Windows AutoStart

General
1

Relatively new user, love SyncThing!

I found what to me is a serious issue with the Windows install. Contrary to all documentation, SyncThing v1.27.3 DOES automatically start under Windows. I installed it (I think with the install package, but don’t really remember) on two separate windows boxes, and both had a new entry SynthThing Service, and a new User Account SyncthingServiceAcct. Someone obviously did a lot of good work on this. [I didn’t notice any of this at first- no indication that it happened].

There are two reasons this creates problems:

  1. I followed the instructions re auto starting SyncThing and created a link in my startup folder, which worked swimmingly. Since the service was also running (unbeknownst to me), I had TWO instances of SyncThing going. (I did notice that there were now two separate GUI ports, 8384 and 50230 which had different configurations, but it seemed just a curiosity). In fact everything worked great – until I rebooted. Then both windows boxes could not connect - each was getting the “Unexpected Device ID” error. And I spent most of Saturday PM trying to find where this strange device Id originated (hint: the service created its own, separate device ID for the box). I was searching in the configuration file I had started.

  2. (This is the serious? one) On the SyncThing AutoStart page, in a red outline box, is a security warning about starting SyncThing as a service. I had already spent some time locking my config down, but it seems a security issue to have that type of warning, and then setup SyncThing by default to start as a service.

Thanks for all the hard work!

2

I would encourage you to read the documentation for Syncthing Windows Setup:

If you install for all users (admin), Synching Windows Setup will install Syncthing as a Windows service, but if you install for the current user only, it will create a scheduled task that starts Syncthing when you log on.

In other words: When you use Syncthing Windows Setup, you don’t need extra instructions for starting Syncthing automatically; the whole point of the installer is to run it automatically based on how you install it.

1 Like
3

I must have downloaded the Windows Installed without realizing it. I thought I had just downloaded the “raw” SyncThing. But those instructions are exactly how it behaved, so that must be it. Thanks.