For a while now I have been trying to sync text files between several
different devices, including desktop computers running GNU/Linux, and mobile
phones running Lineage (Android). I have tried the following methods:
1) Syncthing - This works well but all devices must be connected to the same
network to sync. This means that it only worked acceptably when one party was
doing this. As soon as more than 1 person is modifying the same files, it
becomes too messy.
2) NextCloud - This works quite well, except for the fact that it does not
auto-sync changes made on the mobile devices. There are some tickets/feature
requests for this feature that have been open for a couple of years
(including a US$500 bounty), but it doesn't look as though any of the people
who are involved in the development are interested in this feature. This
means that every time a file is changed on a mobile, the user needs to load
the NextCloud app, click on the folder properties and click on sync.
Our requirements are the following:
- No need to trust 3rd parties with data. Best case scenario would be a
decentralized encrypted way to share the files. We can consider centralized
storage if the data is encrypted client side, or the repository can be run on
our own server.
- Changes to files need to be pushed either to all other devices or to the
centralized server without having to be on the same network.
- All files are text files.
- All software run by computers, phones and any self-hosted server need to be
free software.
Thanks for any recommendations!
