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Syncthing – a continuous file synchronization program

syncthing.net Software & code Software projects Web & internet Class of 2021-10 Hall of Fame
Screenshot of syncthing.net captured 2026-07-20
Page preview · captured 2026-07-20

Resurfaced independently across 9 calendar years, with breakout response in 3 of them.

submissions
14
submitters
13
observed span
2014–2024
peak thread · 230 comments
623 pts
latest 20+ return · 2024-08-18
61 pts

Submission timeline

2007–2026

One slot for every year since HN launched. Height is that year's peak points; orange marks a 100+ point or 50+ comment breakout. Select a bar to open its strongest thread.

First comments on top threads

HN comment order

Can we please please please make it a standard that synchronization tools spell out how they handle conflicts on the front page. Bittorrent Sync just overwrites files based on last mod time (terrible option). What does this do? Does it support backups? Versioning?

XorNot·623-point thread·

Syncthing works brilliantly! The web UI is excellent, warns you when you're about to do something ill-advised, and stuff like QR codes makes adding clients and folders fairly easy. The separation between folders and devices is handled well. You can easily have half a dozen shared folders between several computers with any mix-and-match combination including which one is 'authoritative' and so on. I used to use it on Android to keep my 'camera roll' synced to my desktop. I preferred…

Best sync software in my view. The only downside is that there is no good iOS app. I think the developers made the right decision focusing the software on peer to peer sync (i.e., not expanding to nearby “cloud features”: backup, photos, videos, office, etc).

aborsy·313-point thread·

I've been using the syncthing for years, and in my opinion it's so much better than a solution like Dropbox. If you want, everything can be done on your lan, it offers encryption, compression, and the ton of customizability. You can synchronize directories individually, and ignore certain files. It's from a centralized option like Dropbox, since it's not using a single location to store your files, but if you want a "centralized" set up you can still make it work…

The first top-level comment from each of the four biggest threads, in HN’s own order. Excerpts are shortened; open a comment for full context.

Breakout years
3

100+ points or 50+ comments

Total points
1637

reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking

Total comments
604

reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking

Every submission