I use Publii to run my light novel blog, which is the blog I update the most. I really like using it since it has a user-friendly GUI, and I can use a WYSIWYG editor rather than writing in markdown.

Publii makes writing the blog posts pretty seamless, except for one problem. It’s a desktop application that only works on your computer. It’s not designed to be synced and used across multiple computers, since at its heart it’s just a static site generator with GUI. It’s not like wordpress where there is a database on the backend of the site where you can sign in from any computer and write your posts.

At first I was willing to just use my desktop at home when I needed to update my LN blog, but I found that the act of “sitting at the PC” felt like too much work after I had just finished reading a book. Sometimes I would delay writing a post for one reason or another.

I know making it possible to write from a different computer (like my laptop) isn’t going to solve any major writer’s blocks or laziness, but it’s just one more hurdle that could be removed, if only I could implement some kind of solution.

I tried using Publii’s own guides ( one and two ) but I couldn’t get it to work. I tried copying the folder into OneDrive at first, and pointing the Publii app at the correct folder in the drive. Unfortunately, OneDrive is temperamental and doesn’t sync the files as fast as I would need it. I tested writing some blog posts, but it was hit or miss when it would sync. Often times, Publii wouldn’t recognize the site in the folder, and I had to clear the settings and try again just to get it to work.

I could have tried Dropbox like the guide suggested, but honestly I wasn’t convinced that it would fare better (maybe it would, who knows).

Frustrated, I searched for a solution that would simply let me share a folder locally, and I found SyncThing. It’s an application that syncs folders on your computer when both devices are online. I bet if I had a home server or raspberry pi setup, I could make it always online or something, which would be really cool.

But honestly, I don’t need anything that complicated. Now I can type up drafts on my laptop, and sync them back to my desktop for publishing or vice versa. I already tested out some drafts using SyncThing, and the drafts show up on both computers with all the changes. No headaches necessary! And it serves as a backup too.

Edit: I feel a bit silly for not including the steps for what I did lol. Fixing that now!

1. Install SyncThing on my desktop using the Syncthing Windows Setup
2. Open the configuration window
3. Share my existing Publii folder
4. Install Syncthing and Publii on my laptop
5. Add my laptop as a device on my desktop’s SyncThing config
6. Add my desktop as a device on my laptop’s SyncThing config
7. Accept the shared Publii folder on my laptop.
8. Success! The folders should sync now anytime BOTH computers are on.