Synology Drive Client
Synology Drive Client is the desktop utility that provides file syncing and personal computer backup services on multiple client computers to a centralized server, Synology Drive Server.
Download and install the Synology Drive Client utility from the following locations:
- Go to Synology Download Center, select your product, go to the Desktop Utilities tab > Synology Drive Client > Download.
- Go to Synology Drive web portal, click on the profile icon at the lower-left corner, select Get desktop and mobile apps > For Desktop.
Contents
- Before You Start
- Starting Synology Drive Client
- Configuring Sync Tasks
- Configuring Backup Tasks
- Application Management and Settings
- Sync Task Rules and Backup Task Rules
Before You Start
- Synology Drive Client compatibility, system requirements, and feature specifications can be found in Technical Specifications.
- Before setting up the utility, choose a Synology NAS as the host server and install Synology Drive Server on it. Then, sign in with an account belonging to your DSM administrators group, and go to Package Center to install the Synology Drive Server package.
- To create sync and backup tasks, enable shared folders as team folders first in DSM > Synology Drive Admin Console > Team Folder.
Starting Synology Drive Client
To launch the Synology Drive Client setup wizard:
- Run Synology Drive Client on your computer:
- On Windows computer, go to Start > All Programs.
- On macOS computer, go to Finder > Applications.
- On Linux computer, go to Dash > Applications.
- Click on Start Now and select Sync Task or Backup Task to get started.
Configuring Sync Tasks
Create sync tasks to sync files between Synology Drive and your local computer to enhance productivity and file accessibility.
To create a sync task:
- Enter the IP address or QuickConnect ID, username, and password of your Synology NAS. For domain users, use your domain name or username. For LDAP users, use "username@Base_DN". You can also connect via IPv6 or proxy service. Click on Next.
- If you are unable to connect to your Synology NAS, make sure you have installed Synology Drive Server and check the Internet connection, or go to Global Settings to configure the proxy.
- You can also click on downward arrow on the right to search for Synology NAS devices within your LAN.
- Select Sync Task and click on Next.
- Check the path of the local and remote folders you want to sync. Click on Change to select different folders for syncing.
- Select Enable On-demand Sync to reduce computer capacity consumption and overhead on the server. The On-demand Sync function is currently available on Windows 10 version 1809, macOS 12.3, and above versions.
- For macOS, you can name your sync task, which will appear in the side panel of Finder. This helps you identify the sync task when you have created more than one sync tasks.
- Click on Advanced to further modify the following sync settings:
- Specify folders and files you don't want to sync in Folder and File Filter:
- Max file size: Any files larger than the size specified here will not be synced.
- File name: Any file with the designated file name will not be synced.
- File extension: Any designated file extension will not be synced. Add *.extension to the table, e.g., *.iso.
- Configure the advanced sync options in Sync Mode.
- Sync direction may be two-way sync, one-way data download from the server, or one-way upload. You can later change this configuration in Sync Rules > Sync Mode by clicking on the task.
- For One-way upload tasks, unselect Keep locally deleted files on the server if you want to also delete the items on the server when they are deleted on the computer.
- Select Enable On-demand Sync to reduce computer capacity consumption and overhead on the server.
- Unselect Enable advanced consistency check if you want to reduce the time and system resources required in file comparison. Please note, when this option is unselected, the accuracy of file comparison is reduced.
- Specify folders and files you don't want to sync in Folder and File Filter:
- Click on Done.
Note:
- To find your QuickConnect ID, sign in to DSM using an account belonging to the administrators group, and go to Control Panel > External Access > QuickConnect (for DSM 7.0 or above) or Control Panel > QuickConnect (for DSM 6.2 or earlier).
- If you are unable to connect to the Synology NAS or authorize the connection with your user credentials, check your network settings, and make sure your access to Synology Drive has been enabled by your DSM administrator at Control Panel > Applications Privileges (for DSM 7.0 or above) or Privileges (for DSM 6.2 or earlier) > Synology Drive.
- If you have read-only permission for a remote Team Folder, you can only configure a download-only task, meaning that any changes you make in the local folder will not be synced to Synology Drive. Only accounts with read/write privileges to the remote folder may configure two-way and upload-only sync tasks.
- The maximum file size can be between 0-10240000 MB, with 0 meaning unlimited. Please note, Hybrid Share file size must be between 1-65536 MB.
- Enable advanced consistency check ensures ultimate accuracy of synchronization, where Synology Drive Client compares additional criteria such as hash, execution bit, and file permissions in different scenarios where file merging is required. This takes more time and resources in completing sync tasks.
- For Windows environment, you can create up to 64 sync tasks with Synology Drive Client.
- You cannot select folders that are already being used for sync tasks, or ancestor or child folders of synced folders.
- For On-demand Sync tasks, please note the following:
- This function is currently available on Windows 10 version 1809 and above and macOS 12.3 and above.
- Only NTFS drives or local sync folders that are NOT root drive directories or home directories (e.g., C drive, D drive, or C:\Users\<username>) can be selected as On-demand Sync folder.
- Local folders that are already synced with Synology Drive's On-demand Sync, OneDrive's File On-Demand, or iCloud Drive and their child folders cannot be selected as On-demand Sync folder.
- File sync statuses are indicated by the icons displayed. The icons are different for Windows and macOS systems and are explained in the status indicator tables.
- For macOS:
- On-demand Sync can be enabled during the sync task setup process. Once you have enabled it for a task, you cannot disable it for that task. Likewise, you cannot enable On-demand Sync for a task at a later time after the task has been set up. If you want to enable or disable On-demand Sync for a task, remove that task and create it again.
- Only supports two-way sync mode.
- Does not support filtering files by file size, filename, or file extension.
- For additional sync task limitations, refer to sync task rules.
To add a new sync task:
- Go to Sync Tasks and click on Create.
- Follow the instructions of the setup wizard.
Managing sync tasks
You can manage your sync tasks with the buttons located at the top of the main page.
To manage sync tasks:
- Select the sync task you want to manage.
- Click on Pause, Resume, or Delete to pause, resume, or delete the task.
- Inside your sync folder, you can also right-click on any subfolder, select Synology Drive, and click on Stop syncing this folder or Resume syncing this folder.
Note:
- Deleting a sync task will not remove the sync folder and its contents from the local computer.
- After deleting a task, a full re-sync might be required if you want to link again. When you set up a new connection, Synology Drive will automatically compare existing files and only upload/download the changes that have been made.
To change sync rules:
- Select the sync task you want to manage and click on Sync Rules.
- You can reconfigure the sync rules in the Folder, File Filter, and Sync Mode tabs.
Syncing and managing files
After Synology Drive Client is set up on all of your computers, you can start syncing files with your connected Synology NAS and other computers.
To access your files, do any of the following:
- Click on the link below your sync tasks to open the Synology Drive folder on your computer and then select the files or folders you want to access.
- In the Synology Drive Client tray menu, click on the folder icon at the bottom to access the local syncing folders from different connected servers.
To sync your files, do any of the following:
- Put your files into the Synology Drive folder on your computer to start file syncing. When file syncing is in progress, a blue symbol will appear on the Synology Drive Client icon in the system tray, which will be replaced with a green one once the syncing process is complete. If you pause syncing, a gray symbol will appear.
- Right-click on any file on your computer to copy it to your Synology Drive sync folder.
To pause or resume the sync process, click on the Synology Drive Client icon in the system tray, and then choose Pause or Resume.
To enable syncing Shared with me, do any of the following:
- To enable syncing Shared with me, select the sync task and click on Edit Connections. On the Shared with me tab, select to enable syncing Shared with me. You can click on Change to change the folder location for storing shared with me files.
- Click on the Synology Drive Client icon in the system tray, go to Notifications, click on a shared item, and click on Sync this item.
Note:
- Synology Office files can be synced. To view them in browsers, your client device must have network connection to the Synology NAS. Version control cannot be performed on the computer end. If a previous version of your Synology Office file is needed, you can directly trace back to the version on Synology Drive web portal.
- Pause/Terminate syncing Shared with me: Select the Shared with me you want to pause or terminate in Sync tasks and click on Pause/Delete to proceed with the process.
- The following file types synced via Synology Drive Client can be viewed as thumbnails in the File Explorer or Finder folders:
- On Windows:
- Image: bmp, cr2, crw, dng, erf, gif, jpe, jpeg, jpg, mef, mos, mrw, nef, pef, png, rw2, sr2, tif, tiff
- Video: 3g2, 3gp, asf, avi, m2ts, m4v, mkv, mov, mp4, mpeg, mts, wmv
- On macOS:
- Image: 3fr, arw, bmp, cr2, crw, dcr, dng, erf, gif, heic, heif, jpe, jpeg, jpg, mos, mrw, nef, orf, pef, png, raf, raw, rw2, sr2, srf, tif, tiff
- Video: 3g2, 3gp, avi, m2t, m2ts, m2v, m4b, m4r, m4v, mov, mp4, mpe, mpeg, mpg, mpeg4, mts, qt, vob
- On Windows:
To download previous versions of a synced file:
- Right-click on the file and choose Synology Drive > Browse previous versions.
- Find the version you want to download and click on Download.
- Enter the filename and choose the destination to save the file.
To create a file sharing link:
- Right-click on the file you want to share, and choose Synology Drive > Get link.
- If you have manager permission for the item, you can customize the sharing permission of the link or specific DSM users. Click on Apply. The link will be copied to your clipboard.
Understanding the file status
Icon overlays
Icon overlays appear at the lower-left corner of the files or folders in your local Synology Drive folder, indicating its status. Unselect Show icon overlay for file status in Global Settings > Display if you do not want to see them.
Icon | Description |
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Your file or folder has been successfully synced and is up to date, or it is yet to be processed. | |
Your file or folder has been filtered out and has not been synced. Possible reasons include: a system default filter, sync rules filter, server profile settings, or ACL permissions. You can unselect Show icon overlay for unsynced files in Global Settings > Display if you do not want to see this icon. | |
Syncing is currently in progress. | |
You have read-only permission to the synced file or folder. |
Status indicator for On-demand Sync tasks
For tasks that have enabled On-demand Sync, the files' sync statuses are indicated by the icons in the following tables.
For Windows:
Icon | Description |
---|---|
Your file or folder is available when online and does not take up disk capacity. You can open and download a local copy to the computer, or right-click on the file, select Synology Drive > Pin local copy permanently to maintain a local copy. | |
Your file or folder has been downloaded to the local computer and can be viewed offline. You can right-click on the file or folder, select Synology Drive > Free up space to manually delete the local file or folder and release the space. However, when your computer is low on disk capacity, these local copies will be automatically deleted to release space. The icon will change to the cloud icon and these files or folders are still available when online. | |
Your file has been permanently pinned to the local computer and can be viewed offline. When your computer is low on disk capacity, these permanently pinned copies will not be automatically deleted to release space. |
For macOS:
Icon | Description |
---|---|
Your file or folder is available when online and does not take up disk capacity. You can open and download a local copy to the computer, or right-click on the file, select Download to download a local copy. You can also right-click on the file, select the Pin local copy permanently option with Synology Drive icon to maintain a local copy. | |
Your file or folder cannot be uploaded to Synology Drive server. There might be an error with syncing or connecting to the server. | |
Your file is being downloaded or waiting to be downloaded. The icon indicates the progress. | |
No icon | Your file or folder has been downloaded to the local computer and can be viewed offline. You can right-click on the file or folder, select the Free Up Space option with Synology Drive icon to manually delete the local file or folder and release the space. However, when your computer is low on disk capacity, these local copies will be automatically deleted to release space. The icon will change to the cloud icon and these files or folders are still available when online. |
Your file has been permanently pinned to the local computer and can be viewed offline. When your computer is low on disk capacity, these permanently pinned copies will not be automatically deleted to release space. |
Configuring Backup Tasks
Create backup tasks to back up your files from multiple client computers to Synology Drive server to protect computer data.
To create a backup task:
- Enter the IP address or QuickConnect ID, username, and password of your Synology NAS. For domain users, use your domain name or username. For LDAP users, use "username@Base_DN". You can also connect via IPv6 or proxy service. Click on Next.
- If you are unable to connect to your Synology NAS, make sure you have installed Synology Drive Server and check the Internet connection, or go to Global Settings to configure the proxy.
- You can also click on the downward arrow on the right to search for Synology NAS devices within your LAN.
- Select Backup Task and click on Next.
- Select the local folders that you want to back up.
- Click on Backup Rules to further modify backup settings.
- Max file size: Any files larger than the size specified here will not be backed up.
- File name: Any file with the designated file name will not be backed up.
- File extension: Any designated file extension will not be backed up. Add *.extension to the table, e.g., *.iso.
- Back up files and folders with the prefix ".": Select if you want to back up such files.
- Back up temporary files and folders: Select if you want to back up temp files.
- Keep locally deleted files on the remote backup destination folder: Select to prevent backed up files from being deleted.
- Click on Apply.
- The destination of the backed up data will be shown at the bottom of the window. To modify your backup destination, click on Select:
- Destination folder: Synology Drive will create a folder with your computer name in the backup destination.
- Select a backup destination on your NAS: Choose a remote folder path for the backup destination folder.
- Click on OK.
- Click on Backup Rules to further modify backup settings.
- After configuring your backup settings, source and destination folder paths, click onNext.
- Select a backup mode for the backup task and then click on Next.
- Continuous backup: Back up files whenever changes are made to the selected backup source.
- Manual backup: Back up files whenever you click on Back up now.
- Scheduled backup: Back up files as you scheduled.
- Run on: Select the days you want to run the backup task.
- Start time: Select the time you want to start the backup task.
- Frequency: Select how frequently you want to run the backup task.
- If you choose to run at a frequency other than Once a Day, select when to run the last backup from the Last run time drop-down menu.
- End time: Select when you want the last backup task to end on the scheduled day or the next day.
- Select the checkboxes if you want to enable Shut down automatically after running the last backup task of the day or Continue any uncompleted backup tasks when the system is in operation again.
- Check the backup settings summary and click on Done.
Note:
- Synology Drive Backup Task only allows one connection to one server at a time.
- To find your QuickConnect ID, sign in to DSM using an account belonging to the administrators group, and go to Control Panel > External Access > QuickConnect (for DSM 7.0 or above) or Control Panel > QuickConnect (for DSM 6.2 or earlier).
- If you are unable to connect to the Synology NAS or authorize the connection with your user credentials, check your network settings, and make sure your access to Synology Drive has been enabled by your DSM administrator at Control Panel > Application Privileges (for DSM 7.0 or above) or Privileges (for DSM 6.2 or earlier) > Synology Drive.
- If you have read-only permission for a remote shared folder, you cannot set it as your backup destination.
- If you select Keep locally deleted files on the remote backup destination folder, deleting local files/folders will not affect data that has already been backed up to your remote destination.
- The maximum file size can be between 0-10240000 MB, with 0 meaning unlimited. Please note, Hybrid Share file size must be between 1-65536 MB.
- For additional backup task limitations, refer to backup task rules.
Managing backup tasks
Double-click on the Synology Drive Client icon in the system tray and go to the Backup Task page.
To automatically back up your files, do any of the following:
- Place files you want to back up into the backup folder on your computer.
- While backup is running, files uploaded will be shown in Logs tab in the application.
- To pause or resume your backup, click on Pause or Resume in the Backup Task page in the application.
Note:
- Synology Drive Backup Task uploads up to three files to the destination server concurrently.
To manage your backup:
- Click on Pause to pause your running backup task or scheduled backup task.
- Click on Resume to resume your backup.
To modify the folder you want to backup:
- Click on Backup Settings > Backup Source.
- Select the folders you want to back up, and unselect those you don't want to back up.
- Click on Apply.
To change backup rules:
- Click on Backup Settings > Backup Source.
- Click on Backup Rules button, and make changes to your settings.
- Click on Apply.
To change backup mode:
- Click on Backup Settings > Backup Mode.
- Make changes to your settings.
- Click on Apply.
To edit the backup task connection:
- Click on Backup Settings > Connection.
- Make changes to the server connection or username and password.
- Click on Apply.
Note:
- To link the task to a different NAS server, delete the current backup task and create a new connection.
To delete a backup task:
- Click on … > Delete task.
Note:
- Deleting a backup task will not delete the previously backed up data on the server. However, all data needs to be processed again the next time you set up the backup task.
Managing backed up files and historical versions
Synology Drive saves historical versions of each modified file according to the settings in Synology Drive Admin Console. Every time you modify a file, a backup version is created, just in case you want to revert to an older version. On the client computer, double-click on the Synology Drive Client icon in the system tray and go to the Backup Task page. Here you can browse historical versions of backed up data as well as restore files from a specific point in time.
To download previous versions of a backed up file:
- Click on Restore.
- You can view the history of files by selecting a specific date and time from the Time drop-down menu.
- Select a file you want to download, and then click on Download.
- You can also click on Browse previous versions to view all historical versions of the file at once and then click on Download to download the selected version.
To restore a backed up file or folder to a specific time:
- Click on Restore.
- You can view the history of files by selecting a specific date and time from the Time drop-down menu.
- Select a file you want to restore, then click on Restore. The file will be restored to its directory on the computer.
To download or restore a deleted file or folder:
- Click on Restore.
- Check the box next to Show deleted files. After choosing this option, all deleted files will be shown in the file chooser below.
- You can download or restore a deleted file or folder using the same steps as regular files.
To check the download or restore progress:
- Click on Restore.
- Click on the task icon at the upper-right corner.
- Both download and restore task progress will be shown in the task list.
Note:
- After closing the Restore window, the task list will be wiped.
To access your backed up files on your Synology NAS, do any of the following:
- Sign in to Synology Drive web portal with your credentials and click on Computer Backup in the left panel.
- Files backed up from your computers will be saved here.
Note:
- Any changes made to the backup destination from server side will not be updated to the local computer backup source.
Application Management and Settings
You can make changes to general settings and view event status in Synology Drive Client.
Logs
To view logs:
- Double-click on the Synology Drive Client icon in the system tray.
- Go to the Logs page. Filter events using the All events drop-down menu.
Notifications
To view notifications:
- Double-click on the Synology Drive Client icon in the system tray.
- Go to the Notifications page to view notifications of sync and backup events.
Global Settings
You can modify general application, notification, display and proxy settings on the Global Settings page.
To edit your settings:
- Double-click on the Synology Drive Client icon in the system tray and go to Global Settings.
- Under the General tab, you can modify the following:
- Select whether to start Synology Drive application upon login.
- Select a default action for when application restarts and syncing connection resumes.
- Select a file version conflict solution.
- Keep the latest modified version: When a file conflict takes place between the server and the desktop application, the latest file (the one with the latest modified time) will be retained. If the latest file is the local file on the application, the file on the server will become a historic version. If the latest file is on the server, the local file will be discarded, but you can select the option Rename to keep the discarded version.
- Keep the version on the server: When a file conflict takes place between the server and the desktop application, the file on the server will always be retained and the local version will be discarded. You can select the option Rename to keep the discarded version.
- Select a default folder for Synology Drive when you click on Synology Drive Client in the system tray.
- Select the language to be displayed in the application.
- Click on Apply.
Note:
- If more than one computer makes changes to the same file, conflicts may occur. To fix this issue, set a conflict solution rule.
- Conflicting files to be kept will be renamed "[file name]_[computer name]_[modified date]_Conflict.[file extension]" (for example, "a.txt" might be renamed as "a_ComputerName_20181001_Conflict.txt").
To edit notification settings:
- Double-click on the Synology Drive Client icon in the system tray and go to Global Settings.
- Under the Notifications tab, you can change the setting for Show desktop notifications for file events.
- Click on Apply.
To edit display settings:
- Double-click on the Synology Drive Client icon in the system tray and go to Global Settings.
- Under the Display tab, you can modify the below options:
- Select whether to show tutorial tips the next time Synology Drive Client is launched.
- Select whether to use minimalist tray icon.
- Select whether to show context menu or icon overlay in the synced local folder.
- Click on Apply.
Note:
- Icon overlay option will not be applied to display settings of tasks with On-demand Sync.
To configure proxy settings:
- Double-click on the Synology Drive Client icon in the system tray and go to Global Settings.
- Under the Proxy tab, you can select Auto-detect to use proxy settings provided by the operating system.
- You can also manually specify your own proxy server IP and port.
- Select Enable proxy authentication and enter username and password for proxy authorization.
- Click on Apply.
Note:
- If proxy is enabled, Synology Drive Client will always connect to Synology NAS through proxy.
- Only HTTP tunnel is supported. SOCKS 4/5 and other types of proxies are not supported.
To enable SSL data transmission encryption:
- For new connections:
- Click on Create.
- Select Another Synology NAS and enter your user credentials.
- Select the Enable SSL data transmission encryption checkbox.
- For existing connections:
- Select the connection you want to modify and click on the drop-down menu to the right of the server name.
- Click on Edit Connection, enter your user credentials and select the Enable SSL data transmission encryption checkbox.
Note:
- If Synology Drive fails to verify the SSL certificate, it may mean that it is an untrusted self-signed certificate, or someone may be trying to intercept your connection. Go to Control Panel > Security > Certificate to learn more.
To monitor personal usage in Team Folders:
- Double-click on the Synology Drive Client icon in the system tray and go to Global Settings.
- Under the Usage tab, you will find your personal storage usage of each team folder or My Drive. The total capacity is only shown if the quota limit has been set for the user. Please note, the usage calculation is not available for ext4 file system.
Removing Synology Drive Client
To remove Synology Drive Client on macOS:
- Go to Finder > Application and right-click on the Synology Drive Client application, then select Package Contents.
- Go to Contents > SharedSupport.
- Copy and paste Remove Synology Drive Client onto your desktop.
- Double-click on Remove Synology Drive Client to uninstall the Synology Drive desktop application.
Sync Task Rules and Backup Task Rules
Rules shared by Sync Tasks and Backup Task (Unless otherwise specified) | |
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Sync or Backup Tasks are not supported if the file and drive types are: |
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On Windows, Sync or Backup Tasks are not supported if: |
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On macOS, Sync or Backup Tasks are not supported if: |
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On Linux, Sync or Backup Tasks are not supported if: |
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Other rules that restrict Sync or Backup Tasks: |
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