Syncthing

Decentralized Application

A continuous file synchronisation program that keeps folders identical across two or more computers in real time, directly between devices and with no central server. Devices are identified by a cryptographic certificate fingerprint (the Device ID); only devices a user has explicitly accepted can connect, and all traffic is encrypted with TLS including forward secrecy. Devices find each other on the local network or, optionally, through global discovery servers, and can fall back to community relay servers when no direct connection is possible. The protocol is a documented specification, the code is open source and development is public. It is maintained under the Syncthing Foundation, a registered Swedish non-profit foundation .

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Details

License Weak copyleft (MPL-2.0). https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing (Go)
Dev Status 🟢 Active
Owner Syncthing Foundation, a registered Swedish non-profit foundation whose bylaws state its purpose as maintaining and encouraging the development and use of Syncthing; the project's lead developer authors most commits
Governing Body Syncthing Foundation (registered Swedish non-profit foundation)
Country Sweden (the Syncthing Foundation is a registered Swedish non-profit foundation)
Start Year 2013
Stack Go (with a web GUI in JavaScript); TLS-encrypted device connections identified by certificate fingerprints; a documented protocol; local and global discovery servers; relay servers
Funding Donations, per the project's donation page; no other funding is stated
Last Investigated Oct 29, 2026

Use Case Domains

Platform Evolution & Sovereignty

Affordances

Local-first storage Data portability Self-hostable

Decentralized Application Attributes

Origins File synchronisation without a cloud provider: private, encrypted and open, where users choose where data is stored and who can see it
Database Local index database on each device; no shared server
Query Language N/A
Data Formats Files and folders synchronised through the project's documented open protocol; the repository includes protocol-buffer definitions
Collaborative Live Editing N/A
Rich Text Editing Not stated by the project.
Mobile Support Not stated by the project.
Web Support A local web GUI for configuration; no hosted web client
Native Apps Desktop applications for several operating systems
Terms Free and open source (MPL-2.0); donations are accepted
Funds Not stated by the project.
Based On TLS with certificate-fingerprint device identities, and the project's own documented protocol
Use Case Category File and folder synchronisation between personal devices and trusted peers
User Interface Type Web GUI served locally by the program
Offline Capabilities Full: files are local and synchronise when devices can reach each other, on the local network or over the internet
Collaboration Features Shared folders between accepted devices
Data Portability High: files remain ordinary files in the user's folders
Integration Ecosystem Not stated by the project.
Web2 Data Export Not stated by the project.
Prosocial Coherence Not stated by the project.
Economic Flows None: no payment, token or marketplace feature.
Governance & Decision Making A foundation with a lead developer; development is open, with an issue tracker, forum and goals document
Media / Publishing N/A
Knowledge Management N/A
Sensemaking N/A
Project Management N/A
Communication Model Direct encrypted connections between devices, with global discovery servers and relays as optional helpers
Network Resilience Works on a local network without any external server; relays and discovery servers are optional and can be self-hosted
Discovery Mechanism Local discovery on the network, plus global discovery servers that map a Device ID to an address; the documentation discusses the information this reveals
Max Participants Not stated by the project.
Data Sovereignty High: data stays on the user's own devices and only accepted devices can connect