Syncthing as backup to free up space

I am looking at a way to use syncthing as a way to archive data from a laptop with limited diskspace to a desktop with lots of space.

So on laptop if I have a folder ‘Archive’. I move files/folders there, wait for them to be synced. Then delete them on the laptop to free up space, knowing they are saved on the desktop.

I’m not sure if “Send & Receive Folder” are for this use-case.

There is similar question asked here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Syncthing/comments/dc0o1o/how_to_use_syncthing_as_photos_backup_and_free_up/ Though the recommendation is inconclusive.

Any guidelines appreciated.

First and most important: Syncthing does not replace a proper backup

While it can keep deleted files on one end using a folder versioning policy, i wouldn’t rely on it to keep my important files around.

You need to have some kind of a backup solution on the desktop that would properly move/archive the files. Otherwise, they will be gone as soon as you delete them on the laptop. As said above, you can use Versioning in Syncthing to keep the deleted files around temporarily, but you will still likely need to move them somewhere else later.

Hi Thomasz

Thanks for the update/info.

I see that Syncthing is not really aimed at this use case. I can perhaps create a script around rsync [there is an option “–remove-source-files”]

If you want to do everything though Syncthing, you can also set the Versioning to use a custom folder to keep the deleted files in, or alternatively you can use the External Versioning to move the files to a completely different location.

@JungleSync why don’t you turn your idea around?
Create folder “MoveToArchive” (send/receive) and sync it with Syncthing to desktop.
On desktop create script that moves all files to real archive outside of syncthing folder.
Now whenever you need space all you have to do is move files to this folder on laptop.

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