ubuntu 18.04 hw2018 server syncthing systemd

syncthing is a FOSS decentralized file sync software, and is even available for most proprietary operating system.

Let’s see how to install it as a systemd user service.

Setup

1. Enable systemd service for the user running syncthing:

    sudo loginctl enable-linger pim
   

2. Add the package (borrowed from https://apt.syncthing.net/) :

    # Add the release PGP keys:
    curl -s https://syncthing.net/release-key.txt | sudo apt-key add -
       
    # Add the "stable" channel to your APT sources:
    echo "deb https://apt.syncthing.net/ syncthing stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/syncthing.list
       
    # Update and install syncthing:
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install syncthing
   

3. Create the user service :

    # make sure the systemd user directory exists
    mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
   
    # create the service file
    cat >~/.config/systemd/user/syncthing <<EOL
    [Unit]
    Description=Syncthing - Open Source Continuous File Synchronization
    Documentation=man:syncthing(1)
   
    [Service]
    ExecStart=/usr/bin/syncthing -no-browser -logflags=0
    Restart=on-failure
    SuccessExitStatus=3 4
    RestartForceExitStatus=3 4
    Nice=19
    IOSchedulingClass=idle
   
    [Install]
    WantedBy=default.target
    EOL
   

4. Enable and start the service

    systemctl --user enable syncthing
    systemctl --user start syncthing
   

Web interface

The web interface is available at http://localhost:8384

Listening ports

syncthing will work behind a NAT, but will use public relays. For faster operation, have a look at the syncthing documentation about firewalls.

Details

For more details, here is a post about user services.

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