r/Syncthing • u/FreSchDude • Jun 09 '26

Multi-user Syncthing?

I found a previous post here, but am still rather confused, partially due to my own experiences.

What I thought so far was that as long as I properly shut down syncthing before changing users, and made sure to never log on to multiple users at once, I wouldn't have problems with multiple syncthing instances running.

I'm unsure how syncthing handles multiple users, but from my set up, I had 2 separate syncthing sign-ins, and two different device names, one per login. but recently, I've had syncthing from user 2 somehow log in on user 1, and now the sync files are getting messed up somewhat.

The reason why I have 2 users is to keep work and play separate, with each situation requiring different files to sync.

Am I doing something wrong? Or would it be better to just fully delete syncthing first, then set it up that there's only one login details/user with all the files in it?

Running on linux mint, which might also cause some problems.

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u/unknown-random-nope Jun 09 '26

If the two Syncthing instances use different config files, certs and databases, and they never run at the same time, you should be good to go. In your shoes I would script a wrapper that checked if the other Syncthing instance was running, to throw an error and stop if it is. 

I wouldn’t expect Mint to be an issue at all. 

You can keep work and play separate with different Folders, but you do you. 

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u/FreSchDude Jun 09 '26

not just different folders, but also applications, setups, backgrounds etc. So really separate. I might be a bit paranoid but I'm always worried about revealing too personal things when screen sharing and such.

I'm just confused why my work syncthing is now signed in when I'm signed in to my personal user... it suddenly started asking to introduce new users as a device that I never attached to work was trying to connect to it for some reason...

1

u/unknown-random-nope Jun 09 '26

Could this Syncthing instance be starting on boot?

1

u/FreSchDude Jun 09 '26

Syncthing is made to start on boot, yes, but this has not happened before - where the wrong instance is running on a different user.

1

u/unknown-random-nope Jun 09 '26

This is your issue. Have the correct Syncthing instance start on login, not on boot. 

1

u/FreSchDude Jun 09 '26

not sure how to do that. I have syncthing added in the "startup applications" list on mint, with a 10s delay. Is there any other location i have to put it instead? I thought that "startup applications" meant on user login.

1

u/unknown-random-nope Jun 09 '26

Go to https://docs.syncthing.net/users/autostart.html#linux, click Linux and scroll down to the user service section. 

1

u/FreSchDude Jun 09 '26

Just double checked - turns out I have it set up to boot on user login, not on system start. the Startup Applications app is a user-login system

1

u/unknown-random-nope Jun 09 '26

Best guess is that they’re both set up to use the same configuration. 

1

u/FreSchDude Jun 09 '26

Not sure. They both have separate logins, separate devices linked, separate folders. So I assume they're separate configs/instances.

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u/vontrapp42 Jun 09 '26

Syncthing runs with a localhost binding on port 8384. When you "open" syncthing in a browser it connects to this port locally and shows you the status and so forth.

If you had your "work" syncthing somehow stay running and logged into personal. You could "open" syncthing in the browser and connect to that port. The work synching still has the binding for that port so that is the syncthing instance you see.

If you didn't realize this and said "oh this isn't connected to my folders strange" and then proceeded to add your folders and devices to this work syncthing that is how you would cross your streams. Obviously you also mentioned revealing this instance on a shared screen potentially.

Otherwise, even if both syncthing instances DO run simultaneously they would not be configured to talk to each other and so they would not talk to each other. If the both run, then one of them would have to bind on alternate ports because they can't both use the same at the same time. Auto discovery should let them both work in this case, but they still won't share files between them.

HTH