Hello fellow selfhosters! I have a laptop and a tablet (both running endeavourOS), and I want a certain folder to be always in sync. I also have a very potato server.
My two options currently are Nextcloud and Syncthing. The laptop and the tablet are rarely online at the same time, so I need the server as middleman (so, no syncthing laptop <-> tablet, but laptop <-> server <-> tablet).
Which one do you recommend? The power consumption (of the client) is also very important, because both the laptop and the tablet are battery-powered
I’m also open to other options as well!
thanks in advance to everyone!
Edit: thanks to everyone for your precious help! I finally set up syncthing and it’s working flawlessly!
Quick pros/cons from what I’ve read (correct me if I’m wrong - I’ve not used syncthing myself):
syncthing
Pros:
- Easy to setup and use.
- No infrastructure to maintain
- Will sync directories between computers
Cons:
- Uses third party resources to sync by default (can setup direct sync if needed/wanted however)
- Only does directory synchronization
Nextcloud
Pros:
- Can synchronize directories
- Entire synchronization pipeline is under your control
- Offers a lot more functionality if you want it (WebDAV, Calendars, public shares with “anyone with URL can view” permission, etc.)
Cons:
- You need to setup/maintain your Nextcloud server
- Can be fiddly to setup for some (wasn’t for me - but lots of people do complain about it).
Syncthing can do direct sync if you give the ip address to each node and you can disable relay servers .
The maintenance part crushed me. Most of my other self hosted home setup, I fiddle with at most 2-3 times a year. Next cloud, I logging in at least once a month because something wasn’t working.
