simplypeachy
dc699980c7
Minor grammatical improvements, cleaned up some sentences and added a few useful sentences. Mention of the requirement of browser cookies as these seem to trip up some new users, looking at the forum and reddit.
140 lines
6.9 KiB
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140 lines
6.9 KiB
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.. _getting-started:
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Getting Started
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===============
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For this guide let's assume you have two machines between which you want
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to synchronise files. In keeping with Syncthing terminology they are
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going to be called "devices" in the rest of the documentation. The
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"local device" is the one you are configuring, viewing status for, etc,
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while the "remote device" is the other machine.
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The best way to follow this guide is to do the install on both machines
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and configure them in parallel. If both machines aren't accessible
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simultaneously that's fine, the results will just be a little less
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immediately obvious.
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A film version of this transcript is available on YouTube (contributed by
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@theincogtion). `This video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foTxCfhxVLE>`__
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shows how to install Syncthing on Ubuntu/Debian/Mint using PPA, also available
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in `German <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh5nUlDzqJc>`__. `This video
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<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QcO8ikxzxA>`__ shows how to install Syncthing
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on Windows, also available in `German
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<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LziT3KDiMU>`__
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Installing
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----------
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We suggest you have a look at the :ref:`contributions` which let
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you pick a flavor of Syncthing that best fits your scenario. For example, if you
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are interested in a cross-platform GUI application you can check out
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`Syncthing-GTK`_. The community has also developed Windows, Android and many
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more specific flavors that help you run Syncthing on your devices. Currently
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all community flavors run the same Syncthing core underneath, so don't worry
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about changing your flavor at a later point in time. The remainder of this page
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will explain how to set up two devices with the core Syncthing flavor.
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.. _`Syncthing-GTK`: https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing-gtk
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Syncthing
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~~~~~~~~~
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Grab the `latest release`_ of Syncthing for your operating system and unpack
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it. There will be a binary called ``syncthing`` (or ``syncthing.exe`` on
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Windows). Start this in whatever way you are most comfortable with;
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double-clicking should work in any graphical environment, but I'll use the
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terminal to better illustrate what happens. At first start Syncthing will
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generate a configuration file, some keys and then start the admin GUI in your
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browser. Something like the following will be printed in the terminal::
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$ syncthing
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[monitor] 15:56:58 INFO: Starting syncthing
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15:56:58 INFO: Generating RSA key and certificate for syncthing...
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[ANSMX] 15:57:05 INFO: syncthing v0.10.14 (go1.4 darwin-amd64 default) jb@syno...
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[ANSMX] 15:57:05 INFO: My ID: ANSMXYD-E6CF3JC-TCVPYGF-GXJPHSJ-MKUXBUQ-ZSPOKXH-...
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[ANSMX] 15:57:05 INFO: No config file; starting with empty defaults
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[ANSMX] 15:57:05 INFO: Edit gs1/config.xml to taste or use the GUI
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[ANSMX] 15:57:05 INFO: Starting web GUI on http://127.0.0.1:8384/
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[ANSMX] 15:57:05 INFO: Loading HTTPS certificate: open gs1/https-cert.pem: no ...
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[ANSMX] 15:57:05 INFO: Creating new HTTPS certificate
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[ANSMX] 15:57:05 INFO: Generating RSA key and certificate for syno...
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[ANSMX] 15:57:07 INFO: Starting UPnP discovery...
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[ANSMX] 15:57:13 INFO: UPnP discovery complete (found 0 devices).
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[ANSMX] 15:57:13 INFO: Starting local discovery announcements
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[ANSMX] 15:57:13 INFO: Local discovery over IPv4 unavailable
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[ANSMX] 15:57:13 INFO: Starting global discovery announcements
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[ANSMX] 15:57:13 OK: Ready to synchronize default (read-write)
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[ANSMX] 15:57:13 INFO: Device ANSMXYD-E6CF3JC-TCVPYGF-GXJPHSJ-MKUXBUQ-ZSPOKXH-...
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[ANSMX] 15:57:13 INFO: Completed initial scan (rw) of folder default
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At this point Syncthing will also have set up a folder called
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``default`` for you, in a directory called ``Sync`` in your home
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directory. You can use this as a starting point, then remove it or add
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more folders later.
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.. _`latest release`: https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/latest
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Configuring
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-----------
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The admin GUI starts automatically and remains available on
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``https://localhost:8384/``. Cookies are essential to the correct functioning of the GUI; please ensure your browser accepts them. It should look something like this:
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.. image:: gs1.png
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On the left is the list of "folders", or directories to synchronize. You
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can see the ``default`` folder was created for you, and it's currently
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marked "Unshared" since it's not yet shared with any other device. On
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the right is the list of devices. Currently there is only one device:
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the computer you are running this on.
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For Syncthing to be able to synchronize files with another device, it
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must be told about that device. This is accomplished by exchanging
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"device IDs". A device ID is a unique, cryptographically-secure
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identifier that is generated as part of the key generation the first
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time you start Syncthing. It is printed in the log above, and you can
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see it in the web GUI by selecting the "gear menu" (top right) and "Show
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ID".
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Two devices will *only* connect and talk to each other if they are both configured with each other's device ID. Since the configuration must be mutual for
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a connection to happen, device IDs don't need to be kept secret. They are essentially part of the public key.
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To get your two devices to talk to each other click "Add Device" at the
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bottom right on both, and enter the device ID of the other side. You
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should also select the folder(s) that you want to share. The device name is optional and purely cosmetic. It can be changed later if required.
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.. image:: gs2.png
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Once you click "Save" the new device will appear on right side of the
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GUI (although disconnected) and a prompt will be shown to indicate the
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need for a restart.
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.. image:: gs3.png
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Syncthing needs to be restarted for some configuration changes to take
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effect, such as sharing folders with new devices. When you click
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"Restart" Syncthing will first restart:
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.. image:: gs4.png
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...and then connect to the new device after a minute or so. Remember to repeat this step for the other device.
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.. image:: gs5.png
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At this point the two devices share an empty directory. Adding files to
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the shared directory on either device will synchronize those files to the
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other side. Each device scans for changes every 60 seconds, so changes
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can take a little over a minute to propagate to the other side, although some contributed wrappers may include file system "watcher" features. The
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rescan interval can be changed for each folder by clicking on a folder,
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clicking "Edit" and entering a new value for "Rescan Interval".
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--------------
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Good luck and have fun! There is more
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`documentation <http://docs.syncthing.net/>`__ and if you run into
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trouble feel free to post a question in the `support
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forum <https://forum.syncthing.net/c/support>`__. If you have
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problems getting devices to connect, first take a look at :ref:`firewall-setup`, then
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look at any error messages in the GUI or on the console and if necessary
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move on to :ref:`debugging`. Don't forget that configuration changes will not be reflected instantly - give Syncthing a little time, especially after a restart.
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