Update Steam Deck Syncthing post
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tabtitle: "Syncthing on the Steam Deck"
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title: "Setting up Syncthing on the Steam Deck"
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topics: [gaming]
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pub: "2022-07-04"
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title: "Setting up Syncthing on the Steam Deck (Updated!)"
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topics: [gaming, technology]
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pub: "2022-07-12"
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short_desc: "Syncthing is an incredible tool that I use to keep pictures,
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music, notes, and games synchronized across multiple platforms. The form
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factor of the Steam Deck makes it a perfect emulation target, and Syncthing
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can help keep games and saves in-sync with other machines."
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---
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# Syncthing on the Steam Deck
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# Syncthing on the Steam Deck (Updated!)
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## Update
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Turns out, when you update the SteamOS, it completely over-writes the operating
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system. All of the setup I had originally written was great, if I never update,
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which is unacceptable. Not all is lost; the quest simply gets harder. If I can't
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rely on system-wide services, then I rely on user services.
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### The Wrong Way: System-Wide Services
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My first attempt was to setup Syncthing as a system-wide service managed by
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`systemd`, installed via `pacman`. There are several problems with this. First,
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it requires disabling the read-only file-system. Next, `pacman` is not setup nor
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reliable, since every SteamOS update will over-write any changes I make to any
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of the read-only file-system, including the directories that `pacman` relies on.
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Related, the update will also erase the Syncthing package. This means I either
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never update (inadvisable, and unacceptable), or I setup Syncthing not in the
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read-only file-system.
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### The Right Way: User Services
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systemd allows for non-root-based services, called user services. The Arch Wiki
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[systemd/User](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Systemd/User) article describes
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this functionality much more than I will. Here are the relevant details:
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- User services can be enabled to start when a user logs in
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- Service files are stored in the user's home directory (specifically
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`~/.config/systemd/user`)
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- No root privileges are required. No modifying the read-only file-system
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## Syncthing
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Syncthing is incredible. I've [written about it
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before](2020/07/19/syncthing-part-1.html), but the setup here is a bit more
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involved. The Steam Deck runs Arch Linux (and have I told you yet today that I
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do too?), so the Arch Wiki [article on
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Syncthing](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Syncthing) gives some good insight.
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When I initially started this process, I installed the `SyncthingGTK`
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application from the Discover Store. This means it is a Flatpak application, and
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so doesn't require elevated user privileges. After setting it up, I realized
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that I would need to run the application in order for the Syncthing daemon to
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start and sync. I see in the options that `SyncthingGTK` can be configured to
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start at launch minimized, and this _may_ resolve that issue. I decided to go a
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different route and setup Syncthing how I'm used to it. This required disabling
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the Steam Deck's read-only file system, configuring `pacman`, installing the
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Syncthing daemon, enabling and starting the service, and then configuring
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Syncthing through the web-UI.
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When I initially started this process, I installed the SyncthingGTK application
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from the Discover Store. This means it is a Flatpak application, and so doesn't
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require elevated user privileges. I also tried the Syncthingy application, which
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explicitly calls out Steam Deck users. However, both require running the Flatpak
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in the background (like some users do for Discord or Spotify). I don't like
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this, it feels off, and thus I sought a different approach.
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### Preface
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Disabling the Steam Deck's read-only file system is not advised if you're not
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comfortable with the reality that you can seriously mess up the device with
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little to no effort. Use the `SyncthingGTK` option, and just start it when you
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need to sync. Heck, do what I'm too lazy to do, and check if by enabling the
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options to start it on login minimized, it still synchronizes in the background!
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If you want to do what I did (which, as a final warning, may not be a good
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decision), read on.
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## SSHD: Still Incredibly Useful
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I got real tired real quick of using the on-screen keyboard. After
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complaining, a friend recommended I enable `sshd` and just remote in to the
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device. Doing so was a breeze, and I recommend to others who don't have a
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physical keyboard they can plug into their device. Drop to desktop mode
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(hold the power button for a few seconds, and select the option), and start a
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terminal (default is `Konsole`). Start the service, `sudo systemctl start sshd`,
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and optionally enable it to have `sshd` automatically started on each boot
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(`sudo systemctl enable sshd`). Before remotely accessing the device, or using
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terminal (default is Konsole). Before remotely accessing the device, or using
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elevated privileges via `sudo`, I need to set a password for the default user,
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`deck`. From the same terminal, type `passwd` and set it (and then put it in
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your password vault so you don't forget. You _do_ have a password vault,
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right?). Next, get the device IP with `ip addr list`, from my desktop run `ssh
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deck@ip-address`, type in the password, and now I'm a grade-A Hackermans.
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_deck_. In the terminal, type `passwd` and set it (and then put it in your
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password vault so you don't forget. You _do_ have a password vault, right?).
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Start the service, `sudo systemctl start sshd`, and optionally enable it to have
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`sshd` automatically started on each boot (`sudo systemctl enable sshd`). Get
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the device IP with `ip addr list`, from my desktop run `ssh deck@ip-address`,
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type in the password, and now I'm a grade-A Hackermans.
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### Disable SteamOS Protections
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This setting is not reset on SteamOS updates, that I can tell. Once enabled,
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this will always start at boot, and always be on until explicitly turned off. Be
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mindful of that if you decide to wander away from your home network; maybe turn
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it off in public if you don't need it.
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Using the `steamos-readonly` command, I can enable, disable, and check the
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status of the read-only protections. For now, I will disable them:
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## Setup
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There are 2 things required: a systemd service file, and the `syncthing`
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binary. Syncthing is written in Go, and a compiled binary can be downloaded that
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has no dependencies or installation requirements. It can be downloaded from
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the [Syncthing
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Releases](https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/tag/v1.20.3) page for
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many platforms and architectures. The Steam Deck is a Linux platform, using the
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AMD64 architecture (or x86_64), so I grab that one. I'll note here, since I have
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SSH access, I do all the editing and downloading on my desktop, and then
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transfer the files using `scp` to the Deck. All of these steps can be done on
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the Deck itself, without SSH access. Once the proper tarball has been
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downloaded, extract it, and within will be the `syncthing` binary, ready to
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rock. I copy/move the binary to `~/.local/bin/syncthing` on the Deck. The exact
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location is less important than ensuring the binary is within my home directory
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on the Deck.
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The systemd serivce file can also be taken from the extracted tarball, but
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requires modification. In the tarball, it is
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`etc/linux-systemd/user/syncthing.service`. Copy this file to
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`~/.config/systemd/user` on the Deck, and edit the "ExecStart" line in the
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"[Service]" section from
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```
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sudo steamos-readonly disable
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...
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[Service]
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ExecStart=/usr/bin/syncthing serve --no-browser --no-restart --logflags=0
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...
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```
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### Pacman Configuration
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to
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Next configure `pacman`:
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```
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sudo pacman-key --init
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sudo pacman-key --populate
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sudo pacman-key --refresh-keys
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...
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[Service]
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ExecStart=/home/deck/.local/bin/syncthing serve --no-browser --no-restart --logflags=0
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...
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```
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(or wherever you decided to put the local `syncthing` binary)
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This will initialize the `pacman` key-ring, populate it with the default signing
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keys provided with Arch, and then refresh those keys. Without this step, when I
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would try to install I would get errors About untrusted and corrupt packages.
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### Install Syncthing
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Install the package:
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With everything in place, I can now enable and start the Syncthing user service:
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```
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sudo pacman -Syu syncthing
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systemctl --user enable syncthing.service
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systemctl --user start syncthing.service
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```
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Next, enable and start the daemon. I used a user service, since the `deck` user
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should be the only user ever logging in. It can be set up as a server-wide
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service too; check the wiki. Here are the user service steps:
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```
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sudo systemctl --user --machine=deck@.host enable syncthing
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sudo systemctl --user --machine=deck@.host start syncthing
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```
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A `sudo systemctl --user --machine=deck@.host status syncthing` should show
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happy results.
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### (Optional) Re-Enable SteamOS Protections
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```
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sudo steamos-readonly enable
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```
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### Configure Syncthing
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Before returning to game mode, I add a few non-Steam applications to Steam, all
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of which were installed using the Discover Store: Firefox, Minetest, and
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Retroarch. I opted to return to Game Mode for the Syncthing configuration.
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Regardless, the following steps are performed back on the Deck with the
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on-screen keyboard (or a physical one attached to the device.) Technically, I
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could leverage `ssh` to port-forward the Syncthing web-UI to my desktop.
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Since I don't have a physical keyboard plugged in, I modify my SSH command
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slightly to forward the Syncthing web-UI from the Deck to my local machine:
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```
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ssh -L 31337:deck-ip-goes-here:8384 deck@deck-ip-goes-here
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```
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I did not, and suffered through the on-screen keyboard. Within a web browser on
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the Deck get to the Syncthing web-UI by going to `localhost:8384`. Once there, I
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added my desktop as a device, and shared several folders from my desktop to my
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Deck. Those details mostly center around Retroarch, a topic I hope to cover
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next.
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Now, on my local machine I can open one tab to `localhost:8384`, to show
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Syncthing on my local machine, and another tab to `localhost:31337` to show
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Syncthing on my Deck. From here, I add my local machine as a device on my Deck,
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and begin sharing folders.
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## Closing Thoughts
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I've been using this setup for about a week now. I've synced almost 20GB of
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files, including configurations and saves for Retroarch. It works after
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restarts, OS and client upgrades, and waking the device from sleep. It sits
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quietly in the background, without having to start up applications. The biggest
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problem is that it doesn't automatically update to the newest version of
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Syncthing. It's also a bit involved to setup. To that end, I've written a tool
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to help with setup: [Steam Deck Syncthing
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Setup](https://gitlab.com/VagabondAzulien/steam-deck-syncthing). I'm still
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finishing it up, but I intend to make use of it to keep my version of Syncthing
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up-to-date. If you use it, let me know!
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