How to self-host Syncthing

Keeps folders in sync between here and your own devices, automatically. Cresdock runs it on a server you own, from a catalogue, with no Docker and no reverse proxy to configure.

What Cresdock does for you with Syncthing

Its configuration is written before the container ever starts, so Syncthing comes up already set up rather than showing you a blank first-run form.
Reached through your panel login. There is no second password to invent for Syncthing and no port to open on your firewall.
Your Downloads and Media folders are already mounted, and they are the SAME folders your other apps see — so files land where the rest of your setup expects them, with no path mapping to work out.
Syncthing keeps folders on your own devices in step with folders here, and can drop new files where Paperless-ngx will find them.
Pairing a device is a step only you can take, because the other device has to agree to it.

Why run Syncthing yourself

Cloud storage is rented, priced per month forever, and readable by whoever runs it. The same files on a server you own cost what the disk cost.

It is also how you retire Dropbox or Google Drive — one line in replacing cloud subscriptions, app by app.

What kind of server Syncthing needs

Light on power, heavy on disk — sizing is really a question of how much you want to keep. If your library outgrows the server, Cresdock can put it on cloud storage and keep it looking like a normal folder.

Cresdock itself is undemanding — it runs on a small rented server, an old desktop or a mini PC, on Ubuntu or Debian. Everything it installs shares that machine, so the honest question is not "will this app run" but "how much am I going to put on here in total".

Where to run Syncthing

Syncthing runs wherever Cresdock runs, and the choice is about the machine, not the app:

At home, on hardware you already own. A mini PC, an old desktop or a NAS that can run Debian. Cresdock works behind a home router with no port forwarding and no domain, so Syncthing is reachable on your own network first and from outside only if you choose.
On a rented server. A small VPS is enough for most apps and is the usual answer when Syncthing should be reachable from anywhere. The setup guide covers the specs and the one-command install.
Through a provider that runs Cresdock. Hosting companies deploy Cresdock workspaces for their customers, so Syncthing can come with a server you rent rather than one you set up — ask your provider, or see how providers offer it.

Installing Syncthing

Put Cresdock on a server
One line on any Ubuntu or Debian machine — a rented VPS, a spare PC, a home server. It sets itself up.
Pick Syncthing from the catalogue
Click Install. The panel pulls the image, writes the configuration, gets a certificate and starts it.
Open it from your dashboard
Its address and any login details are on its card. Start, stop, update, roll back or remove it from the same place, any time.

What's left for you to do

Cresdock does not pretend to do the parts that are genuinely yours to decide. After it's running:

Install Syncthing on your other device and pair it using the device ID

What this replaces

Doing it by hand means writing something like this, then keeping it working:

services:
  syncthing:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/syncthing:v2.1.2-ls225
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8384:8384"
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Etc/UTC
    volumes:
      - ./syncthing/config:/config
      - ./downloads:/downloads
      - ./media:/media

And that is the easy half. Still to do:

Install a reverse proxy and write a server block for it
Get a TLS certificate and set up automatic renewal
Create the folders above with the right ownership, or it will not start
Repeat all of it for the next app, and again on every server rebuild

On Cresdock, Syncthing is one click and none of the above exists.

Common questions

Do I need to know Docker to run Syncthing?

No. Cresdock installs Syncthing in one click from its catalogue: it pulls the image, writes the configuration, gets an HTTPS certificate and starts it. Syncthing's configuration is written before it first starts, so it opens already set up.

What happens to my files when Syncthing updates?

Cresdock changes Syncthing's own configuration only. Your downloads and your media are never touched by an update, a rebuild or a reinstall — that is a rule the software enforces, not a promise in a document.

Who can see the files I put in Syncthing?

Only you. Your folders belong to your account, other people on the server have their own, and each account's apps run on a private network of their own. Updates and reinstalls never touch what you have stored.

Can I run Syncthing at home instead of on a VPS?

Yes. Cresdock runs on a mini PC, an old desktop or anything that boots Debian, behind a normal home router with no port forwarding, and Syncthing is reachable on your own network first. A rented server is only needed when Syncthing must be reachable from anywhere without a VPN.

Can I remove Syncthing later?

Yes. Cresdock removes Syncthing in one click, and asks whether to keep its configuration for a future reinstall. Nothing else you have installed is affected.

Looking for what Syncthing itself can do? That lives in its own documentation — this page is only about running it.

Pairs well with: dufs · Duplicati · Tautulli

Before you start: where to rent a server · what it needs to run · Cresdock vs CasaOS