/sync-check — is the sync between my machines healthy
One command answers "did it arrive / are we syncing right now" across ALL Syncthing folders of this machine, without poking the REST API by hand. READ-ONLY, 0 tokens, portable (the API key is read from the local config → it works on any machine of the fleet).
Engine: $IMPORTS_ROOT/sync_check/sync_check.ps1 (git-backed in _imports, synced through claude-imports). It now also includes Device ID drift detection (live myID vs machines.json → RED on a mismatch — it would have caught the 2026-06-25 incident).
Cleaning up sync-conflict files (when the report says "WARN sync-conflict files: N"): python $IMPORTS_ROOT/sync_check/resolve_conflicts.py (dry-run) → for each conflict it compares against the live file: --quarantine SAFELY moves conflicts of the live tree into _sync-conflict-archive\<date>\ (a move, not a delete → recoverable; orphans with no live twin are left alone), --apply deletes only proven subsets. Already-archived files and .stversions are excluded. Canon: the sync-loss incident runbook, §6.
Run
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$IMPORTS_ROOT/sync_check\sync_check.ps1"
How to read the output
- PEERS — how many peers are connected.
0 connected= sync is DEAD (the machine slept / Syncthing is stuck) → start the watchdogsyncthing_watchdog.ps1(see the migration runbook, the on-wake taskSyncthingWatchdogOnWake). - per folder
OK / WARN / RED:OK+NEED=0= the folder is in sync, everything arrived.WARN+NEED>0= still downloading (fine briefly; if it is stuck, look at the peers).RED=state=erroror folder errors → investigate (permissions / disk / conflict).
- sync-conflict files — a separate WARN (it does not turn the report RED). Their growth means two machines are editing the same file (e.g.
settings.json) → decide "fresher beats older" (the operator decides) and clean up*.sync-conflict-*. - EXIT 0 = all green; EXIT 2 = something is RED.
When to call it
- The operator asks "did it reach the hub / the Mac?", "is sync alive?".
- BEFORE relying on a fresh file from another machine ("not found" ≠ "does not exist" — it may still be in transit; memory deterministic-script-gotchas).
- AFTER a sync incident (like the nested-folder D2 case of 2026-06-24/25) — to confirm the bridge is back.
- Each machine runs its own check (the report is local); to compare the whole fleet, ask every machine via
/inboxor the bus.
Boundaries
- Read-only: it fixes nothing and moves nothing. Healing a stuck sync is the watchdog's job (separate).
- It only sees what the local Syncthing daemon knows; if the daemon is not running it says so (RED).
Like this skill? It is one of 100 in second-brain-starter-kit: the second brain we built for ourselves and run every day at Palo Alto AI Research Lab. Install the whole set with npx skills add tonydzi/second-brain-starter-kit. Everything is open source and free, so take what you need.
Flagships worth a look on their own: secondop-panel (a second opinion from a panel of external models), claude-memory-tidy (stop your agent's memory from rotting), telegram-mcp-kit (your own Telegram over MCP in about 15 minutes).
Author: Anton Dziatkovskii, Palo Alto AI Research Lab. Telegram @tonydzi - WhatsApp +1 341 222 9178 - X @Tony_Stef_
Engineers: want to test-drive this setup? Message me. I hand out free starter seeds to engineers who test and report back, and custom skill requests are welcome.