File Orbit alpha shows early self-hosted file sync progress
File Orbit is a project meant to sync files across personal servers and storage devices. Its reached an early milestone: apps running on two machines can now sync with each other. The design uses an -based filesystem together with IPFS in a P2P setup.
The goal is to avoid the pain of relying on one cloud box after a home server fails, while allowing many NAS instances to talk to each other under one login. Login and data ownership are meant to sit with a Personal Data Server, so people do not have to use File Orbit’s if they prefer BlueSky or their own Personal Data Server. Installers are available for macOS and Windows, with Linux planned next.
The project was renamed from substratum.cloud to File Orbit to avoid naming trouble for a model, while the protocol name remains so others can adopt, fork, and host their own versions.
Key points
- File Orbit now syncs between apps on two machines.
- It combines an -based filesystem with IPFS and a P2P design.
- It targets who want multiple NAS instances under one login.
- macOS and Windows installers are available, and Linux support is planned next.
- People may be able to use BlueSky or their own Personal Data Server instead of File Orbit’s .