this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2025
32 points (88.1% liked)
Linux
56460 readers
579 users here now
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
Rules
- Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
- No misinformation
- No NSFW content
- No hate speech, bigotry, etc
Related Communities
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
This package is essentially comprised of web apps which open in their own windows. It will not have the deep system integration that you may be used to on native MacOS. You could use this, or you could use iCloud in your browser like one might do with GSuite
Ah ok, thanks
I suppose the biggest thing I’m looking for a solution for is photos.
I have my phone to set up to sync to iCloud, which then automatically download to my desktop, which is then automatically backs up via Time Machine.
How could I transition this behaviour to Linux keeping in mind I’ll be using an iPhone for at least another 3 years?
You could also restructure your workflow slightly. Instead of downloading from iCloud, there are good options to sync directly from your phone to your PC. I use an app called PhotoSync. It allows you wirelessly offload photos from phone to PC at the touch of a button, or even automatically, I believe. It's a one-time purchase too, not subscription. It also supports Linux targets via open protocols.
Syncthing is open source, so I’d personally prefer it. https://github.com/pixelspark/sushitrain is an iOS client written in native Swift.
Good to know, thanks. I had heard of syncthing but didnt realize there were ios clients.
Cool I’ll check this out
Use Ente photos
I have a Synology NAS (from 3 years ago). My photos are synced from my iPhone via the Synology photos application and can be accessed from my Linux desktop via nfs.
I found alternatives for almost everything except Apple Music. I just connect my phone via Bluetooth nowadays to play music at a higher bitrate than what Apple allows via browser. Wish they would build an official client.
You could replicate this workflow by replacing iCloud with Nextcloud and Time Machine with Timeshift.
The iOS app for Nextcloud allows the automatic upload of photos, you just need an account with a Nextcloud provider (or just host your own instance).
Timeshift is preinstalled on a bunch of distros, including Linux Mint, and can be installed on all other major ones. See https://github.com/linuxmint/timeshift for details.
If you're comfortable with scripting CLI tools then rclone seems to support icloud, you can use it to sync everything to a local directory which you can then backup however you like