Looking for a syncing solution

[spadz93]

I have two macs, one iMac and one macbook pro. They each have a dedicated folder/drive for my audio production files (sessions, samples, etc). I'd like to have the two destinations synced so that say if I work on a session on my iMac at home, it can sync down to my macbook pro so that I can work on it on the go. What solution would be the easiest here? (also, free makes things better)

 

[jbarley]

I sync my Documents Folder between a multitude of computers using DropBox, it has worked well for me for several years now.
I originally set it up using this free little App. (MacDropAny), was a piece-O-cake.
https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/37029/macdropany

 

[spadz93]

I sync my Documents Folder between a multitude of computers using DropBox, it has worked well for me for several years now.
I originally set it up using this free little App. (MacDropAny), was a piece-O-cake.
https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/37029/macdropany

I'll take a look into this. It's already starting to become tedious making sure each file remains up to date between the two computers

 

[jdelgado]

I have two macs, one iMac and one macbook pro. They each have a dedicated folder/drive for my audio production files (sessions, samples, etc). I'd like to have the two destinations synced so that say if I work on a session on my iMac at home, it can sync down to my macbook pro so that I can work on it on the go. What solution would be the easiest here? (also, free makes things better)

You may want to try Chronosync for this. I have used it for some time and works quite well. Also, support is excellent.
It is a paid application, but IMHO, well worth it. Last time I checked, there were free trials available.

 

[spadz93]

You may want to try Chronosync for this. I have used it for some time and works quite well. Also, support is excellent.
It is a paid application, but IMHO, well worth it. Last time I checked, there were free trials available.

I found an app called goodsync, and so far it's working pretty well. If i have any complaints i'll likely give chronosync a go

 

[HenryAZ]

I use rsync (included with the OS) for syncing my MBP and virtual machines with the main desktop Mac. You set up an /etc/rsyncd.conf file on the main machine, with your chosen paths you want synced defined there (owner root:wheel, permissions 640). Then a simple shell script on the client Mac's will sync all of those paths (or just selected ones, as I do in the case of the VM's).

Here is one line from my /etc/rsyncd.conf

[Documents]
    path = /Users/henry/Documents

And here is the corresponding line in the script file on the client:

/usr/bin/rsync -rt --delete helios::Documents        /Users/henry/Documents

Note, the target directory on the client need not be pathed the same as it is on the server. In my case, they all are the same.

man rsync will give you all the options for the client script. The syntax for rsyncd.conf on the server machine is here: https://rsync.samba.org/ftp/rsync/rsyncd.conf.html

rsycd must be run as a daemon on the server, and ssh with key authentication must be set up between the two machines to be synced (something I do anyway to all local machines). It may sound complicated, but once it's all set up, it is simply a matter of invoking the shell script on the client to sync everything. I keep my config files saved, and use the same ones on the next version of macOS.

Here is rsync.plist, which goes into /Library/LaunchDaemons, owner root:wheel, permissions 644.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
        <key>Disabled</key>
        <false/>
        <key>Label</key>
        <string>rsync</string>
        <key>Program</key>
        <string>/usr/bin/rsync</string>
        <key>ProgramArguments</key>
        <array>
                <string>/usr/bin/rsync</string>
                <string>--daemon</string>
        </array>
        <key>inetdCompatibility</key>
        <dict>
                <key>Wait</key>
                <false/>
        </dict>
        <key>Sockets</key>
        <dict>
            <key>Listeners</key>
            <dict>
                <key>SockServiceName</key>
                <string>rsync</string>
                <key>SockType</key>
                <string>stream</string>
            </dict>
        </dict>
</dict>
</plist>

Then launch the daemon thus:

sudo launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/rsync.plist