TrueNAS Apps: TutorialsApplication maintenance is independent from TrueNAS version release cycles.
App versions, features, options, and installation behavior at time of access might vary from documented tutorials and UI reference.
Syncthing (Enterprise)
14 minute read.
This article provides information on installing and using the TrueNAS Syncthing app.
TrueNAS has two versions of the Syncthing application, the offical version in the stable train and a smaller version tested and polished for a safe and supportable experience for enterprise customers in the enterprise train. Community members can install either the enterprise or official stable version.
Syncthing is a file synchronization application that provides a simple and secure environment for file sharing between different devices and locations. Use it to synchronize files between different departments, teams, or remote workers.
Syncthing is tested and validated to work in harmony with TrueNAS platforms and underlying technologies such as ZFS to offer a turnkey means of keeping data across many systems. It can seamlessly integrate with TrueNAS.
Syncthing does not use or need a central server or cloud storage. All data is encrypted and synchronized directly between devices to ensure files are protected from unauthorized access.
Syncthing is easy to use and configure. You can install on a wide range of operating systems, including Windows, MacOS, Linux, FreeBSD, iOS or Android. The Syncthing web UI provides users with easy management and configuration of the application software.
Users migrating data from an existing third-party NAS solution to TrueNAS 24.04 (Dragonfish) or newer can use the Syncthing enterprise application to mount the source with a remote SMB share that preserves metadata.
See Third-Party SMB Data Migration for considerations and a full tutorial.
Enterprise users with the appropriate licenese can see the apps in the enterprise train. Community users can access enterprise versions of apps by adding the enterprise train to their catalog. To change app train settings:
Go to Apps, click on Configuration at the top of the Installed applications screen, and select Settings to open the train Settings screen.
You can also access the Installed scren from the Discover screen by clicking on Manage Installed Apps at the top of the screen.
Select enterprise to add it to the list of trains, and then click Save.
After changing train settings, return to the Discover screen and click Refresh Catalog.
Before launching the app installation wizard, do the following:
Create a self-signed certificate for the Syncthing enterprise app.
Create the required datasets, home and data1.
Syncthing stores configuration home dataset and app data in the data1 dataset.
Create the two datasets before beginning the app installation process. You can organize these under a parent dataset to keep the Syncthing storage datasets separated from datasets for other potential applications. For example, create a parent dataset syncthing with the two child datasets nested under it.
If not already assigned, set a pool for applications to use.
(Optional) Create a new TrueNAS user to serve as the administrator for the app
Either use the default user and group IDs or create a new user with Create New Primary Group selected. Make note of the UID/GID for the new user.
Go to Apps, click on Discover Apps, and locate the app widget by either scrolling down to it or begin typing the name into the search field. For example, to locate the MinIO app widget, begin typing minIO into the search field to show app widgets matching the search input.
If this is the first application installed, TrueNAS displays a dialog about configuring apps.
If not the first time installing apps the dialog does not show, click on the widget to open the app information screen.
Click Install to open the app installation wizard.
Application configuration settings are grouped into several sections, each explained below in Understanding App Installation Wizard Settings. To find specific fields begin typing in the Search Input Fields search field to show the section or field, scroll down to a particular section, or click on the section heading in the list of sections on the upper-right of the wizard screen.
Accept the default value or enter a name in Application Name field. In most cases use the default name, but if adding a second deployment of the application you must change this name.
Accept the default version number in Version. When a new version becomes available, the application shows an update badge and the Application Info widget on the Installed applications screen shows the Update button.
Next, enter the Syncthing Configuration settings.
Select the timezone where your TrueNAS system is located. Begin typing the location into the Timezone field to filter the list until the location shows, then select it.
Accept the default user and group IDs or enter the UID for any new TrueNAS user created to serve as the administrator for this app. See User and Group Settings below for more information.
Select Host Network to bind to the default host settings programmed for Syncthing. See Network Configuration below for more information.
Accept the default web port 8384. Before changing ports, see Default Ports for a list of assigned port numbers.
If created, select the certificate for Syncthing from the Certificates dropdown list. See Network Settings below for more information on network settings.
Configure the storage settings. Syncthing uses two datasets and mount paths. Set the first to /home with the host path set to the home dataset. The other mount point is /data1 with the host path set to the data1 dataset.
Select Enable ACL for the /home storage volume, enter 568 as the user and give it full permissions. Repeat for the /data1 storage volume.
If migrating from some other NAS system, set Type to SMB/CIFS Share (Mounts a volume to a SMB share), and then select Migrate Data. See Storage Settings below for more information.
Accept the default values in Resources Configuration.
Click Install.
The Installed applications screen opens showing the application in the Deploying state before it changes to Running when the application is ready to use.
Click Web Portal to open the Syncthing admin interface.
After installing and starting the Syncthing application, launch the Syncthing web UI. Go to Actions > Settings and set a user password for the web UI.
The Syncthing web portal allows administrators to monitor and manage the synchronization process, view logs, and adjust settings.
Folders list configured sync folders, details on sync status and file count, capacity, etc. To change folder configuration settings, click on the folder.
This Device displays the current system IO status including transfer/receive rate, number of listeners, total uptime, sync state, and the device ID and version.
Actions displays a dropdown list of options. Click Advanced to access GUI, LDAP, folder, device, and other settings.
You can manage directional settings for sync configurations, security, encryption, and UI server settings through the Actions options.
The following sections provide detailed explanations of the settings found in each section of the Enterprise train Install Syncthing screen.
Select the timezone where your TrueNAS system is located. Begin typing the location into the Timezone field to filter the list until the location shows, then select it.
Click here for more information on Syncthing environmental variables
The TrueNAS Syncthing enterprise app listens on port 8384.
Clearing the Host Network checkbox shows the TCP and UDP port numbers, and the web UI listens on port 22000.
The Syncthing enterprise train app requires two storage volumes/datasets to store configuration data and app data storage. Create one named home and the other dataset named data1.
The TrueNAS Syncthing Enterprise app includes the option to mount an SMB share inside the container pod and to migrate data from some other NAS to TrueNAS.
Selecting Migrate Data forces a read-only mount regardless of the Read Only checkbox selection. The SMB mount options are set to vers=3.0, cifsacl, and noperm. ACL preservation is not guaranteed if in a non-AD environment, or if the ACL or remote server contains local users.
Set Type an SMB/CIFS Share (Mounts a volume to a SMB share) to add an SMB share storage volume.
Select Read Only to make the storage volume read only.
Enter the path inside the container to mount the storage for the share volume in Mount Path.
Enter the server address for the SMB share in Server, the path to mount the SMB share in Path, and the share authentication user credentials in User and Password. (Optional) enter the share domain name in domain.
Permissions are currently limited to the permissions of the user that mounted the share.
Use the SMB option for data synchronization between a share and the app if the option shows on the screen. A present, only the Syncthing app includes this option.
Syncthing uses inotify to monitor file system events, with one inotify watcher per monitored directory. Linux defaults to a maximum of 8192 inotify watchers. Using the Syncthing Enterprise app to sync directories with greater than 8191 subdirectories (possibly lower if other services are also utilizing inotify) produces errors that prevent automatic monitoring of file system changes.
Increase inotify values to allow Syncthing to monitor all sync directories. Add a sysctl variable to ensure changes persist through reboot.
Go to System > Advanced and locate the Sysctl widget.
Click Add to open the Add Sysctl screen.
Enter fs.inotify.max_user_watches in Variable.
Enter a Value larger than the number of directories monitored by Syncthing. There is a small memory impact for each inotify watcher of 1080 bytes, so it is best to start with a lower number, we suggest 204800 and increase if needed.
Enter a Description for the variable, such as Increase inotify limit.
Select Enabled and click Save.