One folder, every PC. On your own disks.
ChronoDrive keeps a folder the same on all your Windows PCs, like a cloud drive: change a file on one, it is on the others a few seconds later. The difference is where the files live: on a disk of your Miniserver, at home or in the office, with a nightly backup and, if you want, a second copy in another place.
How it works
Create a drive
A drive is a folder of a fixed size on one node: your home node, or the office node. Create it below (or from the app): a name, a size in GB, where it lives, and whether it gets a nightly backup and a mirror on another node.
Install and pair
Install ChronoDrive on each PC and press Pair this PC: a code and a QR appear, approve them with this account. The app keeps its key protected by Windows.
Pick the drive and a folder
Choose the drive and the local folder that mirrors it, then Start syncing. From then on the tray icon says whether everything is up to date. What you change goes up; what other PCs change comes down.
Stop worrying about the copy
Every night the node takes a snapshot of the drive (restic, encrypted) and, with a mirror, the office copies it too. If two PCs change the same file before syncing, both versions are kept: one as name (conflict PC date).
Your drives
Download
ChronoDrive is free with a Miniserver account while in beta. You need a drive (above) on a node you can reach: a drive on your home node syncs when the PC is on that network (or on your own VPN); a drive on the office node syncs from anywhere.
Questions
Is it like OneDrive?
In the way you use it, yes: a folder that is the same everywhere, changes both ways, conflicts kept as copies. In where your files are, no: on a disk of your own Miniserver. And this first version leaves things out on purpose:
| ChronoDrive | OneDrive | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the files live | A disk of your Miniserver (home or office) | Microsoft's cloud |
| Files on each PC | A full copy of the drive | Full, or "on demand" placeholders |
| Away from home | Office drives: anywhere. Home drives: only on that network or your VPN | Anywhere |
| History | Nightly snapshots on the node; deleted files kept 30 days | Version history, recycle bin |
| Sharing, web, phone | Not yet | Yes |
| Size | What your disk has (you choose each drive's size) | Your plan's quota |
Who can read my files?
They are stored as they are on the node's disk, so whoever runs that node (you, for your home node; the Miniserver administrator for the office node) could read them. Traffic is encrypted (HTTPS; a home node's own certificate is pinned by the app). The nightly backup is a restic repository, encrypted. Client-side encryption, where not even the node could read them, is planned as an option for later.
What happens if I edit the same file on two PCs?
The first PC to sync wins the name; the other PC keeps its version as name (conflict PC-NAME date).ext and uploads it too, so every PC ends up with both. Nothing is overwritten silently.
And if I delete something by mistake?
On the other PCs the file goes to the Recycle Bin. On the node it stays in the drive's trash for 30 days, and the nightly snapshot has it as well. Ask the administrator to get it back from the node.
Which files are left out?
Office lock files (~$…), *.tmp, *.part, desktop.ini, Thumbs.db, links and cloud placeholders. Names with \ / : * ? " < > | are not allowed (Windows would not accept them either). Two names that differ only in upper/lower case are one file.
Big files?
Files over 8 MB go up in 8 MB pieces; a cut connection resumes where it stopped. Downloads resume too.
Which Windows?
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. No administrator rights needed: ChronoDrive runs as your user and starts with Windows from the tray.