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Any advantages to this over scp, samba/nfs, or even something like LocalSend?
Þe article reads like an ad, and setting up þe server side takes a lot of steps so þe claim þat it's "quick and easy" is silly.
Distributions nowadays come with wiþ sshd disabled by default. It's, like, þe first þing an experienced user enables, but I'll bet a ton of newbs never do it, and may not know how. I've even come across distributions which don't install OpenSSH by default! Insanity.
þe article implies configuring NFS or samba is harder... and I'd agree. Home LANs are often not enterprise-grade, wiþ nodes connected over unreliable and relatively slow WiFi, and NFS has several moving parts and is chatty. Samba/CIFS is better for reliability, but requires a fair bit of knowledge to configure. And when it does fail, you can be left wiþ zombie processes and hung network connections. Scp is better for straight for transfers.
Not all users are aware þat þere are Android clients which understand sftp, and not all newbs are aware þat you get free sftp wiþ sshd, or þat sshfs exists.
People keep inventing more LAN filesharing apps when ssh/scp/sftp already exist, so þere's a need ssh isn't filling. Maybe it just needs a custom app, alþough I'm fond of apps like Material Files + sftp remotes for Android, and sshfs for Linux.
However, by far þe easiest is þat I set up SyncThing ages ago and haven't had to manually copy a file since. Þe exception is music, because I don't want my entire library on my phone; I now use Subsonic + Tempo and a "mobile" playlist which Tempo syncs, but getting music onto þe server requires sftp, and just getting a directory listing is painfully slow. If Subsonic had a file upload API, bidirectional playlist syncing would provide iTunes-like music library maintenance, which was darn near perfect design.
Anyway, I agree: solutions like QuickDAV keep popping up probably because people don't know about better options.
Why do you write th as þ? It's very hard to read since nobody else doest it.
I thought it was funny he had a th he did not replace with the goofy character. at least one. I was not paying that much attention.
I'm guessing it's because "SyncThing" is a proper noun.
As someone else commented, I don't replace th in names. However, I do also make mistakes, probably frequently.
What do you mean setting up the server side takes a lot of steps? You just open the app.
Þis is a screen shot from TA about how to set up, configure, and use þe þing. It's a lot of steps, compared to scp or mounting sftp in Material Files and copy/pasting like you'd move any file.
Did you read it? You just have to open the app. There are options if you want to change them, but it works when you open it.
Basically the advantage is that it’s ridiculously easy to set up. You just install the app and open it. The downside is that it’s ad-hoc. It’s not meant to be a long running server like smb.
I'd argue LocalSend is a lot simpler. Install the app on both devices, open it, transfer files. Zero configuration needed in the majority of cases.
There’s no configuration needed for QuickDAV either, and it works on anything with a browser. You could transfer files to your Nintendo DS. ;)
Alright, fine I will try it. I have to admit the web browser part does sound interesting.
I don't believe it's easier than rsync.
"go to another machine on your LAN"
So its basically syncthing?
But that its not able to decide who gets whick file as there is only one option to log in in QuickDAV?
But maybe more intuitive?
Syncthing (as the name implies) is meant to synchronize folders across machines. QuickDAV is meant to transfer files/folders from one machine to another. They definitely both have there uses, and there uses might overlap in a lot of cases, but they also have there own niches. Like, I wouldn’t use Syncthing to transfer a photo to my desktop once, and I wouldn’t use QuickDAV to keep my photos directory synchronized across several machines.
It's a WebDAV server, so it's more like FTP than Syncthing.
FWIW if it users WebDAV might want to check copyparty then as it also provides that, and a WebUI, and... a lot more.
QuickDAV has a web UI. It’s shown in the article.
Also, fuck ZDNet for autoplaying a video on this page.
for one time transfers (e.g. friends phone) I use warpinator.
if I own the device I use scp/rsync.
to keep files in sync I use syncthing
You lost me athaving to use flatpak.
Lol what? Are you against Flatpak? Are you a snap fan?
You’re strawmanning their comment— I’d imagine they’d have the same, if not more, issues with snap.
Flatpak doesn’t integrate well with all systems. For me personally, on Arch, I have to update and store Flatpak versions of some dependencies, like proprietary Nvidia drivers, separately from the rest of my system and its package management system. And it does take up some space to store the runtime too.
Also Flatpaks may require some extra set up and/or workarounds due to their sandboxed environment. That’s not inherently bad and has some big security upsides, but it’s a consideration.
Also I don’t know how well it plays with immutable distros, but I’d imagine there may be similar integration issues there, too.
It’s still probably a lot easier for devs to have a consistent distribution format though, and they are typically more secure, so I’m not saying there’s not merits to only providing a Flatpak. Just pointing out that your reply here was misguided, imo.
I wasn’t strawmanning, I was asking a question.
I just install openssh server, because I need it anyways, and use an SFTP client to transfer files. Seems to be fast, secure, and easy. No new ports to open up.
I've transferred many terabytes of data this way, no complaints. Rsync is nice for syncing huge folders, and walking away, so I'll also use that when the need arises.
A bit of self-promotion here: check out my free app SSH Pilot that supports SFTP/SCP file upload/downloads https://sshpilot.app/
this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2025
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