Using Ethersync for writing shared notes

Another use case for Ethersync is to have a long-lasting collaboration session on a directory of text files (over the span of months or years). This is similar to how you would use Google Docs, Ethersync or Hedgedoc to work on text. It would be suited for groups who want to write notes or documentation together.

This use case is different from the "pair-programming" use case, because there, all peers are online at the same time. When you're working on a directory of notes for a longer time, it might happen that you make a change to a file, and then go offline, while the other peers are also offline. Still, you want other peers to be able to receive your changes.

We suggest to use a "cloud peer", a peer that is always online.

Step-by-step guide

You need to have access to a server on the Internet, and install the Ethersync daemon there.

1. Set up the directory

On the server, create a new directory for your shared project:

mkdir my-project
cd my-project

2. Start the daemon

Launch the daemon in a way where it will keep running once you disconnect from your terminal session on the server. You could use screen, tmux, write a systemd service, or, in the easiest case, launch it with nohup:

nohup ethersync share --show-secret-address &

Check the output of the command (written to the file nohup.out when using nohup) for the node's secret address.

3. Collaborate!

Other peers can now connect to the "cloud peer". It is most convenient for them to put the secret address into their configuration file:

echo "peer=<secret address>" >> .ethersync/config

Then, they can connect anytime using

ethersync join