~ expands to config dir instead of data dir

When I add a folder in the web interface on my server, it says “The tilde character (~) can be used as a shortcut for /var/syncthing.” However, I have configured this only to be the config directory, not the data directory.

syncthing --config=/var/syncthing --data=/data/syncthing

I interpret the --data directory as the one where I should add data folders, and the --config directory as where configuration is to be stored. So in the dialog box of adding a data directory, I expected ~ to expand in /data/syncthing. Is this correct and is my expectation reasonable?

I am running syncthing through rc(8) on OpenBSD 7.5.

Please check the command line switches explanation at https://docs.syncthing.net/users/syncthing.

These specific two are only relevant for Syncthing’s configuration files and database (and can be merged together using --home). When it comes to the actual folders that you want to sync, you can place them anywhere you want on your disks.

~ expands to whatever your HOME variable is set to. It is unrelated to the commandline switches.

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Thank you for the clarification, tomasz86!

For my convenience, I changed the home directory of the Syncthing user (_syncthing when using the rc script) to /data/syncthing, using vipw(8). Of course, one could contemplate if this is the most elegant or standard, as rc users usually have their HOME below /var, but it is not that important.

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