or devs. They will definitely help you.
From what I see, kopia is for the desktop. Unless I didn't see something, it is not available for android, which is where more important to have backup in my case
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Hi,
As the title suggests: what are alternatives to syncthing that are basically fire and forget, works on multiple device types, and just focuses on file syncing?
I've had over the months the weirdest problems with syncthing, and lately I noticed some of my photos got corrupted, which is an absolute no no for me. I use syncthing currently as a easy automatic backup of documents, photos and other files, between my PCs and my phones (they all send only to the server. Folders are not shared with other devices).
Ah, just one question - is your current Syncthing use internal to your home network, or does it sync remotely?
Because if you're just having your mobile devices sync files when they get on your home wifi, it's reasonably safe for that to be fire-and-forget, but if you're syncing from public networks into private that really should require some more specific configuration and active control.
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Ah, just one question - is your current Syncthing use internal to your home network, or does it sync remotely?
Because if you're just having your mobile devices sync files when they get on your home wifi, it's reasonably safe for that to be fire-and-forget, but if you're syncing from public networks into private that really should require some more specific configuration and active control.
Great question. I forgot to mention but at this point syncthing is only accessible on my WiFi at home. No VPN to it and no remote locations.
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Hi,
As the title suggests: what are alternatives to syncthing that are basically fire and forget, works on multiple device types, and just focuses on file syncing?
I've had over the months the weirdest problems with syncthing, and lately I noticed some of my photos got corrupted, which is an absolute no no for me. I use syncthing currently as a easy automatic backup of documents, photos and other files, between my PCs and my phones (they all send only to the server. Folders are not shared with other devices).
wrote on last edited by [email protected]FolderSync selectively syncs files/folders from my phone back to my server via ssh. Some folders are on a schedule, some monitor for changes and sync immediately; most are just one-way, some are two-way (files added to the server will sync back to the phone as well as uploading data to the server). There's even one that automatically drops files into paperless-ngx' consume folder for automatic document importing.
From there BorgBackup makes a daily backup of the data, keeping historical backups for years with absolutely incredible efficiency. I currently have 21 backups of about ~550gb each. Borg stores this in 447gb of total disc space.
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This is an interesting one, will check. Thanks! I do have some smb stuff already on the machine, so this might be an easier solution
wrote on last edited by [email protected]I love it, and along with the folder they get dumped into being R/O means Immich (and by extension me.....) can't fugg up the timeline
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Hi,
As the title suggests: what are alternatives to syncthing that are basically fire and forget, works on multiple device types, and just focuses on file syncing?
I've had over the months the weirdest problems with syncthing, and lately I noticed some of my photos got corrupted, which is an absolute no no for me. I use syncthing currently as a easy automatic backup of documents, photos and other files, between my PCs and my phones (they all send only to the server. Folders are not shared with other devices).
Really surprised about this. I am using syncthing now for many years on various devices and never encountered issues with it.
And also, file sync is not a backup solution. -
Ah, just one question - is your current Syncthing use internal to your home network, or does it sync remotely?
Because if you're just having your mobile devices sync files when they get on your home wifi, it's reasonably safe for that to be fire-and-forget, but if you're syncing from public networks into private that really should require some more specific configuration and active control.
Syncthing runs encrypted anyway.
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Had a pixel 8, and now a new pixel 9a. I think the problem is actually a bit messy. On my house I have several access points. There is a chance when syncthing is working, and I am going up or down, phone changes the access point. Syncthing possibly gets a ' oppsie, didn't finish that! Let's go for the next one' kind of issue. Of course, never looked into logs or anything so this is just pure speculation.
Usually the kind of corruption on the photos is the kind that beginning is always there, but at some point gets replaced with gray, hence my theory about the files.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]Yea, gotta be something odd with your setup.
Currently I have one phone (of several) thats syncing en excess of 10,000 files, some only on Wifi (with 3 access points), some wifi/cell data.
ST knows the state of a file, so a disconnect should have no effect. If you're getting corrupted files, I wonder if something else is going on which may also affect another sync tool.
Try Resilio for the same folders, see if you have the same problem (disable Syncthing of course, otherwise conflicting edits will cause file corruption).
