Android + Syncthing

MMEX4Android: Manage your finances on-the-go, encrypted for security, sync via your own storage

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Android + Syncthing

Post by guanlisheng »

Lisheng Guan,
Developer of MoneyManagerEX (http://moneymanagerex.org)
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Re: Android + Syncthing

Post by guanlisheng »

hi @mmguy , would you mind to share some practices on the thread topic?
Lisheng Guan,
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Re: Android + Syncthing

Post by guanlisheng »

one possible setup on your Android synching
1. add your desktop and/or Android devices
2. create a dedicated folder under your Documents or Download
3. add this folder to Folders and check the device (here is Mac)

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Lisheng Guan,
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Re: Android + Syncthing

Post by mmguy »

Yeah basically Syncthing enables having the same folder and files between various OS transfered and synced automatically. An analogy could be like constantly trasferring them with a wireless cable. Versioning and Trash options can also be enabled!

My use case is the following.
  • 3 Android devices,
  • 1 Windows device,
  • 1 Linux device.
I created various folder and I sync them differently between devices. So there is a folder which is synced only between the windows PC and 1 Android, another folder which is synced to all devices, another one between 2 androids, and so on.

I use Syncthing to sync small files, like notes in markdown, KeePass DB, useful docs, and MMEX DB. I read online about people sync all the photo gallery and music files.

The advantage of managing only small files is that sync need just a few seconds to complete and there is less chance of a partial sync.

Talking specifically about MMEX database, it is just a file like others in File manager in Android. So for instance I have my database in Documents/MMEX/ folder of my phone. I then choose that one to be synced with my linux PC.

The sync process can happen in a variety of conditions on Android (on PC is basically constantly listening to sync), basically I decided to sync on every network (WiFi/5G) each and every hour. I can do that because on Android I use the Syncthing-Fork: https://github.com/Catfriend1/syncthing-android (I suggest you F-Droid version, or directly the .apk from GitHub using Obtanium app). That fork has more settings like the time-based syncronization and a clearer UI: you can easily force stop or force start Syncthing if needed. Official Android client does not have that.

Although you may start using the official client so that you can follow official How To and Docs. Then when you understand how Syncthing works you can switch to the fork one I suggested.

As each of us can use Syncthing in tons of different ways, errors and bug can occur, but I am trying to keep it as simple as possible and so far I had 0 issues.

In Android, MMEX db is a bit different than KeePass DB for istance, as it has the database path and the remote path. So with Synthing you can decide which location to sync, because both can be found within the File Manager and thus can be selected in Synthing options.

I suppose that if you choose to sync only the remote path, you must tap "Synchronize" in the MMEX menu each time you open the app and each time you are done with editing transactions.

If you choose to sync the database path instead, I guess there is no need to tap "Syncronize" before & after. Every edit in the DB get's synced right away. This can be a pro or a cons, it depends on your use case. I am not sure about MMEX app is maybe handling the database path as temporary location and so better not rely on it? Personally I am still experimenting which way is best for my use case. Normally I do not use MMEX on my linux PC so I can sync only here and there.

That's basically it
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Re: Android + Syncthing

Post by guanlisheng »

MMEX4Android + Syncthhing form GitHub https://github.com/moneymanagerex/andro ... /syncthing
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