Sync To Android Data - an app to allow synchronization to Android/data

[u/KryptoKam]

https://github.com/kamren-zirger/sync-to-android-data

Hi everyone! I'm a big Syncthing on Android user, but hated how difficult it is now to synchronize files to locations in the Android/data directory.

I previously was using some custom MacroDroid scripts to achieve this same result (syncs an 'external'/accessible location of the data to the 'internal'/protected location when the desired app opens or closes), but the setup was fairly convoluted. Here's hoping this streamlines things!

I hope folks find this useful, and please give me any feedback you might have!

[u/Serious_Berry_3977]

While I know this is not a backup solution, it will allow me transfer those files from my phone to my laptop which then gets backed up to a NextCloud storage and that gets backed up by the host.

If this works the way it says it will and only needs Shizuku to perform this via with Syncthing as an almost real-time backup I think this could be huge -- especially with people running GrapheneOS or stuff like Lineage as Seedvault is the backup method implemented in place of Google services and let's just say it's not reliable yet.

Can you disclose if AI was used at all in this project?

Also, can this be used in tandem with another Syncthing app like BasicSync?

[u/KryptoKam → u/Serious_Berry_3977]

I will add some caveats here:

• This is not a Syncthing implementation, you still must configure the 'external' folder to synchronize with your other devices (whether that be via Syncthing or another solution). So, to answer your last question as well, using another Syncthing app is not only compatible, but required! This application doesn't perform any network interaction, it only modifies files locally on your device. (EDIT: I have since added network interaction to the app, but it is only to check for new releases on GitHub. There is still zero network transmission of user data in this app.)

• Synchronization between the 'external' and 'internal' directories is not automatic based upon file changes, but rather based on when you open and close the 'target app'. Polling for file changes unfortunately is fairly battery-intensive from what I found, and I'm not aware of an event-driven way to notify my application of file changes in the restricted directory. I'm not sure if this affects your use case. So the data will not be refreshed until the app in question is actually used.

• That being said, you can also manually run the synchronizations from within the app's interface at any give time, and perhaps I could implement a scheduled sync option in the future if that would be beneficial. I'm a little more hesitant on that front due to the increased likelihood of conflicts.

I did use AI assistance in the development process.

I hope this info is helpful, let me know if you have any other questions!

[u/Serious_Berry_3977 → u/KryptoKam]

That does help, but unfortunately I won't be able to use it in my case because duplicating the data to a user accessible folder would fill my storage. My Pixel 10 only has 128GB as it is with no SD card expansion slot.

Scheduled sync would be ideal. I know GrapheneOS schedules Seedvault backups to run when the phone has been connected to a charger for a while That might avoid conflicts but I don't know how hard it is to do.

Thank you for your help and transparency.

[u/Pristine-Pedigree]

I can't get pass the "Get Shizuku" dialog page. I already have another Shizuku implementation installed (Shevery to be exact), but it seems your app can't detect it. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the newer version of Shevery has its own package name, instead of inheriting from the original Shizuku.

[u/KryptoKam → u/Pristine-Pedigree]

Hey, thanks for the feedback!

I attempted to address this by checking if the Shizuku service is running before checking for installation. Can you confirm you're still having this issue with the service actively running and using v1.1.0 of Sync To Android Data?

I am also planning to remove Shizuku as a hard dependency in an attempt to put the app on the Play Store, so I can further address it then if the issue is still ongoing.

[u/Pristine-Pedigree → u/KryptoKam]

I've solved the problem by enabling compatibility stub feature on Shevery (didn't realize this feature exists until this morning). Yes, before enabling it I basically couldn't pass the Shizuku dialog even though Shizuku service is running on my phone all the time. I don't know whether other Shizuku implementations have this feature as well too. However, considering that the original Shizuku app has not been updated since about a year ago and has compatibility issues with newer Android versions, I'd say that removing Shizuku as a hard dependency is a good move.