Sync from system drive to external HD

Hi there! I just installed, and am going through the documentation. I am not seeing a way to sync some local folders (documents, pictures, etc.) to an external HD on the same host. I copied over the setup file and tried installing from the external HD, hoping the install would see it as a separate instance and give it a unique ID, but, alas…

Is this possible?

Thanks!

No. It’s an open feature request but not what Syncthing does today.

Sounds like FreeFileSync might be a better fit for your setup.

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Got it! Glad it wasn’t just me being daft! :slight_smile:

Thanks!

Well, I initially used FreeFileSync. It works well, but it’s slooow! It checks Every. Single. File. for changes before deciding on what to copy over (and if you delete a file at the source, it doesn’t delete it at the destination). For someone like me, a non-programmer, I guess a brute-force attack like that makes sense. But. there must be a better way using a hash or something. I did try the RealTimeSync module, and now I can’t remember why I stopped. Maybe a re-install/re-evaluation is in order…

Thanks!

Maybe Unison?

For local files FreeFileSync/Unison are much easier and faster than running two Syncthing instances.

You were doing something wrong - the default settings should just work. Try again and only change settings if you know what you are doing:

I use rsync for this. So I basically have a script that mounts the external drive and copies all directories I care about to the external drive with rsync for each source/destination combination. It is fast in making the decision on whether to copy a file or not and can be tweaked as needed.

I think using Syncthing for that (with its internal DB, two-way-syncing, conflict resolution, …) would be an overkill for backups like that (even if it was supported).

I think you need to look into the configuration of FreeFileSync. The default is to check only modified time when comparing files, but there is indeed an option to compare file hashes (and that one does take a lot of time). In the configuration, you can also choose whether you want two-way sync, one-way mirror, etc., and what to do with deleted files.

Wow, this has to be one of the most helpful, responsive forums I’ve come across in recent years. Thanks to all for the input! I’ll revisit FFS and pay closer attention to my settings.

Thanks again!

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