Syncthing

Peer-to-peer file synchronization that keeps folders identical across your computers without a central cloud service.

90.4k stars, 5.6k forks Go On GitHub since November 2013

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

Syncthing at a glance

Open sourceYes, MPL-2.0No paid parts in the repository
Health69 of 100Actively developed
Self-hostingDocker, Desktop appsOne-click in Umbrel, YunoHost and 6 more
AppsLinux, macOS, Windows, including ARMBuilds in GitHub releases
Interface45 languagesIncluding English, German and French
Issue repliesWithin ~3 hoursMedian first reply; 40% of recent issues answered

What is Syncthing?

Syncthing keeps folders in sync between two or more computers by connecting them directly, so your files never sit on a third-party server. It runs continuously in the background and copies changes as they happen. The project ranks its goals explicitly: protecting data from loss comes first, then security against eavesdropping and tampering, then ease of use and automation. It runs on Linux, macOS and Windows, with community GUI wrappers for each, and its web interface is translated into 45 languages. Release binaries are GPG-signed.

Good fit if

  • You want to replace Dropbox or a similar cloud sync service and keep files only on your own devices.
  • You sync between a laptop, a desktop and a home server.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want to share files with others through a browser instead of syncing devices: copyparty.
  • You want a browser-based desktop with file storage: Puter.

Before you adopt it

Syncthing uses the MPL-2.0 license, a file-level copyleft license, and has no paid parts in the repository. It switched from GPL-3.0 to MPL-2.0 in March 2015. Seven authors contributed in the last 90 days. Install it from the ready-made builds or run the Docker image; building from source needs only the Go toolchain.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 7 November 2026. Report a correction

How to run Syncthing yourself

One-click install

Checked against each panel’s app catalog on 12 November 2026.

Ways to install

Docker files
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Docker image
syncthing/syncthing: 150M pulls · x86-64, ARMv7, ARM64 · 21 MB downloadAlso ghcr.io/syncthing/syncthing
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Packages
Fedora, EPEL, Arch Linux, AUR, Alpine, openSUSE, Gentoo, Void and 8 more versions on Repology
Desktop and mobile
Builds for Linux, macOS, Windows, including ARM in GitHub releases
Interface languages
45 languages, including English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish
Show all 45

Albanian, Arabic, Azerbaijani, Basque, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto, Estonian, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Irish, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Nepali, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Western Frisian

Install instructions: syncthing.net or the README on GitHub. Docker images and packages are checked weekly.

Syncthing health: is it still maintained?

69 of 100, actively developed

Release rhythmEvery ~28 daysLatest: v2.1.7, 21 October 2026
Issue repliesWithin ~3 hoursMedian first reply; 40% of recent issues answered
Bus factorMedium riskThe most active of 7 authors wrote 67% of recent commits
  • Activity
    48 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 9 November 2026.
    20 / 30
  • Contributors
    7 people wrote the 48 commits of the last 90 days; the most active wrote 67% of them.
    12 / 20
  • Releases
    4+ releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v2.1.7, on 21 October 2026.
    16 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 40% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 3 hours.
    15 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 5.8 of 10.
    6 / 10

Read from GitHub on 12 November 2026. How the score works

Syncthing security

Security advisories are the vulnerabilities the maintainers disclosed on GitHub, with the versions that fix them; many advisories can mean careful disclosure as much as weak code. OpenSSF Scorecard checks how a project is developed and released: reviews, protected branches, pinned dependencies, signed releases. It does not audit the code itself.

Security advisories2 publishedall list a fixed version
OpenSSF Scorecard5.8 of 10How the project is built and released
Security policyYesExplains how to report a vulnerability
Signed releasesPartlyOnly some downloads can be checked against a signature

Latest advisories

What each Scorecard check found

  • Binary files10 / 10No compiled binaries checked into the repository
  • Dangerous workflows10 / 10No risky patterns in GitHub Actions
  • License file10 / 10A license file is present
  • Maintained10 / 10Steady commits and issue activity in the last 90 days
  • Packaging10 / 10Releases are published as packages from CI
  • Security policy10 / 10Explains how to report a vulnerability
  • Signed releases8 / 10Some releases are signed
  • Best-practices badge5 / 10Working towards the OpenSSF Best Practices badge
  • Branch protection3 / 10Rules on the main branch are partly enforced
  • Pinned dependencies3 / 10Some dependencies use fixed versions
  • Code review1 / 10Some changes are merged without review
  • Fuzzing0 / 10No fuzz testing found
  • Static analysis0 / 10No static analysis found
  • Token permissions0 / 10CI tokens have broad write rights

Advisories read from GitHub on 12 November 2026. From the OpenSSF Scorecard of 2 November 2026; checks that do not apply to Syncthing are left out.

Syncthing license: is it open source?

Syncthing uses MPL-2.0, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. November 2013First published on GitHub under GPL-3.0.
  2. 17 March 2015Changed to MPL-2.0. Commit: MPLv2
  3. TodayMPL-2.0.

Syncthing for developers

Written in

  • Go 85%
  • HTML 7%
  • JavaScript 6%
  • Shell 2%
  • CSS <1%
  • Other <1%

Getting involved

Good first issues4Open, labelled “good first issue”Contributing guideYesCONTRIBUTING.mdOpen issues382On GitHub
Authors, 90 days7Of 48 commits
Donations2 waysGitHub Sponsors, own page

Language shares are GitHub’s count of the code in the repository.

Alternatives to Syncthing

  • OpenCloudOpenCloud is the open source platform for file management, sharing and collaboration. Simple and sovereign. 79 health · Apache-2.0 · 6.3k stars
  • copypartyPortable file server with accelerated resumable uploads, dedup, WebDAV, SFTP, FTP, TFTP, zeroconf, media… 75 health · MIT · 47.3k stars
  • FileGatorPowerful Multi-User File Manager 67 health · MIT · 3.1k stars
  • CloudreveSelf-hosted file management and sharing system, supports multiple storage providers 54 health · GPL-3.0 · 29k stars
  • FilestashUniversal File Management Platform (for humans and agents) 52 health · AGPL-3.0 · 14.9k stars

All 18 projects in File storage & sync

Questions about Syncthing

Is Syncthing open source?

Yes. Syncthing is published under MPL-2.0, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is Syncthing still maintained?

Its health score is 69 of 100 (actively developed). It had 48 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 9 November 2026, and its latest release came out on 21 October 2026.

Did Syncthing change its license?

Yes. It moved from GPL-3.0 to MPL-2.0 on 17 March 2015.

How do I run Syncthing?

You can run it with the Docker image syncthing/syncthing, as an app for Linux, macOS, Windows, including ARM and in one click from Umbrel, YunoHost, TrueNAS and 5 more. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What is Syncthing written in?

Syncthing is written mainly in Go (85% of the code), with HTML (7%) and JavaScript (6%), by GitHub’s count of the repository.

What languages is Syncthing available in?

The repository has interface translations for 45 languages, including English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish and Russian.

What are the alternatives to Syncthing?

Close alternatives in the File storage & sync category include OpenCloud, copyparty, FileGator.