TLDR: 2 questions. how do I reconnect and how big a folder can I sync?
I’m a newbie to Linux and not very IT savvy so please be gentle with me. My IT person suggested syncthing. I put too many files in it and the connection broke. Afterwards he told me I can’t put gigabytes of data into the syncthing folders, it’s just for my “current projects” but I do in fact need access to gigabytes of data, and he won’t really give me a steer on how much data I can put in the folders so I don’t break it again.
I’ve deleted everything on the lower powered laptop that disconnected and on the better laptop moved everything back out of the sync folder. I want to start again but smaller, please help?
The link I had in firefox is saying “firefox can’t establish a connection to the server” and on my other laptop browser portal it says it’s disconnected. I haven’t got a clue where to look for instructions on how to reconnect. I’m slowly figuring out how to do stuff on linux but i’m so new to all this.
Feel free to tell me I’m in over my head and I need to uninstall, I won’t take offence!
Can you post screenshots of the Syncthing web GUI from both sides?
What is the hardware? Syncthing itself can handle a lot of data, but if the hardware is weak, you will have issues trying to sync too much (e.g. the more data you try to sync, the more RAM Syncthing will use).
If you cannot access the other side at all, then this likely means that Syncthing isn’t running there at all. How have you installed Syncthing? Is it set to auto start on boot?
I’m also seeing that your system is Debian-based, and your Syncthing version, coming from the official Debian repository, is quite outdated. You may want to have a look at https://apt.syncthing.net and switch to our official v2 releases instead.
Also, I’d say that the hardware is more than capable to sync at least a few terrabytes worth of data.
At the mercy of IT guy I’m afraid so I don’t know how it was set up but that’s helpful info, thank you so much. It was working but yeah you’re right it stopped working entirely and restarting hasn’t helped.
I don’t know if I have the skill to switch without making a hash of it, I’m definitely at the “I can do things in the terminal if I’m given blow by blow instructions but I don’t know what any of it means” stage. At the same time I feel like I might need to get real competent real quick or simply uninstall it
Once properly set up, you don’t really need to touch the command line at all, as everything can be configured via the web GUI. You do need to have Syncthing running first though . It would also be nice if you do manage to switch to the official release channel, as otherwise you’ll always end up running outdated versions .
Actually the APT instructions are quite straightforward. Just copy / paste the bold lines into your terminal and press Enter. You should pick the stable-v2 variant, not the candidates though.
When that is finished, it’s one more command to make Syncthing run automatically after you log in.
Thank you, that’s very kind and encouraging, but I’m new enough not to understand what “You should pick the stable-v2 variant, not the candidates though.” means and also “When that is finished, it’s one more command to make Syncthing run automatically after you log in.”
Well if you actuall read the instructions, it says:
The stable-v2 channel is updated with stable release builds, usually every first Tuesday of the month.
The candidate channel is updated with release candidate builds, usually every second Tuesday of the month. These predate the corresponding stable builds by about three weeks.
I recommend to use the stable channel, so that command is correct instead of the one below it. To summarize, copy / paste these commands in a terminal, one after another:
Thank you so much for setting that out for me, I really appreciate it. I did actually read the instructions but the trouble is when you don’t know what a lot of the words mean it’s more ambiguous than it may appear to someone who does. I’m sorry but I’m really new to this and the language is so alien.
. It would also be nice if you do manage to switch to the official release channel, as otherwise you’ll always end up running outdated versions 
.