Can I sync on filename & path only and ignore file date/size changes?

I use Syncthing to automatically copy newly added music and book files from folders on my main PC to my phone and tablet. The folders on the main PC are send-only and on the phone & tablet receive-only as the PC is the only place I add new media and the phone/tablet are only for consumption. This all works as expected.

The problem is the files which have already been copied over are being repeatedly resynced again from the PC on subsequent days. I think this is because the player and reader apps on the phone/tablet are updating embedded metadata like play count and read position in the media files, which changes the file modified date (and maybe file size). I don’t want the play count or read position metadata to be reverted back to the PC’s version. I just want any newly added files on the PC which don’t yet exist on the devices to be automatically copied over once but then ignored once the filenames already exist.

I’ve looked at the Syncthing docs but haven’t found how to do this. Being so flexible I assume SyncThing can do this but suspect I must be missing something obvious.

No, Syncthing can’t do that.

What file types / extensions are those media files?

I haven’t seen support for recording play count and/or read position in any of the popular embedded metadata formats. Although it’s possible the mobile apps are adding their own entries, it doesn’t seem likely they’d risk causing compatibility issues.

Use a file manager or terminal app to visually verify if the media files are indeed changing. Also check Syncthing’s log on the mobile devices.

(Since the PC is set as “Send Only”, it’s best to set the mobile devices to “Send & Receive” instead of “Receive Only” – the PC will still ignore changes sent by the mobile devices, while the mobile devices can also be remotely overridden by the PC.)

Thanks for the quick answer.

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