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Self-hosted · Open source

A cloud drive for your own server.

Open your files in the browser, on your Mac, your iPhone or your Android phone, while they stay plain files in a folder on your disk. Stop using Synclet tomorrow and everything is exactly where you left it.

Download for Mac Self-host with Docker

Mac app requires macOS 26 or later. Server runs anywhere Docker Compose does.

The Synclet web app (sample data).
The Synclet iPhone app (sample data).

Your files stay yours.

  • Your folders stay clean.

    Synclet never writes its own files into your folders. Thumbnails, the trash and file versions are kept separately.

  • Start with the folder you have.

    Point Synclet at an existing folder and your files are there right away. Change them on the server, in the browser or on your phone, and every device sees the same thing.

  • No lock-in.

    Stop Synclet and delete the containers. Your files are still a plain folder, sorted exactly the way you left them.

Features

Everything you'd expect from a cloud drive.

In the browser, on your Mac, iPhone and Android phone, with shared folders for the family and optional Office editing.

  • Web app

    • Previews for photos (HEIC too), videos, PDFs and text
    • Search inside your documents
    • Select many files to move, copy or download as a ZIP
    • Share links with password and expiry
    • Trash and optional file versions

  • Mac

    • Your files in Finder, downloaded when you open them
    • Keep folders available offline
    • Changes show up within seconds
    • macOS 26 or later

  • iPhone & iPad

    • Browse, preview and share in the app
    • Synclet in the Files app
    • Save to Synclet from any app
    • Uploads keep going in the background
    • iOS and iPadOS 26, TestFlight beta

  • Android

    • Browse, preview and share in the app
    • Synclet in the file picker and Files app
    • Save to Synclet from any app
    • Uploads keep going in the background
    • Android 10 or later, phone and tablet

  • Spaces

    • Shared folders next to everyone's own
    • Your NAS shares (SMB, NFS) and other disks
    • Read or write access per person or group
    • An unplugged disk is never mistaken for deleted files

  • Office

    • Edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files (and ODF) in the browser
    • Runs as an optional extra container (Euro-Office)
    • If a file changes while you edit, your version is saved as a copy

  • Self-hosted & open source

    • One Docker Compose stack
    • HTTPS built in, or behind your own proxy
    • Sign in with your identity provider (OIDC or forward-auth)
    • Admin area for users, devices and shares

Look before you download.

Press the space bar on any file to preview it: photos, videos, PDFs, Markdown and code open right in the browser.

QuickLook preview of a landscape photo opened from the Synclet web app.

Shared folders, and the NAS you already have.

Make a shared folder for the family, add your NAS shares, and choose who can read or write. Each one is still a normal folder on disk.

The admin page Spaces listing the team folder Family and the external storage Archive with their members and status.

Download

Get Synclet.

Set up the server first, then add the apps. The web app works in any modern browser.

  • Mac

    Your files right in Finder, plus a small menu bar app.

    Requires macOS 26 or later.

    Download Synclet.dmg

  • iPhone & iPad

    The app, Synclet in the Files app, and “Save to Synclet” from any app.

    Requires iOS or iPadOS 26 or later.

    TestFlight beta coming soon

  • Android

    The app, Synclet in the file picker, and “Save to Synclet” from any app. Works without Google services.

    Requires Android 10 or later.

    Download APK
    Google Play testing coming soon

  • Server

    One Docker Compose stack.

    Runs best on Linux, works anywhere Docker does.

    Install guide Source on GitHub

A Windows app is coming later.

Install

Up and running in five minutes.

All you need is a machine with Docker. Bring the folder with your files, or start with an empty one.

  1. 1. Download two files

    The images are prebuilt for amd64 and arm64, so there's nothing to compile.

    mkdir synclet && cd synclet
curl -fsSLO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eltomato89/synclet/main/deploy/compose.yml
curl -fsSL -o .env https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eltomato89/synclet/main/deploy/.env.example
sudo mkdir -p /srv/files /srv/synclet-meta
sudo chown "$(id -u):$(id -g)" /srv/files /srv/synclet-meta
mkdir -p teams
sed -i.bak -e "s/^PUID=.*/PUID=$(id -u)/" -e "s/^PGID=.*/PGID=$(id -g)/" \
  -e "s/^POSTGRES_PASSWORD=.*/POSTGRES_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -hex 24)/" .env && rm .env.bak

  2. 2. Check .env

    The commands above already set your user and a database password. Have a look at the folders:

    # your files; each user gets a subfolder named like the username
SYNCLET_DATA=/srv/files
# trash, versions, previews: must exist, outside SYNCLET_DATA
SYNCLET_META=/srv/synclet-meta
# team folders (optional, default ./teams)
#SYNCLET_TEAMS=/srv/teams
# owner of your files: set to your user by the commands above
PUID=1000
PGID=1000
# pin a release (default latest)
SYNCLET_VERSION=…

  3. 3. Start it

    docker compose up -d

    Open http://localhost:8080 and create your account. Your username becomes your folder in /srv/files; if one with that name exists, its files show up right away.

    Rather build it yourself? See Building from source.

  4. 4. Make it reachable from outside

    Behind your reverse proxy (nginx, Traefik, Nginx Proxy Manager…): set SYNCLET_PUBLIC_URL and add the proxy to SYNCLET_TRUSTED_PROXIES. Details in the configuration docs.

    Or let Synclet handle HTTPS itself: set SYNCLET_SITE_ADDRESS to your domain, plus SYNCLET_PORT=80, SYNCLET_TLS_PORT=443 and SYNCLET_PUBLIC_URL.

  5. NAS and other disks

    Mount any folder below /storage and it becomes a space. Add it to server, and read-only to worker, in compose.yml; there are examples in the file, including SMB. Then choose who may use it in the admin area. For network shares, switch the space to scheduled scans.

      server:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/archive:/storage/Archive
  worker:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/archive:/storage/Archive:ro

Documentation

FAQ

Questions, answered.

What happens to my files if I stop using Synclet?

Nothing. They're a normal folder on your disk. Remove the containers and your files are exactly where they were.

Do I need the apps?

No. The web app does everything: upload, preview, search, share, restore from the trash. The apps add Finder and Files integration, offline folders and background uploads.

How do I back up?

Back up your files folder with whatever you already use; they're plain files. To keep the trash, versions, users and share links too, also back up the metadata folder and the database (pg_dump).

Can I use my NAS?

Yes. Mount it below /storage and it becomes a space. Synclet scans network shares on a schedule, and if a share goes offline, nothing gets deleted.

Several users and shared folders?

Yes. Everyone gets their own folder, and admins create shared folders and decide who can read or write.

How do I turn on Office editing?

Add COMPOSE_PROFILES=office and an OFFICE_JWT_SECRET to .env and restart. Euro-Office then runs as an extra container on your Synclet domain; plan for about 4 GB of RAM. Details in the Office docs.

Is there a Windows app?

Not yet, it's planned. Until then, the web app works in any browser.

Is it free?

Yes. Synclet is open source under the MIT license.

How do I update?

Set the new SYNCLET_VERSION in .env and run docker compose pull && docker compose up -d. Back up the database first: after an update you can't go back to an older version.

How secure is it?

Passwords are hashed with Argon2 and sign-in attempts are limited. You can use single sign-on (OIDC or forward-auth), the apps get device tokens you can revoke at any time, and share links can have a password and an expiry date. HTTPS comes built in.