This is a revised version of a post I shared on Hubzilla about how I recently set up a new home server, highlighting how Syncthing plays a central role in my “family cloud”.
Family data sync. My wife and I run Cyanogenmod on our phones, and I installed Syncthing from F-droid on each. After also installing Syncthing on the server, I introduced all three devices and created a separate shared folder between each phone and the server that automatically syncs photos and videos from the phones to the server. A simple shell script periodically copies the new files into our central data storage folder, sorting by year and month.
Other shared documents and files are in a third Syncthing share, which includes both of our laptops and the server. While the photos are a one way sync from phones to server, this third share is a collaborative share (all three devices are in “send and receive” mode) so that we can each edit and add/remove files.
Family data backup. All of the shares enabled by Syncthing as well as the rest of family data is backed up by the SpiderOakONE app running on the server. I pay for the 1TB storage plan. SpiderOak seems to be about as trustworthy as a company can be, and the peace of mind that our memories and documents can be restored in the event of catastrophe is well worth the price.
Syncthing drastically reduces the complexity of backups and file sharing for us, and I enjoy using and supporting software that is open and that I can trust for my private data. Thanks Syncthing developers!