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Syncthing smart home integration, free and open source

Syncthing integration for Gladys Assistant

Your Syncthing folders and devices in Gladys, and scenes when a sync ends or fails.

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Syncthing keeps folders in sync between your computers, phones and NAS, peer to peer, without a cloud. This integration brings it into Gladys: each folder becomes a device showing whether it is up to date, its progress and its errors, with a switch to pause it; each remote device (laptop, phone, other NAS) shows whether it is connected, its transfer rates and for how long it has been away. Scenes can react when a folder finishes syncing or fails, and a dashboard widget sums it all up.

Tested against real Syncthing 1.30.0, 2.0.10 and 2.1.6 (two linked instances); not yet in every setup: feedback welcome on the issues.

What you need​

  • Gladys Assistant 5.1.0 or later.
  • Syncthing 1.12 or later (tested on 1.30 and 2.x), on a machine Gladys can reach on the local network: usually your NAS or home server.
  • The API key of that Syncthing.

The integration follows one Syncthing: the one on your server. Your other devices appear as its remote devices, you install nothing on them.

Getting started​

1. Prepare Syncthing​

In the Syncthing web interface, open Actions → Settings → GUI:

  • copy the API Key;
  • set GUI Listen Address to 0.0.0.0:8384. By default Syncthing only answers on 127.0.0.1, which Gladys, in its own container, cannot reach. With the interface open to the network, set a GUI Authentication User and password if not done yet: the API key still works for Gladys.

Syncthing in Docker (linuxserver, official image): publish port 8384 and keep the listen address of the image (0.0.0.0:8384).

2. Configure the integration​

In Gladys, Integrations → Syncthing → Configuration:

  • Syncthing address: for example http://192.168.1.10:8384. A bare IP address works too (http:// and port 8384 are added).
  • API key: the key of step 1.
  • Accept self-signed certificates: only for an https:// address, when the interface uses the certificate Syncthing generated itself ("Use HTTPS for GUI").
  • Language of the names: the language of the feature names and of the folder states (French by default).

Save, then click Test the connection: Syncthing answers with its version, its folders and its remote devices.

3. Add the folders and devices​

Open the Discover tab: every folder and every remote device of Syncthing is proposed. Add the ones you want to see in Gladys; nothing is added on your behalf. A folder or device added later in Syncthing appears there by itself.

The device of each folder​

FeatureValue
StateUp to date, Syncing, Scanning, Out of sync, Error, Paused
Up to dateOn when the folder has everything, Off otherwise (nothing while paused)
ProgressThe share of the folder this Syncthing holds, in percent
Left to receiveWhat is still to download, in megabytes
Failed itemsThe files Syncthing could not sync ("Failed Items" in its interface)
Last file syncedThe last file received (marked "(deleted)" for a deletion)
PausedA switch: on pauses the folder in Syncthing, off resumes it

"Out of sync" means the folder lacks something but nothing is coming: the device that has it is offline. "Error" covers both a folder stopped on an error (a missing folder marker, a full disk) and failed items.

While a sync runs, the progress, the megabytes left and the last file are sent to Gladys at most every 30 seconds, their last value always: a large sync stays far below the 300 values per minute Gladys accepts.

The device of each remote device​

FeatureValue
ConnectedOn while the device is connected to your Syncthing
PausedA switch: on pauses the device in Syncthing (no exchange), off resumes it
DownloadWhat your Syncthing receives from it, in kB/s
UploadWhat your Syncthing sends to it, in kB/s
Offline forHours since it was last seen (0 while connected)

"Offline for" is a number: a scene trigger on that device "above 24" answers "my laptop has not synced for a day" without anything else.

Dashboard​

Add the Syncthing widget to a dashboard. It shows:

  • the folders up to date (for example 2/3, red when one is in error);
  • the devices connected, and the total Download and Upload rates;
  • one row per folder and per remote device, the problems first: folders in error, out of sync, devices offline (since how long), then syncing (with the percentage), paused, up to date — ten rows at most, then the count of the others;
  • three buttons: Rescan (every folder), Pause all (asks to confirm) and Resume all, depending on the state of the folders.

The widget shows every folder and device of Syncthing, added to Gladys or not. In its settings, Show keeps folders only or devices only.

Scenes​

Triggers​

They fire for every folder, added to Gladys or not. Leave Folder empty to react to any of them, or choose one.

  • Folder synced: a folder received what it was missing and is up to date again. Only a real transfer counts: scans and index updates never fire it. Variables: folder name, files received.
  • Sync error: a folder stopped on an error, or some of its files failed to sync. Once per problem: Syncthing retries every minute, the trigger does not repeat until the folder is clean again. Variables: folder name, failed items, error message (the reason of Syncthing, with the file).

The first reading after a start only takes note: a folder already failing when Gladys starts fires nothing.

Actions​

  • Pause folders: pauses one folder, or every folder when Folder is empty. Result: the number of folders paused.
  • Resume folders: resumes one paused folder, or every one. Result: the number of folders resumed.
  • Rescan folders: asks Syncthing to look for changes now, in one folder or every one (a long scan carries on after the action). Result: the number of folders rescanned.

Nothing here deletes anything: a paused folder keeps its files and resumes where it stopped.

Scene ideas​

  • Photos backed up: trigger "Folder synced" on the Photos folder → send a message "📷 … photos received on the NAS", inserting "Files received".
  • Something is wrong: trigger "Sync error" (Folder empty) → send a message "⚠️ … : …" with "Folder name" and "Error message".
  • Video call in peace: a scene started from a dashboard button → "Pause folders" (Folder empty); a second one, or a delay of one hour → "Resume folders".
  • Laptop forgotten: trigger on the device "laptop", feature "Offline for", above 72 → send a message "The laptop has not synced for three days".

How the integration reads Syncthing​

  • Live: the event API of Syncthing (/rest/events, a request held open until something happens) brings the folder states, the progress, the files received, the errors, the pauses and the devices connecting or leaving.
  • Every 30 seconds: the connections (for the transfer rates, which no event carries) and when each device was last seen.
  • Every 5 minutes, and after a change in the configuration of Syncthing: everything again, as a safety net. The summary of a folder is the one call the documentation of Syncthing calls expensive on large folders: it is read that rarely. If the event API does not work (a proxy that cuts long requests), everything is read every 30 seconds instead.

Syncthing sets no request quota on its API. The integration only writes when you ask: pause, resume, rescan.

Troubleshooting​

  • "Syncthing does not answer": check the address and the port from the Gladys machine, and that the GUI listen address is 0.0.0.0:8384 (step 1). localhost is the integration container itself: use the IP address of the machine running Syncthing.
  • "API key refused": copy the key again from Actions → Settings → GUI (it changes when you click "Generate").
  • "Syncthing refuses this host name": the interface listens on 127.0.0.1 behind a reverse proxy: use the IP address, or open the interface on 0.0.0.0.
  • "Certificate refused": the interface uses HTTPS with its own certificate; tick "Accept self-signed certificates".
  • "The address redirects": the interface is in HTTPS: type https://.
  • "No Syncthing at this address": another service answers on that port.
  • A folder stays "Out of sync": the device holding the missing files is offline; it catches up when it comes back.
  • "Test the connection" says the live updates are unavailable: a proxy between Gladys and Syncthing cuts the requests held open; the integration still works, refreshed every 30 seconds.

Limits​

  • One Syncthing per integration: the one Gladys reaches.
  • The progress and the rates are refreshed every 30 seconds at most.
  • "Folder synced" fires on the Syncthing that receives the files: on the one that sends them (a laptop sending its photos to the NAS), it does not fire.
  • Ignore patterns, versioning, conflicts and the sharing of folders stay in the Syncthing interface; the integration never deletes a file.
  • Gladys freezes the feature names at creation: changing the language later only changes the folder states and the newly added devices.

Configuration settings​

These are the settings Syncthing asks for in its configuration screen in Gladys.

SettingTypeRequiredDescription
Your SyncthingsectionNoIn Syncthing, open Actions → Settings → GUI: copy the API key and set the GUI listen address to 0.0.0.0:8384 so that Gladys can reach it. Then add the folders and devices to follow from the Discover tab.
Syncthing addressstringYesThe address of the Syncthing web interface, port included (8384 by default).
API keysecretYesActions → Settings → GUI → API Key in Syncthing.
Accept self-signed certificatesbooleanNoOnly for an https:// address with the certificate Syncthing generated itself.
Language of the namesselectNoFeature names and folder states, as Gladys shows them.

How to install Syncthing in Gladys​

  1. In Gladys, open Integrations: Syncthing appears in the catalog, next to the native integrations, with a community badge.
  2. Click Install. Gladys pulls the Docker image (ghcr.io/guim31/gladys-syncthing:1.0.1), starts it in a sandbox isolated from the core, and generates the integration's interface (devices, discovery and configuration).
  3. Open the Configuration screen of the integration, fill in the settings, and save.
  4. You can also install it directly from its repository URL: https://github.com/guim31/gladys-syncthing.

Syncthing requires Gladys >=5.1.0. The catalog inside Gladys refreshes every hour, so a new version becomes available at most one hour after its release.

Not running Gladys yet? It is free and open source: follow the installation guide to get started.

About external integrations​

Syncthing is an external integration: a community integration packaged as a Docker container and published on GitHub, that Gladys installs in one click and runs in a sandbox isolated from its core. It is published and maintained by guim31, not by the Gladys core team.

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