Everdo Network Sync Guide

Hey

Been testing out getting sync working on my laptop and stationary machine. I’ve downloaded the latest 1.0.6-3 version that was released (Verified that it says “Everdo 1.0.6-3 (Pro)” on both machines), and got it working with the “Manual Client” mode when pulling and pushing with server, both with adding and trashing tasks from the inbox

However, when trying out the “Sync Now” button, or changing to “Client” mode on the client computer, I get the following warning message: “Outdated Everdo version. Please upgrade to v1.0.6-3 or higher.”

This is really weird. Will look into it.
Have you tried restarting the program on both machines after seeing the error message?

I’ve tried restarting the software on each, restarting the computer on each, as well as uninstalling and installing again on each (Since the laptop/server upgraded from 1.0.5 to 1.0.6, while the stationary/client was a fresh install), but it’s still acting the same, Pull/Push is fine while Sync is not working

To anyone experiencing this issue - please send me a private message or email.

Is there any way to run the server without any graphical interface (in a standalone and headless mode, with only the bare minimum to allow the sync) ?

Not at this point. It has been proposed, see Headless / Raspberry pi version (for server sync)

IIs this secure enough to expose publicly? I would like to sync between computers on separate networks (preferably without running a VPN), and am curious if I can run this on AWS or similar.

It was designed for a trusted network, so I can’t really advise on hosting it publicly. If you decide to, keep in mind:

  • the strength of the API key is not enforced, so you need to make sure you pick a strong one
  • the API key is stored in configuration, so you need to make sure the configuration file doesn’t leak anywhere
  • there’s no guarantee of security against a determined attacker

The data is transmitted over HTTPS.

Hi, I’ve written a standalone synchronization server (the source code is here: https://github.com/bquintanajm/filesyncserver). So far only the manual synchronization works, but that’s enough for me.

Right now I’m using a self-signed ssl certificate, but I’d like to run the server behind a reverse proxy with a Let’s Encrypt certificate. However, it seems the field ‘Server IP/Hostname’ doesn’t accept url paths. Will this be supported in some future release?

The Server IP/ Hostname field only accepts an IP address, or a hostname, or localhost. Why wouldn’t this work with a reverse proxy?

One way of using a reverse proxy is routing to addresses based on url path. For example, www.myexternaladddress.com/app1 can point internally to localhost:1001. In this case, Everdo ignores url paths, that’s why I was asking if such feature could be added in the future.

Hmm,

I, just a non-it guy with a pc and a phone, would like to collect stuff on my phone.

Does that mean,

  1. I have to enable WLAN on my computer (currently not needed) and
  2. log into that wireless network with my phone and
  3. configure my computer as server as shown above etc.

Then syncing will take place automatically if the computer is running, the phone is connected wireless, and autosync is enabled?

Your understanding seems correct. Unfortunately, the self-managed sync setup is about as simple as it’s going to get. There’s no easy way around having devices on the same network, or knowing the devices’ addresses etc. Good news is, the online encrypted sync service is coming really soon and it will be a breeze to set up for any number of computers and phones connected to the inernet.

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I am waiting for it with much desire…

Getting closer. Internal testing starts next week. It shouldn’t take much longer.

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Thanks! This is much appreciated.

Sync works great on my local networks - home and work - but I am having to update the IP address of my server computer (a laptop) every time I bring it to work with me, because it has a different IP address there than it does on my home network. Since I’m a teacher in a public school, I can’t exactly ask the IT department here to assign me a static IP – I’m not that special!

Am I correct to infer that THIS is the conundrum that an online encrypted sync service is designed to solve? It will provide a remote server (not a local machine) that acts as the relay for syncing between devices?

Thanks for your hard work on Everdo, which is an elegant cross-platform GTD solution. I’m sure you’re aware that it’s a somewhat niche GTD service at the moment, but prepare for wider adoption once the mobile apps exit beta and your sync service gets up and running! I had been searching for an app like this for years, ever since first trying Omnifocus in 2007.

Thanks very much for the wonderful Everdo, which is really an amazing GTD tool.

It seems to me the currently data sync service requires to run a Desktop app, e.g., on Ubuntu. I am wondering whether there is a way to run a server service on Linux without Desktop GUI? I have a cloud server and would like to put Everdo server on it so that I can sync with my home and work laptops. But unfortunately the cloud server doesn’t have a desktop gui.

Thank you!

Yes, that’s it. The service is coming soon. Thanks for your support!

I remember seeing some users managing to run it on a server… Maybe somewhere on this forum. But it’s not by design at this point.

I think you might be interested in ESS as well. It’s going to be affordable and easy to use, without requiring maintenance on your part, unlike hosting it yourself. Security is also improved with client-side encryption.

A self-hosted sync service might happen, but after ESS is out, the development focus is going to be shifted to improving the quality of apps.

I am wondering whether there is a way to run a server service on Linux without Desktop GUI?

I have created a docker image to run a synchronization server without UI. With this I am able to synchronize my devices from anywhere. If you want to try, the image is here:
https://hub.docker.com/r/juanmbq/filesyncserver/

The current limitations are:

  • Only manual sync works.
  • You cannot run the server behind a reverse proxy.

I’m not sure I want to fix the automatic sync because clients seem to have a fixed rate interval of 5 seconds for synchronization requests. For a LAN, as it was intended, it’s okay, but I don’t need so many requests when I’m on a WAN.