Syncthing
this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2024
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It's amazing how often this program can be used to solve a problem someone has with their file sharing. And in my opinion it's an elegant solution and does it's job very well
Same, I have a bunch of "inbox" folders and drop files into my server or desktop from my phone with 3 clicks.
Material Files support both SMB and SFTP - https://f-droid.org/en/packages/me.zhanghai.android.files/
+1 for Material Files, really great App
For remote connection, you can use Tailscale along with Material Files and SMB/SFTP.
I honestly prefer selfhosting my home vpn using Wireguard or OpenVPN.
Yes. But that would assume that OP is not behind CGNAT. Also, even with Static IP, if I had to just do file transfer over SSH, I would use Tailscale over selfhosting wireguard. But that's my personal take on this.
Yeah getting stuck behind CGNAT IPv4 and no IPv6 would break setting up your own vpn server. That would cause me too look for another internet provider.
I only got 100mbps at home so I'm still running openvpn as I don't gain anything worthwhile from wireguard.
Material Files + SFTP is a winning combination. You probably already have SSH configured and it is quite secure.
I highly recommend this one.
If all you're looking for is a way to send files from your phone to your server, this is the simplest way to do it.
Share your server volume as a SMB, mount to phone via Material Files.
And SSH key authentication
There is also FX which can do this too, additionally you can browse/download/upload files to/from the phone locally from PC through browser (the app opens up a web server).
You could technically do this with Nextcloud, but that is definitely overkill just for a file drop.
The next best thing I can think of for this would be localsend with auto accept enabled.
You can’t really. Nextcloud requires a specific file structure. It’s not meant to serve ad-hoc directories.
You can add in local directory paths or file shares within your Nextcloud home directory.
I use that to access a local SMB share externally.
Ah, ok. And it works when something outside Nextcloud changes the files?
Yes but it has limitations/risks that could be a deal killer depending on your use case.
When a file changes externally, Nextcloud doesn't know about the the changes until it looks at the file. It only looks when a user access that location within Nextcloud or during a automatic file scan.
The only time I have had issues with it is using a Nextcloud desktop client, as files are cached locally on the desktop and the client doesn't live query the server when you view the files locally.
Changes made externally of Nextcloud won't get updated on desktop clients until Nextcloud looks at the file an realizes a change happened.
This can be very annoying but also dangerous as you are at risk of editing an outdated file. For example if you edit a file via SMB and then edit the same file again on a desktop clients. The desktop clients won't have the new file with the B changes. So you risk overwriteing the files with an old version.
I use syncthing. Share from any app, land on that directory on your server.
Being p2p is a huge bonus, it exceeds (and predates) the self-host category! If I recall correctly, I had an intro post to the system somewhere.. can't look it up ATM.
SMB + Mixplorer
I just so happened to have made a solution for this:
https://hub.docker.com/r/sciactive/nephele
I recommend the Owlfiles app as a client if the browser client is not good enough. But the browser client should be good for your use case.
This is what the web interface looks like:
It’s meant to be able to run on any browser. Like, even the PS3 browser. It can also stream files like videos and music.
You can put it behind a reverse proxy without any worry.
That screenshot ^ is from my Jellyfin library, that I manage through Nephele.
I use CX file server. It can create an SFTP connection. I also have a VPN through my router.
Syncthing may be easier if you don't have a VPN.
My go-to solution for this is the Android FolderSync app with an SFTP connection.
If I were you, I would use some file manager app that allows ssh connection to the server, and do file transfer over ssh.
For remote use, I might use Tailscale to create a private network over the public internet and use it when outside of the home network.
LocalSend
Syncthing works over local LAN and public internet relays, and is very good at traversing NAT
So, at least on Samsung, the MyFiles app, the default file browser, allows for network connections via smb.
In my case, I use a vpn to tunnel into my network, and then just use the smb share.
It also allows for FTP and SFTP.
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
| Fewer Letters | More Letters |
|---|---|
| CGNAT | Carrier-Grade NAT |
| IP | Internet Protocol |
| NAT | Network Address Translation |
| SSH | Secure Shell for remote terminal access |
| VPN | Virtual Private Network |
5 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 4 acronyms.
[Thread #596 for this sub, first seen 12th Mar 2024, 14:05] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
Why does this bot set the text color? And why it does that and not set the background at the same time?
Mount a folder to Filestash and you can access it via web ui ☺️
It is a filemanager in the browser, you can click upload there 😁
Nextcloud
Nextcloud has to have a specific file structure in its data directory. It sounds like OP wants to serve a particular, already existing directory, so in that case, Nextcloud wouldn’t work.