Syncthing conflics were such a pain point for me that I abandoned it 5 years ago in favor of application-specific synchronization protocols. Joplin for notes, Ente for photos, and Bitwarden for passwords.
Most conflicts I encountered seemed like they should have easily been handled with something designed to merge text files. Syncthing isn't designed for that.
Commonalities between Syncthing and application-specific solutions:
- Sync
- E2EE
Pros of application-specific sync:
- Works more reliably with the application data.
- Many solutions come with a web interface that makes them usable from platforms where software cannot be installed.
- Not having to clean dozens of sync conflics piling up over time.
Cons of application-speciifc sync:
- Syncable data is limited to application-specific stuff.
- Applications are bloated compared to simple filesystem sync.
- Supply chain risk goes from well-tested solutions like KeepassXC/Syncthing to things built with ‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Package Manager Where This Regularly Happens[0][1]. Exacerbated by limited ability to control software versions of distributed services, apps, browser extentions, etc.
IMO, this is last Con is significant. I'd like to return to Syncthing, but only if the conflict resolution has improved.
[0] https://kevinpatel.xyz/posts/no-way-to-prevent-this/
[1] https://community.bitwarden.com/t/bitwarden-statement-on-che...