Syncthing File Synchronization

Key Features

• Peer-to-peer file synchronization without central servers or cloud dependency
• End-to-end AES encryption for all synchronized data with perfect forward secrecy
• Real-time conflict detection and resolution with versioning support
• Cross-platform device support including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and FreeBSD
• Selective folder synchronization with ignore patterns and partial sync capabilities
• NGINX reverse proxy with SSL termination and rate limiting for secure web interface access
• Block-level delta sync to minimize bandwidth usage on large files
• Web-based GUI for device management, folder configuration, and sync monitoring

Common Use Cases

• 1Home office setups synchronizing documents between desktop, laptop, and mobile devices
• 2Small development teams sharing code repositories and documentation without GitHub dependency
• 3Photography studios synchronizing RAW files and edited photos across workstations
• 4Family file sharing for photos, videos, and documents without cloud storage fees
• 5Remote workers maintaining synchronized project files across multiple locations
• 6Organizations with data sovereignty requirements keeping files on-premises
• 7Home lab enthusiasts creating personal cloud storage with multiple devices

Prerequisites

• Minimum 256MB RAM available for Syncthing and 64MB for NGINX reverse proxy
• Open ports 8384 (web UI), 22000 (sync protocol), and 21027 (discovery) on firewall
• SSL certificates configured in NGINX for secure remote access to web interface
• Sufficient disk space on sync folders with at least 10% free space buffer
• Network connectivity between all devices that will participate in sync relationships
• Understanding of folder sharing permissions and device trust relationships

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  syncthing: 
3    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/syncthing:latest
4    environment: 
5      PUID: 1000
6      PGID: 1000
7      TZ: ${TZ}
8    ports: 
9      - "8384:8384"
10      - "22000:22000/tcp"
11      - "22000:22000/udp"
12      - "21027:21027/udp"
13    volumes: 
14      - syncthing_config:/config
15      - syncthing_data:/data
16    networks: 
17      - syncthing-net
18    restart: unless-stopped
19
20  nginx: 
21    image: nginx:alpine
22    ports: 
23      - "80:80"
24      - "443:443"
25    volumes: 
26      - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
27    depends_on: 
28      - syncthing
29    networks: 
30      - syncthing-net
31    restart: unless-stopped
32
33volumes: 
34  syncthing_config: 
35  syncthing_data: 
36
37networks: 
38  syncthing-net: 
39    driver: bridge

.env Template

1# Timezone
2TZ=UTC
3
4# User/Group IDs
5PUID=1000
6PGID=1000

Usage Notes

Individual Services(2 services)

Copy individual services to mix and match with your existing compose files.

syncthing:
  image: lscr.io/linuxserver/syncthing:latest
  environment:
    PUID: 1000
    PGID: 1000
    TZ: ${TZ}
  ports:
    - "8384:8384"
    - 22000:22000/tcp
    - 22000:22000/udp
    - 21027:21027/udp
  volumes:
    - syncthing_config:/config
    - syncthing_data:/data
  networks:
    - syncthing-net
  restart: unless-stopped

nginx:
  image: nginx:alpine
  ports:
    - "80:80"
    - "443:443"
  volumes:
    - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
  depends_on:
    - syncthing
  networks:
    - syncthing-net
  restart: unless-stopped

Quick Start

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  syncthing:
5    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/syncthing:latest
6    environment:
7      PUID: 1000
8      PGID: 1000
9      TZ: ${TZ}
10    ports:
11      - "8384:8384"
12      - "22000:22000/tcp"
13      - "22000:22000/udp"
14      - "21027:21027/udp"
15    volumes:
16      - syncthing_config:/config
17      - syncthing_data:/data
18    networks:
19      - syncthing-net
20    restart: unless-stopped
21
22  nginx:
23    image: nginx:alpine
24    ports:
25      - "80:80"
26      - "443:443"
27    volumes:
28      - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
29    depends_on:
30      - syncthing
31    networks:
32      - syncthing-net
33    restart: unless-stopped
34
35volumes:
36  syncthing_config:
37  syncthing_data:
38
39networks:
40  syncthing-net:
41    driver: bridge
42EOF
43
44# 2. Create the .env file
45cat > .env << 'EOF'
46# Timezone
47TZ=UTC
48
49# User/Group IDs
50PUID=1000
51PGID=1000
52EOF
53
54# 3. Start the services
55docker compose up -d
56
57# 4. View logs
58docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/syncthing-file-sync/run | bash

Troubleshooting