With multiple computers on a local network, it would be so much easier to have mDNS/Bonjour support so Syncthing config pages could be visited by name instead of IP.
For example, computer1.local and computer2.local instead of 172.10.2.3 and 172.10.2.5.
On macOS, Bonjour can be used (or perhaps the dns-sd command line utility), while on Linux there is avahi.
Windows 10 just got Bonjour support behind a Registry flag but I think it’s for navigation only, so it (and earlier versions of Windows) perhaps can be ignored for now.
It’s up to the application to register with the system bonjour services, so that part would be in scope. Printers and routers seem to announce their admin guis this way, I guess we could too. However it’s not precisely the same as Syncthing will usually be administered locally, it’s unusual to just drop in a headless Syncthing device in your network and start settings it up from somewhere else. So I’m not super convinced of the utility…
it’s unusual to just drop in a headless Syncthing device in your network and start settings it up from somewhere else
That’s precisely what I am doing. Right now I have Syncthing running on a Raspberry Pi as an always on sync machine, so that computers always have someone to sync the latest changes to, and so I don’t have to have two computers on at the same time to ensure syncing.
While not often the case for open networks such as in a public area, for managed networks, IP addresses are usually assigned in some orderly way via DHCP so that devices receive the same IP address (for remote desktop, backups, etc.). So one option is to set a DHCP fixed lease for your RPi so it’s easy to find on the network without connecting a display – or alternatively, equip your RPi with a tiny LCD display for $14.95?
