@TRPB wrote:
This is just a review really.
I realise NextCloud is a different tool for a somewhat different purpose but I just switched from it to Syncthing and here’s why…
I was using NextCloud for the last year or so to sync my laptop and desktop. I had a cheap VPS running NextCloud as I like not having to have the two devices on at the same time. I can do something on my desktop and pick it up next time I use my laptop whether my desktop is on or not. It’s just convenient (and why I’d chosen NextCloud initially), and having a copy off site is an added bonus (though obviously I have a proper backup of my stuff and I’m not relying on NextCloud or Syncthing as a backup!)
Every 2 days (often more regularly) it would get conflicts even though I never use my desktop and laptop at the same time. Every single time I changed a branch in a git repository, NextClould would complain about conflicts in various files in the .git directory. I guess NextCloud couldn’t keep up with how quickly a large set of small files changed? At first I would manually try to fix the issue. Shortly after, I ignored the errors and just let it sync the other files when it could. I lost count of how many times I had to remove a folder from the NextCloud client and re-add it…
It also took forever to sync. I could see how it worked. It checked every single file against every single file on the server, one at a time, requiring a new HTTP request for each file. Syncing my rather modest 5gb of files would take hours because they’re almost all small source code files. Being familiar with git this puzzled me. Why can’t it see what files have changed then send them as a batch!?
A week ago I tried the same thing with Syncthing and it… just works. If I swithc a git repo it syncs it without complaining about conflicts. And it syncs quickly, it basically maxes out my internet connection.
I’m sold. While NextCloud was a frustrating experience, Syncthing just works. Thanks Syncthing for doing it right, being worryingly easy to use and working as intended.
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