FolderSync

A native macOS Menu Bar app for real-time bidirectional folder synchronization, powered by unison.

Built for syncing Obsidian vaults between Google Drive and iCloud, but works with any folder pair.

Features

• Real-time sync — FSEvents-based file watching with 2-second debounce
• Bidirectional & one-way — Choose sync direction per pair
• Multiple sync pairs — Manage as many folder pairs as you need
• iCloud support — Automatic placeholder file materialization
• Conflict handling — Keeps newer file, backs up old as {name}.conflict.{ext}
• Exclusion rules — Global + per-pair, with 17 built-in presets
• Sync log — Searchable, filterable, persistent (up to 500 entries)
• Bilingual UI — English & Traditional Chinese, with drop-in language pack support
• Export/Import — Backup and restore all settings as JSON
• Launch at Login — Runs silently in the Menu Bar

Requirements

• macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later
• unison installed via Homebrew

Installation

Option 1: DMG (Recommended)

1. Download the latest .dmg from Releases
2. Open the DMG and drag FolderSync to your Applications folder
3. Launch FolderSync — it will appear in the Menu Bar
4. Install unison if you haven't:

   brew install unison

Option 2: Build from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/adamtan945/FolderSync.git
cd FolderSync

# Install unison
brew install unison

# Build and run
swift build
swift run FolderSync

Note: When running via swift run, the app resolves language files from the source directory. For a proper .app bundle experience, use the DMG.

Usage

1. Click the FolderSync icon in the Menu Bar
2. Open Settings (⌘,)
3. Go to Sync Pairs → Add Sync Pair
4. Select source and destination folders
5. Choose sync direction (one-way → or bidirectional ⇄)
6. FolderSync will begin watching and syncing automatically

Adding Languages

FolderSync uses JSON-based language files. To add a new language:

1. Copy FolderSync/Resources/Locales/en-US.json
2. Rename to your locale (e.g., ja-JP.json)
3. Translate all values, set "languageName" to the native name (e.g., "日本語")
4. Place in the Locales/ folder
5. Click the reload button (↻) next to the language picker

Tech Stack

Component	Technology
Language	Swift 5.10 + SwiftUI
Sync Engine	unison CLI
File Watching	FSEvents C API
iCloud	brctl download
Persistence	JSON in ~/Library/Application Support/FolderSync/
UI	MenuBarExtra + NavigationSplitView

License

MIT