Two-way file sync between folders on your Linux computer or Android phone and Google Drive or Proton Drive.

Note

This is a third-party application not officially supported by Google or Proton. Built and tested only on Linux and Android.

Quick start

1. Install Syncative
   • Linux, any distribution:
     • the AppImage from the latest release
     • the Nix package manager: nix profile add github:Santuzius/syncative
   • NixOS: the module
   • Android 8 or newer (note on Android's future):
     • Obtainium (recommended), which keeps it up to date
     • the APK from the latest release
2. Start Syncative. On Linux it lives in the system tray (on GNOME with the AppIndicator extension), and closing the window keeps it syncing in the background. On Android it syncs in the background with a silent notification.
3. Add a remote: click Add remote and choose the provider.
   • Proton Drive: sign in with your Proton username and password.
   • Google Drive: needs your own OAuth client ID, which takes a few minutes in the Google Cloud console (rclone's guide). In the consent screen's Branding settings, enter https://github.com/Santuzius/syncative/blob/main/PRIVACY.md as Application privacy policy link and your own website or social media profile as Application home page, e.g. https://t.me/YourTelegramName. Then paste client ID and secret into Syncative, click Connect and grant access in your browser.
4. Add a folder: pick a local folder and the path on the remote it should mirror. Missing folders are created on both sides, and Syncative keeps them in sync at the interval set in the remote's settings.

Use Cases

• Syncing folders anywhere on your system, not just inside one sync folder.
• Syncing files to Android for offline access. (Increased storage usage, but best availability without network.)
• Two-way sync of ordinary files and folders.
• One-way sync of backups: exclude the backup folder on your other devices so that it stays only on this device and in the cloud.
• Two-way sync of program settings and game saves.
  • But be careful: a few apps cope well with being used on several devices at the same time (e.g. Obsidian), but most apps and games would cause conflicts. With those, use the program on only one device at a time and make sure the folder has finished syncing before you start it.

Screenshots

Linux

Android

Most Important Features

• Two-way sync, several folders per account, several accounts at the same time
• Exclusions for sub-folders and files, with a clean-up of copies left behind by an exclusion
• Conflict resolution: a file changed on both sides is never overwritten silently; you keep the local version, the remote one, or both
• Credentials stay on the device: in the system keyring on Linux, encrypted with the Android Keystore on Android
• Starts at login or after the phone's restart (can be switched off), Start / Pause per account
• On Android: power modes that sync less often with the screen off, and optionally no syncing on mobile data or other metered networks
• Light and dark theme, adjustable content size, settings export and import (without sign-ins)

Installing

AppImage

For x86_64 distributions with glibc 2.35 or newer (Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora 36 and later). Needs a Secret Service keyring such as GNOME Keyring or KWallet, which most desktops include.

1. Download Syncative-<version>-x86_64.AppImage from the latest release.
2. Move it to a fixed place under a fixed name, e.g. ~/Applications/Syncative.AppImage, and make it executable (chmod +x).
3. Start it once. Syncative then starts itself at login from exactly this file (switch this off in Preferences).

To update, replace the file, or let Gear Lever or AppImageUpdate do it.

Nix

github:Santuzius/syncative always gives the latest release; nix profile upgrade syncative moves you to a newer one. Nix downloads the released program; to build it from source instead, install github:Santuzius/syncative#syncative-source.

NixOS

Add the flake to inputs:

syncative.url = "github:Santuzius/syncative";

Then enable it through the NixOS module (installs Syncative, its menu entry and a system-wide autostart entry that starts it in the tray; Syncative's own per-user entry from Preferences takes precedence over it):

# flake.nix outputs, inside nixosSystem { modules = [ … ]; }
inputs.syncative.nixosModules.default
{ programs.syncative.enable = true; }   # programs.syncative.autostart = false; to skip autostart

To build Syncative from source instead of downloading the released program, add programs.syncative.fromSource = true;.

Alternatively add inputs.syncative.packages.${system}.default to environment.systemPackages or use overlays.default.

Android

Warning

Free and open-source Android is under threat.

Starting in 2027, Google plans to block every app on certified Android devices whose developer has not registered with Google and handed over a government ID. Syncative is published only outside Google Play, so this concerns it directly. Make your voice heard: Keep Android Open.

For phones with Android 8 or newer and a 64-bit ARM processor (arm64-v8a, nearly every phone since 2017).

• With Obtainium (recommended): Add app, enter https://github.com/Santuzius/syncative and install. Obtainium then reports new releases and installs them.
• By hand: download Syncative-<version>-arm64-v8a.apk from the latest release and open it on the phone; Android asks to allow installing from that app.

Syncative needs All files access to sync folders anywhere in the phone's storage; while it is missing, a bar at the top offers to allow it. It also asks for permission to run in the background.

Snap

A Snap package is prepared but not yet published in the Snap Store.

Building

The project ships a shell.nix that provides a stable Rust toolchain, Go, and all runtime libraries (Wayland/Vulkan/X11, OpenSSL, rclone). From the repo root:

# Release build
nix-shell --run 'cargo build --release'

# Run directly
nix-shell --run 'cargo run --release'

No global rustup, go, or system headers are required — everything is pulled in by the shell.

• AppImage: scripts/build-appimage.sh builds it in an Ubuntu 22.04 container and needs Docker.
• Android: see android/README.md.
• Releases: see doc/release.md.

Used components

• rclone for Google Drive (other rclone-supported providers would be possible, but are not implemented)
• go-proton-api for Proton Drive
• iced for the GUI, on Android through iced_android

FAQ

Why not also add other providers?

• I test Proton Drive and Google Drive extensively in everyday use with my own personal data. I cannot ensure that an untested integration of another provider would keep your data as safe as these two.
• Many of them already have good Linux clients:
  • OneDrive: abraunegg/onedrive
  • Dropbox
  • Nextcloud
  • etc.
• As the sole maintainer, I have little time for the project.

Why not Flatpak, F-Droid or distribution packages?

This is my first published app, and packaging takes time. The AppImage runs on most distributions, and the Snap package is the next step.

Privacy

Syncative runs entirely on your computer or phone and sends nothing to the developer. See the privacy policy.

About Syncative

Syncative is a fork of Celeste by Hunter Wittenborn, maintained by Alexander Menzel and renamed to tell the two apart. See NOTICE for the list of modifications relative to upstream. The fork is distributed under the same GPL-3.0-or-later terms as the original.