init.d script for btsync (based on another script built to run dropbox)

btsync

#!/bin/sh
### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides: btsync
# Required-Start: $local_fs $remote_fs
# Required-Stop: $local_fs $remote_fs
# Should-Start: $network
# Should-Stop: $network
# Default-Start: 2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop: 0 1 6
# Short-Description: Multi-user daemonized version of btsync.
# Description: Starts the btsync daemon for all registered users.
### END INIT INFO

# Replace with linux users you want to run BTSync clients for
BTSYNC_USERS="mendel"
DAEMON=/usr/bin/btsync

start() {
  for btsuser in $BTSYNC_USERS; do
    HOMEDIR=`getent passwd $btsuser | cut -d: -f6`
    config=$HOMEDIR/.sync/config.json
    if [ -f $config ]; then
      echo "Starting BTSync for $btsuser"
      start-stop-daemon -b -o -c $btsuser -S -u $btsuser -x $DAEMON -- --config $config
    else
      echo "Couldn't start BTSync for $btsuser (no $config found)"
    fi
  done
}

stop() {
  for btsuser in $BTSYNC_USERS; do
    dbpid=`pgrep -fu $btsuser $DAEMON`
    if [ ! -z "$dbpid" ]; then
      echo "Stopping btsync for $btsuser"
      start-stop-daemon -o -c $btsuser -K -u $btsuser -x $DAEMON
    fi
  done
}

status() {
  for btsuser in $BTSYNC_USERS; do
    dbpid=`pgrep -fu $btsuser $DAEMON`
    if [ -z "$dbpid" ]; then
      echo "btsync for USER $btsuser: not running."
    else
      echo "btsync for USER $btsuser: running (pid $dbpid)"
    fi
  done
}

case "$1" in
 start)
start
;;
stop)
stop
;;
restart|reload|force-reload)
stop
start
;;
status)
status
;;
*)
echo "Usage: /etc/init.d/btsync {start|stop|reload|force-reload|restart|status}"
exit 1
esac

exit 0

instructions for Debian

- Create a directory named .sync in your home directory
- Create a file inside .sync named config.json with the dumped and modified configuration
- Replace the configuration entry "storage_path" with the path to the .sync directory

- Move btsync to /usr/bin or replace DAEMON with the absolute path to btsync
- Copy the script to /etc/init.d and chmod +x it
- Replace  BTSYNC_USERS with a list of usernames that you want btsync to work with, space delimited
- Use rcconf or another tool to make the service btsync start at system initialization
- Execute service btsync start


WHEN SETTING UP BTSYNC FOR MULTIPLE USERS, REMEMBER TO USE DIFFERENT PORT NUMBERS FOR webui.listen
- MULTIPLE PROCESSES CAN'T LISTEN TO THE SAME PORT!

Example:

{
  "device_name": "<DEVICE NAME>",
  "listening_port": 0,
  "storage_path": "/home/mendel/.sync",
  "check_for_updates": true, 
  "use_upnp": true,
  "download_limit": 0,                       
  "upload_limit": 0, 
  "webui": {
    "listen": "0.0.0.0:8888",
    "login" : "admin",
    "password" : "password"
  },
  "shared_folders": []
}

If you name this script btsync, function status() will always reports btsync as running. Problem is on line 32
change from:
dbpid=pgrep -u $btsuser btsync
to:
dbpid=pgrep -fu $btsuser $DAEMON

Thank you, @dafyk

Thank you, @letiemble

Very nice! These instructions have worked on all of the Debian-based distros I've applied them to- Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, OpenMediaVault. I opted to run update-rc.d btsync defaults to make it start on boot. Piece of cake with extra icing, thank you.

Thank you, :>

For reference a systemd service file. Copy it to /etc/systemd/system/btsync@.service.

[Unit]
Description=BitTorrent Sync Service for %i

[Service]
User=%i
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/btsync --nodaemon --config %h/.sync/config.json

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

%i will be replaced by the part after the @ and %h by the home directory of the configured user.

Enable with systemctl enable btsync@MYUSER.service for user MYUSER.

Thank you :)
Just a note for Debian based distros. if you use update-rc.d btsync defaults and get a message about dependency based boot sequence. The command you want to use is insserv btsync.

https://wiki.debian.org/LSBInitScripts/DependencyBasedBoot

Thank you for the script. Makes running BitTorrent Sync on my Raspberry Pis a lot easier :-)

I'm using:
BTSYNC_USERS=$(stat -c "%U" /home/*/.sync/config.json)
..instead of:
BTSYNC_USERS="user1 user2 user3",
..so I don't have to update init.d script everytime a new user wants to use BitTorrent Sync.

If I were even lazier, I'd be modifying "user skeleton" http://linuxg.net/the-unix-and-linux-skeleton-directory-etcskel/ so that it would include .sync/config.json.example and .sync/README.md files to help new users to enable and config their BitTorrent Sync.

any chance to get this updated to the latest approach for BTSync on servers? Specifically, that it is now using btsync.conf at the main folder for BTSync.

Thanks!

When omitting the -b switch in line 24 (where btsync is started) the errors aren't swallowed and it still works because btsync forks itself to background.

👍

I agree with @eggapauli and I would also add --log /var/log/btsync.log at the end of the start command.