I switched from Dropbox to Syncthing today. Much better experience than I expected. Within a hour I had several devices perfectly syncing my folders. I’m amazed at how much better it is than Dropbox.
I loved dropbox when I started with it 12 years ago. It solved a problem I had - syncing my files across devices - and did so while staying out of my way. The daemon was efficient, it did one thing and did it well.
Last week, my 2012 MacBook died (GPU issues), and I got a new M1 MacBook air. While installing Dropbox, I realized how far Dropbox had strayed from its original simplicity. A few observations:
With Syncthing, I found my Dropbox replacement. Reviews were generally positive and I thought: “Let’s give this a go”.
Now, its easy to assume that commercial software tends to have the better user experience (I’m looking at you, GIMP). So, I was expecting Syncthing to have some rough edges. I told myself that getting away from Dropbox would make it worth the effort.
As it turns out: in the case of Syncthing, there are almost no rough edges. Yes, its slightly more technical to setup file sharing than Dropbox. But, you don’t need to know much more than installing from APT or Homebrew and how folders work, and then its as easy as can be. Upside?
If you’re looking for a free and open source file sharing service, I highly recommend it. If you are already using Syncthing, consider donating to support their continued development.