How to delete folder with REST API

rmacyn · June 25, 2021, 5:14pm

Hey Guys, in my application it’s possible to have thousands of shared folders. What’s the best approach to deleting individual folders with the REST API?

Note: The docs say to “PUT” the full config JSON object back (with removed folder object) but this seems like a really inefficient way to remove folders?

Thanks in advance

AudriusButkevicius · June 25, 2021, 5:58pm

It’s not documented, but it seems

https://docs.syncthing.net/rest/config.html#rest-config-folders-id-rest-config-devices-id

does support DELETE:

github.com

syncthing/syncthing/blob/52eb7392c4ba65387a3a2de2b5018362b510be7e/lib/api/confighandler.go#L146




	c.Handle(http.MethodPatch, path, func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, p httprouter.Params) {
		folder, ok := c.cfg.Folder(p.ByName("id"))
		if !ok {
			http.Error(w, "No folder with given ID", http.StatusNotFound)
			return
		}
		c.adjustFolder(w, r, folder, false)
	})


	c.Handle(http.MethodDelete, path, func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request, p httprouter.Params) {
		waiter, err := c.cfg.RemoveFolder(p.ByName("id"))
		if err != nil {
			http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusBadRequest)
			return
		}
		c.finish(w, waiter)
	})
}


func (c *configMuxBuilder) registerDevice(path string) {

rmacyn · June 25, 2021, 6:25pm

Yeah, good point !!!

I was just expecting some type of “/rest/config/folders/delete=” API call?

Maybe something will be available in a future release ?

rmacyn · June 25, 2021, 6:33pm

Hmm, I just tried a GET of “/rest/config/folders”, removed a folder from the JSON array and PUT the modified JSON back … but it appears that the folder was not removed !!!

Trying a few other things …

imsodin · June 25, 2021, 6:42pm

That would be a DELETE on /rest/config/folders/<folder-id>.

PUT on /rest/config/folders merges existing folders with the given folders, i.e. doesn’t remove any.

rmacyn · June 25, 2021, 6:49pm

Thanks for the response Simon.

So would a CURL DELETE on /rest/config/folders/ work you think?

I tried this and appears to work:

GET “/rest/config” object
Remove folder in question from “folders” JSON array
PUT back “/rest/config” object

I’ll have to protect this logic with a mutex but should work !!

BTW, is the Synching REST API thread safe ? (from application’s point of view)

-R

imsodin · June 25, 2021, 6:54pm

That’s what I tried to express with this:

Can you please explain, where the uncertainty is coming from.

It is technically thread safe, however if you have a lot of requests outstanding in parallel, the config changes aren’t necessarily applied in the order you sent off the request. Internally there is a queue, if you manage to have more than 1000 outstanding modifications, further modifications will result in an error.

rmacyn · June 25, 2021, 7:14pm

Hey Simon,

Sorry, I understand what you meant by DELETE now

I just tried a CURL request using DELETE and it works great !!!

BTW, we’re completely integrating Syncthing into our product (SquidNet Render Manager: https://www.squidnetsoftware.com).

Thanks for the awesome help !!!