Differences between revisions 1 and 18 (spanning 17 versions)
Revision 1 as of 2017-03-23 02:11:00
Size: 1903
Comment: Created wiki page for Syncthing
Revision 18 as of 2019-11-11 17:00:38
Size: 4874
Comment: Rename Tor Hidden Service to Tor Onion Service
Deletions are marked like this. Additions are marked like this.
Line 1: Line 1:
Syncthing is a file synchronization solution that works on a peer-to-peer model. With Syncthing installed on your FreedomBox, you can sync content from other devices to your FreedomBox and vice-versa. For example, you can keep the photos taken on your mobile phone synced to your FreedomBox. == File Synchronization (Syncthing) ==
Line 3: Line 3:
== Syncthing is P2P, not client-server == With ''Syncthing'' installed on your !FreedomBox, you can synchronize content from other devices to your !FreedomBox and vice-versa. For example, you can keep the photos taken on your mobile phone synchronized to your !FreedomBox.
Line 5: Line 5:
Since Syncthing uses a P2P model instead of a client server model unlike other applications on FreedomBox, it should be used accordingly. ''Available since version:'' 0.14
Line 7: Line 7:
== FreedomBox as a synchronization hub == Users should keep in mind that Syncthing is a peer-to-peer synchronization solution, not a client-server one. This means that the !FreedomBox isn't really the server and your other devices clients. They're all devices from Syncthing's perspective. You can use Syncthing to synchronize your files between any of your devices. The advantage that !FreedomBox provides is that it is a server that's always running. Suppose you want your photos on your phone to be synchronized to your laptop, if you simply sync the photos to the !FreedomBox, the laptop can get them from the !FreedomBox whenever it comes online the next time. You don't have to be worried about your other devices being online for synchronization. If your !FreedomBox is one of the devices set up with your Syncthing shared folder, you can rest assured that your other devices will eventually get the latest files once they come online.
Line 9: Line 9:
One instance of Syncthing will be running on a FreedomBox with one shared folder. A number of users can use FreedomBox as an always available synchronization server from which they can keep their shared files updated. Here the FreedomBox server acts as a replacement for a cloud service like Dropbox.

Apart from the shared folders, individuals can also have folders on Syncthing for their personal files which will be synced to their devices only.

Currently, a Syncthing user should get their folder setup by a Plinth administrator.

To access Syncthing web client on the FreedomBox use the path /syncthing. Syncthing has android apps available on the F-droid and Google Play app stores. Cross-platform desktop apps are also available.
After installation follow the instructions in the [[https://docs.syncthing.net/intro/getting-started.html|getting started of the Syncthing project]].
Line 19: Line 12:
We recommend going through this section in the Syncthing documentation to setup your first device synchronization. https://docs.syncthing.net/intro/getting-started.html#configuring In order to access to the web client of the Syncthing instance running on your !FreedomBox, use the path ''/syncthing''. This web client is currently only accessible to the users of the !FreedomBox that have administrator privileges, though it might be accessible to all !FreedomBox users in a future release.
Line 21: Line 14:
To learn more about Syncthing, please visit their official website and documentation.
https://syncthing.net
https://docs.syncthing.net
{{attachment:Syncthing_GUI.png|Syncthing web interface|width=800}}

Syncthing has android apps available on the [[https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=com.nutomic.syncthingandroid | F-Droid]] and [[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nutomic.syncthingandroid |Google Play]] app stores. Cross-platform desktop apps are also available.


To learn more about Syncthing, please visit their [[https://syncthing.net | official website]] and [[https://docs.syncthing.net | documentation]].

=== Synchronizing over Tor ===

Syncthing should automatically sync with your !FreedomBox even if it is only accessible as a Tor Onion Service.

If you would like to proxy your Syncthing client over Tor, set the `all_proxy` environment variable:

{{{
$ all_proxy=socks5://localhost:9050 syncthing
}}}

For more information, see the Syncthing documentation on [[https://docs.syncthing.net/users/proxying.html | using proxies]].

=== Avoiding Syncthing Relays ===

Syncthing uses dynamic connections by default to connect with other peers. This means that if you are synchronizing over the Internet, the data might have to go through public Syncthing relays to reach your devices. This doesn't take advantage of the fact that your !FreedomBox has a public IP address.

When adding your !FreedomBox as a device in other Syncthing clients, set the address like "tcp://<my.freedombox.domain>" instead of "dynamic". This allows your Syncthing peers to directly connect to your !FreedomBox avoiding the need for relays. It also allows for fast on-demand syncing if you don't want to keep Syncthing running all the time on your mobile devices.

=== Using Syncthing with other applications ===

==== Password Manager ====

Password managers that store their databases in files are suitable for synchronization using Syncthing. The following example describes using a free password manager called KeePassXC in combination with Syncthing to serve as a replacement for proprietary password managers that store your passwords in the cloud.

KeePassXC stores usernames, passwords etc. in files have the .kdbx extension. These kdbx files can be stored in a Syncthing shared folder to keep them synchronized on multiple machines. Free software applications which can read this file format are available for both desktop and mobile. You typically have to just point the application at the .kdbx file and enter the master password to access your stored credentials. For example, the same kdbx file can be accessed by using KeePassXC on desktop and KeePassDX on Android. KeePassXC can also be used to fill credentials into login fields in the browser by installing a browser extension.


## END_INCLUDE

Back to [[FreedomBox/Features|Features introduction]] or [[FreedomBox/Manual|manual]] pages.


<<Include(FreedomBox/Portal)>>

----
CategoryFreedomBox

File Synchronization (Syncthing)

With Syncthing installed on your FreedomBox, you can synchronize content from other devices to your FreedomBox and vice-versa. For example, you can keep the photos taken on your mobile phone synchronized to your FreedomBox.

Available since version: 0.14

Users should keep in mind that Syncthing is a peer-to-peer synchronization solution, not a client-server one. This means that the FreedomBox isn't really the server and your other devices clients. They're all devices from Syncthing's perspective. You can use Syncthing to synchronize your files between any of your devices. The advantage that FreedomBox provides is that it is a server that's always running. Suppose you want your photos on your phone to be synchronized to your laptop, if you simply sync the photos to the FreedomBox, the laptop can get them from the FreedomBox whenever it comes online the next time. You don't have to be worried about your other devices being online for synchronization. If your FreedomBox is one of the devices set up with your Syncthing shared folder, you can rest assured that your other devices will eventually get the latest files once they come online.

After installation follow the instructions in the getting started of the Syncthing project. Syncthing allows individual folders to be selectively shared with other devices. Devices must be paired up before sharing by scanning QR codes or entering the device ids manually. Syncthing has a discovery service for easily identifying the other devices on the same network having Syncthing installed.

In order to access to the web client of the Syncthing instance running on your FreedomBox, use the path /syncthing. This web client is currently only accessible to the users of the FreedomBox that have administrator privileges, though it might be accessible to all FreedomBox users in a future release.

Syncthing web interface

Syncthing has android apps available on the F-Droid and Google Play app stores. Cross-platform desktop apps are also available.

To learn more about Syncthing, please visit their official website and documentation.

Synchronizing over Tor

Syncthing should automatically sync with your FreedomBox even if it is only accessible as a Tor Onion Service.

If you would like to proxy your Syncthing client over Tor, set the all_proxy environment variable:

$ all_proxy=socks5://localhost:9050 syncthing

For more information, see the Syncthing documentation on using proxies.

Avoiding Syncthing Relays

Syncthing uses dynamic connections by default to connect with other peers. This means that if you are synchronizing over the Internet, the data might have to go through public Syncthing relays to reach your devices. This doesn't take advantage of the fact that your FreedomBox has a public IP address.

When adding your FreedomBox as a device in other Syncthing clients, set the address like "tcp://<my.freedombox.domain>" instead of "dynamic". This allows your Syncthing peers to directly connect to your FreedomBox avoiding the need for relays. It also allows for fast on-demand syncing if you don't want to keep Syncthing running all the time on your mobile devices.

Using Syncthing with other applications

Password Manager

Password managers that store their databases in files are suitable for synchronization using Syncthing. The following example describes using a free password manager called KeePassXC in combination with Syncthing to serve as a replacement for proprietary password managers that store your passwords in the cloud.

KeePassXC stores usernames, passwords etc. in files have the .kdbx extension. These kdbx files can be stored in a Syncthing shared folder to keep them synchronized on multiple machines. Free software applications which can read this file format are available for both desktop and mobile. You typically have to just point the application at the .kdbx file and enter the master password to access your stored credentials. For example, the same kdbx file can be accessed by using KeePassXC on desktop and KeePassDX on Android. KeePassXC can also be used to fill credentials into login fields in the browser by installing a browser extension.

Back to Features introduction or manual pages.


Intro

Information

Support

Contribute

Reports

Promote

Vision

Hardware

Live Help

Where To Start

Translate

Calls

Talks

Overview

Download

Q&A

To Do

Design

Releases

Press

Features

Manual

Contributors

Code

Blog

FreedomBox for Communities

FreedomBox Developer Manual

HELP & DISCUSSIONS: Discussion Forum - Matrix - Mailing List - #freedombox irc.debian.org | CONTACT Foundation | JOIN Project

Next call: Saturday, April 13 at 14:00 UTC

This page is copyright its contributors and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license.


CategoryFreedomBox