future of etesync

[lokalhorstl]

Hi,

I noticed the activity of commits getting smaller in all etesync repos. As I am thinking of setting up and using etesync, as it seems to be the only FOSS solution for server side encryption of contacts and calendars. so thx for closing this gap!!

but I am a little bit afraid of switching to etesync, if the project will fade out the next years.

could you give a little insight of how its going for the project?

thx in advance

[reyman]

Hi, i'm a user of etesync since months, that works well, but the webinterface is not totally finished in term of functionnality. The service/uptime is very good. In the last year, as contributor, we receive some news by mail, but nothing recently. I'm also interested by some news on the future of eteSync @tasn =)

[tasn]

Working on it, but pace is slower than before. I actually tried making a new release of the Android and notes client last weekend, though my time has been limited recently and for whatever reason I couldn't release.

Though the server is getting a lot of love, at least operationally, as the userbase grows it needs the occasional care to keep running (and increasing in size). :)

There's also been some work on the server code and some of the etebase libraries.

Web interface: I agree, it needs some love. Contributions are welcome, would love to get some help there!

[catwithbanana]

@tasn Are improvements to the iOS app also on the cards?

I understand there are limitations to the platform, but certain features like shortcut integration would go a long, long way to making it a more, well, viable sync solution.

[tasn]

@catwithbanana, I'd love help there I just don't always have time, but yeah, I agree shortcuts are great!

[tasn]

Oops, closed by mistake.

[catwithbanana]

@catwithbanana, I'd love help there I just don't always have time, but yeah, I agree shortcuts are great!

@tasn I hear you on the lack of free time. EteSync is really good product at its core, and I'm immensely grateful that such a E2EE service exists. Thanks for your hard work making this happen.

I'm a bit conflicted about the issue, though, for one reason: EteSync is a paid product. The website touts its availability and ease-of-use on all platforms. Those together create an expectation of a reasonable pace of development and improvement to address issues and user experience. No big reinventions are needed, but when I pay an ongoing subscription for something I hope to see bugs and usability issues addressed within a few months.

The iOS app hasn't been updated in over two years. In that time extremely straightforward usability improvements, like having the app automatically sync when opened, haven't been implemented, much less platform specific UX improvements like shortcuts support. Because of these limitations the iOS app isn't seamless or easy to use, as the website assures.

At this point I feel it would be more accurate to describe the development of EteSync as "inactive" ... at least for the iOS app (since Android has one recent update). Judging by the recurring "is etesync dead" topics that show up on Git (including this one) I think I am not the only one that feels that way.

I do not know what EteSync's financials are and how much time you can afford to dedicate to it. If it were a matter of funding, I, for one, would be happy to pay more yearly to expedite development, or even contribute to "bounties" to fund development on specific usability improvements. As it stands, however, the lack of development, especially on iOS, is presenting serious usability issues.

Thank you, again, for your hard work on EteSync - I do not want to take away from that at all, and I do not intend to armchair dev. I simply have an interest in the quality of EteSync as a project since it's something I pay for and use every single day. I hope the project keeps moving for years to come, and I appreciate you reading this feedback.

[rghedin]

@tasn, I was very glad to found EteSync, even more when I noticed it's open source and can be self-hosted.

I can't imagine a single person doing it all. This is really impressive. Also, maybe unsustainable?

You know better than anyone, but here's an unsolicited advice (or tip): why not focusing only on server side? There are countless apps that sync with EteSync back-end. Leave this workload to third parties, and instead focus on your strength.

I noted a few areas lacking some attention, such EteSync blog (last updated in September 2021). This leads to issues/comments like this post, from people who think the project is abandoned.

Just an idea. Hope you don't mind, and if that's not the direction you're willing to pursue, it's ok, no hard feelings :)

[tasn]

I'd be more than happy to have people take over maintenance of the clients. Though the server and clients are stable (I and many others use them every day). Though yes, I'd love to see improvements there.

As for the server: Django is reaching EOL, would be great to get help with an upgrade.