How can I keep a clone of a folder?

Question

I have a folder with Docs in on a Time Capsule, I would also like this same folder to be in Documents on Mac.

I want both to update whenever a file is changed or added.

Do you know of an automate command or a piece of software that will do this without me having to initiate it manually.

Answer 1

I Just found SynkPro with a google. Not used it but it says it can "sync your home and work computers—even if they're not connected—by syncing them both with an external hard drive serving as a "shuttle" for your data."

Answer 2

There are two options for you. First is a paid app such as Folder Watch (App Store link) that offers a simple GUI to select folders to keep in sync.

The second option would be to set up an Automator workflow that executes the following rsync command:

rsync -va --delete "$source/" "$target/"

(Where $source and $target are paths to the folders you wish to keep in sync.)

Answer 3

If you are using Mac OS X 10.7.2+ (Lion) on a Mac, you can try using iCloud.

Set up both machines with the same iCloud account, and ensure that "Documents & Data" is checked in:

System Preferences > iCloud > [√] Documents & Data.

Navigate to "~/Library/Mobile Documents" and create an alias of this folder on your desktop on both machines.

Any item placed into that folder should appear on the other within a few seconds.

Bare in mind, this solution is officially unsupported, and as far as I know uses your WAN connection to sync rather than do so locally. Also, it is most likely subject to the space limitations of your iCloud account, so going with something like Dropbox or Synk may be a more suitable solution in the short term.

Answer 4

To sync both ways, and without using Internet storage clients like Drop box, I recommend using Chronosync. It's not the cheapest, but it's massively flexible. You set up a source and a destination, and provide configurable options for when and how to sync. You can sync both ways, sync but archive any files that are deleted, sync one way, sync when a machine logs into the same LAN, sync on a timed schedule, perform trial syncs to check what will change, filter against files within the sync area etc etc. I'm not affiliated with them in any way, but I use it to maintain 2 home directories on seperate Macs.

If you want to sync one way, you can use Folder Actions to make a copy for added files, but I don't think it will cater for file modification.

You say the folder is on your time machine drive, but you don't say how you connect to this drive (USB/Wireless etc) - you need to ensure that the drive that the folder is mountable on in available when performing a sync, whatever method you use.

Answer 5

If you are willing to switch "Time Capsule" for "some service in the cloud" this is exactly what Dropbox does really really well :)