syncthing

name	syncthing
description	Check Syncthing sync status between devices. Use when asked about sync status, Syncthing issues, or file synchronization.

Syncthing Management

Syncs <SYNC_FOLDER> between <LOCAL_DEVICE> and <REMOTE_DEVICE> bidirectionally.

Setup

Before using this skill, replace the placeholders:

Placeholder	Example	How to find
<SYNC_FOLDER>	~/projects	The folder you're syncing
<LOCAL_DEVICE>	macbook	Your local machine name
<REMOTE_DEVICE>	vps	Remote device name in Syncthing
<FOLDER_ID>	abc12-xyz34	Syncthing GUI → Folder → Edit → General → Folder ID

Quick Reference

• Config: ~/Library/Application Support/Syncthing/config.xml (macOS) or ~/.config/syncthing/config.xml (Linux)
• Ignore patterns: <SYNC_FOLDER>/.stignore
• Web GUI: http://localhost:8384
• Folder ID: <FOLDER_ID>

Status Commands

Check full status

# Service running?
pgrep -x syncthing > /dev/null && echo "Running" || echo "Stopped"

# Web GUI accessible?
curl -s http://localhost:8384/rest/system/status > /dev/null && echo "GUI OK" || echo "GUI unreachable"

Check sync status via API

# Get folder status (requires API key from config.xml)
API_KEY=$(grep -oP '<apikey>\K[^<]+' ~/Library/Application\ Support/Syncthing/config.xml)
curl -s -H "X-API-Key: $API_KEY" "http://localhost:8384/rest/db/status?folder=<FOLDER_ID>"

Key status fields

• state: idle (done), scanning, syncing, error
• needFiles: Files waiting to download (0 = in sync)
• pullErrors: Files that failed to sync
• inSyncFiles vs globalFiles: Local vs total across devices

Healthy sync: needFiles: 0, pullErrors: 0, remote connected

Common Operations

Force rescan (after .stignore changes)

API_KEY=$(grep -oP '<apikey>\K[^<]+' ~/Library/Application\ Support/Syncthing/config.xml)
curl -s -X POST -H "X-API-Key: $API_KEY" "http://localhost:8384/rest/db/scan?folder=<FOLDER_ID>"

Start/stop service (macOS)

# Start
brew services start syncthing

# Stop
brew services stop syncthing

Start/stop service (Linux systemd)

# Start
systemctl --user start syncthing

# Stop
systemctl --user stop syncthing

Common Issues

Case sensitivity errors

macOS is case-insensitive, Linux is case-sensitive. Files like README.md and readme.md conflict.

Fix: Add problematic paths to <SYNC_FOLDER>/.stignore:

// Case conflict files
README.md

Remote not connecting

1. Check remote device has Syncthing running
2. Verify firewall allows ports 22000 (sync) and 21027 (discovery)
3. Check device IDs match in both configs

Sync stuck

# Check for errors
API_KEY=$(grep -oP '<apikey>\K[^<]+' ~/Library/Application\ Support/Syncthing/config.xml)
curl -s -H "X-API-Key: $API_KEY" "http://localhost:8384/rest/folder/errors?folder=<FOLDER_ID>"