Syncthing Simple Installer for Windows

A simple PowerShell script to install and configure Syncthing as a Scheduled Task on Windows.

I created this because I couldn't find another small, easily auditable script that gets Syncthing running reliably as a service.

Features

• Always Up-To-Date: Downloads the latest Syncthing release from its GitHub repo.
• Background Daemon: Creates a Windows Scheduled Task to run Syncthing on login (on the current user).
• Auto-Updating Support: Installs to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Syncthing, which allows Syncthing's built-in self-updater to work seamlessly without requiring Administrator privileges.
• Firewall Configuration: Automatically creates the necessary Windows Defender Firewall inbound rules.
• Auto-Generated Uninstaller: Generates a custom Uninstall-Syncthing.ps1 script in your installation folder.

How to Use

Run Install-Syncthing.ps1.

Once the script finishes, Syncthing will be running silently in the background. Open your browser and go to http://localhost:8384 to access the Syncthing Web GUI and set up your folders.

Advanced Configuration

If you run the script from a terminal, you can customize the installation using parameters:

• -InstallDir (Default: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Syncthing)
• -GuiPort (Default: 8384)
• -StartupDelay (Default: 30 seconds)

Running on Windows 11

Windows 11 restricts running PowerShell scripts by default. Here are two ways to run:

Option 1: Right-click method

1. Right-click Install-Syncthing.ps1 and select Run with PowerShell.

Unblocking the script

If the above doesn't work, you may need to unblock the script.

1. Right-click Install-Syncthing.ps1 > Properties.
2. At the bottom, check the Unblock box and click OK.
3. You can now run the script normally.

Option 2: Run in PowerShell terminal with a One-Time Exception

1. Open PowerShell (search for it in the Start menu).
2. cd to the directory containing Install-Syncthing.ps1
3. Run this command to start the installer with a temporary bypass:

powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Install-Syncthing.ps1