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Contact an Enterprise SpecialistTrueNAS Apps: Tutorials
Application maintenance is independent from TrueNAS version release cycles.
App versions, features, options, and installation behavior at time of access might vary from documented tutorials and UI reference.
Syncthing (Enterprise)
18 minute read.
This article provides information on installing and using the TrueNAS Syncthing app.
TrueNAS has two versions of the Syncthing application, the offical version in the stable train and a smaller version tested and polished for a safe and supportable experience for enterprise customers in the enterprise train. Community members can install either the enterprise or official stable version.
Syncthing is a file synchronization application that provides a simple and secure environment for file sharing between different devices and locations. Use it to synchronize files between different departments, teams, or remote workers.
Syncthing is tested and validated to work in harmony with TrueNAS platforms and underlying technologies such as ZFS to offer a turnkey means of keeping data across many systems. It can seamlessly integrate with TrueNAS.
Syncthing does not use or need a central server or cloud storage. All data is encrypted and synchronized directly between devices to ensure files are protected from unauthorized access.
Syncthing is easy to use and configure. You can install on a wide range of operating systems, including Windows, MacOS, Linux, FreeBSD, iOS or Android. The Syncthing web UI provides users with easy management and configuration of the application software.
Users migrating data from an existing third-party NAS solution to TrueNAS 24.04 (Dragonfish) or newer can use the Syncthing enterprise application to mount the source with a remote SMB share that preserves metadata.
See Third-Party SMB Data Migration for considerations and a full tutorial.
Enterprise users with the appropriate licenese can see the apps in the enterprise train. Community users can access enterprise versions of apps by adding the enterprise train to their catalog. To change app train settings:
Go to Apps, click on Configuration at the top of the Installed applications screen, and select Settings to open the train Settings screen.
You can also access the Installed scren from the Discover screen by clicking on Manage Installed Apps at the top of the screen.
Select enterprise to add it to the list of trains, and then click Save.
After changing train settings, return to the Discover screen and click Refresh Catalog.
Before launching the app installation wizard, do the following:
Create a self-signed certificate for the Syncthing enterprise app.
Adding an App Certificate
Go to Credentials > Certificates to add a self-signed certificate authority (CA) and certificate for the application to use.
Click Add on the Certificate Authorities (CA) widget to open the Add Certificate Authority screen.
a. Enter a name for the CA. For example, minio, syncthing, etc. Accept the defaults for Type and Profile, then click Next.
b. Accept the defaults on Certificate Options unless you want to set an expiration on the certificate. Enter a new value in Lifetime to impose an expiration time period, then click Next.
c. Enter location and organization values for your installation in the Certificate Subject fields. Enter the email address you want to receive system notifications.
d. Enter your system IP address in Subject Alternate Names, then click Next. When configuring a cluster, enter the system IP addresses for each system in the cluster.
e. Accept the default values on Extra Constraints, then click Next.
f. Review the CA configuration then click Save.
Click Add on the Certificates widget to open the Add Certificate screen.
a. Enter a name for the certificate. For example, minio, syncthing, etc. Select Internal Certificate as Type and HTTPS RSA Certificate in Profiles, then click Next.
b. Select the newly-created CA in Signing Certificate Authority. Accept the rest of the defaults unless you want to set an expiration on the certificate. Enter a new value in Lifetime to impose an expiration time period, then click Next.
c. Enter location and organization values for your installation in the Certificate Subject fields. Enter the email address you want to receive system notifications.
d. Enter your system IP address in Subject Alternate Names, then click Next. When configuring a cluster, enter the system IP addresses for each system in the cluster.
e. Accept the default values on Extra Constraints, then click Next.
f. Review the CA configuration then click Save.
Download the certificate and install it.
a. Click the download icon on the Certificates widget to start the download. When complete, click the browser download icon to open in a File Explorer window.
b. Right click on the certificate.crt file, then click Install Certificate. Click Open on the Open File window.
c. Click Install Certificate, then select Local Machine on the Welcome to the Certificate Import Wizard window. Click Next.
d. Select Place all certificates in the following store, then select Trusted Root Certificate Authorities and click OK.
c. Click Next then Finish.
Create the required datasets, home and data1.
Syncthing stores configuration home dataset and app data in the data1 dataset.
Create the two datasets before beginning the app installation process. You can organize these under a parent dataset to keep the Syncthing storage datasets separated from datasets for other potential applications. For example, create a parent dataset syncthing with the two child datasets nested under it.
If not already assigned, set a pool for applications to use.
(Optional) Create a new TrueNAS user to serve as the administrator for the app
Either use the default user and group IDs or create a new user with Create New Primary Group selected. Make note of the UID/GID for the new user.
Go to Apps, click on Discover Apps, locate the app widget by either scrolling down to it or begin typing the name into the search field. For example, to locate the MinIO app widget, begin typing minIO into the search field to show app widgets matching the search input.
Click on the widget to open the app information screen.
Click Install to open the app installation wizard.
Application configuration settings are grouped into several sections, each explained below in Understanding App Wizard Settings. To find specific fields begin typing in the Search Input Fields search field to show the section or field, scroll down to a particular section, or click on the section heading in the list of section on the upper-right of the wizard screen.
Accept the default value or enter a name in Application Name field. In most cases use the default name, but if adding a second deployment of the application you must change this name.
Accept the default version number in Version. When a new version becomes available, the application shows an update badge and the Application Info widget on the Installed applications screen shows the Update button.
Next, enter the Syncthing Configuration settings.
Select the timezone where your TrueNAS system is located. Begin typing the location into the Timezone field to filter the list until the location shows, then select it.
Accept the default user and group IDs or enter the UID for any new TrueNAS user created to serve as the administrator for this app. See User and Group Settings below for more information.
Select Host Network to bind to the default host settings programmed for Syncthing. See Network Configuration below for more information.
Accept the default web port 8384. Before changing ports, see Default Ports for a list of assigned port numbers.
If created, select the certificate for Syncthing from the Certificates dropdown list. See Network Settings below for more information on network settings.
Configure the storage settings. Syncthing uses two datasets and mount paths. Set the first to /home with the host path set to the home dataset. The other mount point is /data1 with the host path set to the data1 dataset.
Select Enable ACL for the /home storage volume, enter 568 as the user and give it full permissions. Repeat for the /data1 storage volume.
If migrating from some other NAS system, set Type to SMB/CIFS Share (Mounts a persistent volume claim to a SMB share), and then select Migrate Data. See Storage Settings below for more information.
Accept the default values in Resources Configuration.
Click Install.
The Installed applications screen opens showing the application in the Deploying state before it changes to Running when the application is ready to use.
Click Web Portal to open the Syncthing admin interface.
After installing and starting the Syncthing application, launch the Syncthing web UI. Go to Actions > Settings and set a user password for the web UI.
The Syncthing web portal allows administrators to monitor and manage the synchronization process, view logs, and adjust settings.
Folders list configured sync folders, details on sync status and file count, capacity, etc. To change folder configuration settings, click on the folder.
This Device displays the current system IO status including transfer/receive rate, number of listeners, total uptime, sync state, and the device ID and version.
Actions displays a dropdown list of options. Click Advanced to access GUI, LDAP, folder, device, and other settings.
You can manage directional settings for sync configurations, security, encryption, and UI server settings through the Actions options.
Managing Syncthing Folder
To change or enter a directory path to share a folder, click on the folder, then select Edit. We recommend each shared folder have a sync folder to allow for more granular traffic and data flow. Syncthing creates a default sync folder in the main user or HOME directory during installation of the application.
Click on a folder to see details on that folder.
Untrusted Device Password is a beta feature and not recommended for production environments. This feature is for edge cases where two users want to share data on a given device but cannot risk interception of data. Only trusted users with the code can open the file(s) with shared data.
The following sections provide detailed explanations of the settings found in each section of the Enterprise train Install Syncthing screen.
Select the timezone where your TrueNAS system is located. Begin typing the location into the Timezone field to filter the list until the location shows, then select it.
The app app wizard is configured with all settings required to deploy the container, but you can add additional settings if you want to further customize the app in TrueNAS.
Click Add to the right of Environmental Variables to show a set of fields to configure the application with additional.
You can add environment variables to the app configuration after deploying it. Click Edit on the Application Info widget for the app found on the Installed Application screen to open the edit screen.
Click here for more information on Syncthing environmental variables
Some TrueNAS apps have predefined run-as user and group IDs. These assignments vary based on the app train and other variables such as installing but not running as the root user.
Default user and group IDs are:
- 473 for apps in the stable train.
- 568 for some community apps and all apps in the enterprise train
- 999 for postgres storage volumes
Accept the default user and group ID in the User and Group Configuration section or enter the user ID for a new TrueNAS user created to serve as the administrator for this app.
Create any app administrator user before installing the application, and take note of the UID. Enter this user ID when configuring the user for the app and as the user when setting up storage volume permissions.
The TrueNAS Syncthing enterprise app listens on port 8384.
All TrueNAS apps are assigned default port numbers. Accept the default port numbers, but if changing port number assignments, enter a number within the range 9000-65535. Before changing default ports, refer to the TrueNAS default port list for a list of assigned and available port numbers.
Host Network is selected by default, but it is recommended to disable this as it binds to the host network. Select to allow auto-discovery to work. If not selected, enter the network settings for TrueNAS in the web portal for the application.
Clearing the Host Network checkbox shows the TCP and UDP port numbers, and the web UI listens on port 22000.
To use a certificate, best practice is to create the self-signed certificate before you begin using the app installation wizard. If you did not create a certificate before starting the installation wizard you can select the default TrueNAS certificate and edit the certificate after deploying the application.
Adding an App Certificate
Go to Credentials > Certificates to add a self-signed certificate authority (CA) and certificate for the application to use.
Click Add on the Certificate Authorities (CA) widget to open the Add Certificate Authority screen.
a. Enter a name for the CA. For example, minio, syncthing, etc. Accept the defaults for Type and Profile, then click Next.
b. Accept the defaults on Certificate Options unless you want to set an expiration on the certificate. Enter a new value in Lifetime to impose an expiration time period, then click Next.
c. Enter location and organization values for your installation in the Certificate Subject fields. Enter the email address you want to receive system notifications.
d. Enter your system IP address in Subject Alternate Names, then click Next. When configuring a cluster, enter the system IP addresses for each system in the cluster.
e. Accept the default values on Extra Constraints, then click Next.
f. Review the CA configuration then click Save.
Click Add on the Certificates widget to open the Add Certificate screen.
a. Enter a name for the certificate. For example, minio, syncthing, etc. Select Internal Certificate as Type and HTTPS RSA Certificate in Profiles, then click Next.
b. Select the newly-created CA in Signing Certificate Authority. Accept the rest of the defaults unless you want to set an expiration on the certificate. Enter a new value in Lifetime to impose an expiration time period, then click Next.
c. Enter location and organization values for your installation in the Certificate Subject fields. Enter the email address you want to receive system notifications.
d. Enter your system IP address in Subject Alternate Names, then click Next. When configuring a cluster, enter the system IP addresses for each system in the cluster.
e. Accept the default values on Extra Constraints, then click Next.
f. Review the CA configuration then click Save.
Download the certificate and install it.
a. Click the download icon on the Certificates widget to start the download. When complete, click the browser download icon to open in a File Explorer window.
b. Right click on the certificate.crt file, then click Install Certificate. Click Open on the Open File window.
c. Click Install Certificate, then select Local Machine on the Welcome to the Certificate Import Wizard window. Click Next.
d. Select Place all certificates in the following store, then select Trusted Root Certificate Authorities and click OK.
c. Click Next then Finish.
Select the certificate created in TrueNAS for the app from the Certificate dropdown list.
The Syncthing enterprise train app requires two storage volumes/datasets to store configuration data and app data storage. Create one named home and the other dataset named data1.
To allow TrueNAS to create the storage volume, leave Type set to ixVolume (Dataset created automatically by the system). This is recommended for a test deployment of an app but not for a full app deployment.
To use an existing dataset, which is the recommended option, set Type to Host Path (Path that already exists on the system).
Either accept the default value in Mount Path or enter the correct mount path. For example, if the dataset name is data, enter /data as the mount path.
Select Enable ACL to show the ACL and ACE Entries options.
Enter or browse to select the dataset path.
Next click Add to the right of ACL Entries to show the permissions settings. Set ID Type to Entry is for a USER. Enter the UID as one of the following:
- The default apps user which is either 473 for apps in the stable train or 568 for apps in the enterprise or community train.
- The new user ID for the TrueNAS user created to serve as the app administrator.
If setting up postgres storage volumes, the default user id for these volumes is 999.
If there is run-as option defined in the wizard, enter this run-as UID when adding the user ACE entry. If not show in the UI, to find the run-as user ID, refer to the questions.yaml file in the GitHub repository for the application.
Select the permissions level from the Access dropdown list. Enter the UID for the app administration user, and set the level to FULL CONTROL.
Select Force to apply the ACL even if the path has existing data.
If the app requires additional datasets, click Add to the right of Additional Storage to show the storage volume fields. Repeat the instructions above for each dataset to add.
Click Add to show the mount and host path fields for each additional dataset and if creating storage volumes for postgres data and postgres backup.
The TrueNAS Syncthing Enterprise app includes the option to mount an SMB share inside the container pod and to migrate data from some other NAS to TrueNAS.
Selecting Migrate Data forces a read-only mount regardless of the Read Only checkbox selection. The SMB mount options are set to vers=3.0, cifsacl, and noperm. ACL preservation is not guaranteed if in a non-AD environment, or if the ACL or remote server contains local users.
Use the SMB option to data synchronization between the share and the app.
Set Type an SMB/CIFS Share (Mounts a persistent volume claim to a SMB share) to use add an SMB share storage volume.
Select Read Only to make the storage volume read only.
Enter the path inside the container to mount the storage for the share volume in Mount Path.
Enter the server address for the SMB share in Server, the path to mount the SMB share in Path, and the share authentication user credentials in User and Password. (Optional) enter the share domain name in domain.
Permissions are currently limited to the permissions of the user that mounted the share.
Accept the default values in Resources Configuration or enter new CPU and memory values. By default, this application is limited to use no more than 2 CPU cores and 4096 Megabytes available memory. The application might use considerably less system resources.
To customize the CPU and memory allocated to the container (pod) the app uses, enter new CPU values as a plain integer value (letter suffix is not required). The default is 4096.
Accept the default value 8 (Gb) allocated memory or enter a new limit in bytes. Enter a plain integer without the measurement suffix, for example, 129 not 129M or 123MiB.
Syncthing uses inotify to monitor file system events, with one inotify watcher per monitored directory. Linux defaults to a maximum of 8192 inotify watchers. Using the Syncthing Enterprise app to sync directories with greater than 8191 subdirectories (possibly lower if other services are also utilizing inotify) produces errors that prevent automatic monitoring of file system changes.
Increase inotify values to allow Syncthing to monitor all sync directories. Add a sysctl variable to ensure changes persist through reboot.
Go to System > Advanced and locate the Sysctl widget.
Click Add to open the Add Sysctl screen.
Enter fs.inotify.max_user_watches in Variable.
Enter a Value larger than the number of directories monitored by Syncthing. There is a small memory impact for each inotify watcher of 1080 bytes, so it is best to start with a lower number, we suggest 204800 and increase if needed.
Enter a Description for the variable, such as Increase inotify limit.
Select Enabled and click Save.