Say goodbye to manually copy-pasting save locations into Syncthing on every device. 中文
Savething uses Ludusavi to find each game's save folder and Syncthing to sync it, across Windows and SteamOS. An always-on server relays the saves, so your devices don't need to be on at the same time.
Share a game once on one device, accept it once on the others, and Syncthing handles the rest.
- An always-on server running Syncthing.
- Windows / SteamOS gaming devices with Syncthing installed. See SteamOS for what is supported there.
- Ludusavi on devices that share games. Devices that only receive saves don't need it.
In the server's Syncthing web GUI, open Actions → Settings → GUI:
- Set GUI Listen Address to
0.0.0.0:8384, so your devices can reach the API. - Copy the API Key.
Then create a folder for saves that Syncthing can write to, e.g. /srv/media/game/savething.
In Syncthing, add every gaming device and the server to each other, and add the gaming devices to each other. Wait until they all show Connected.
If Auto Accept is on, turn it off: Sharing tab → uncheck Auto Accept. Otherwise, unshared games can come back on their own.
Devices are shown by their Syncthing name. To hide some devices, add name patterns to exclude_device_patterns in config.json.
Double-click savething.exe, choose 6. init, and enter the server's save folder, address (e.g. http://192.168.1.10:8384), and API key.
Or set everything in one command, with no prompts:
savething.exe init --server-url http://<server IP>:8384 --server-key <API key> --server-root <save folder>
Leave out --server-root if the save folder is the default /srv/media/game/savething.
You're done when you see Init complete. Run 5. status to check the connection, then 2. preview to see what would be synced.
Supported: Windows games run with Proton, either Steam games or games added to Steam as non-Steam games. Native Linux games are not supported. In Desktop Mode, open Konsole and run:
curl -OL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/chillibeaver/Savething/refs/heads/main/savething.py
python3 savething.py
- Install Ludusavi and SyncThingy (Syncthing) from Discover. Both are found automatically.
- Start the game once before
accept, so Proton creates its prefix. - Steam games use their own Proton prefix automatically.
- Shortcut names don't matter. For non-Steam games, Savething finds which shortcut runs the game; if it can't tell, it asks once and remembers.
- Only saves on
C:can be mapped. Saves on other drives are skipped.
Double-click savething.exe to open the menu, or run the commands directly:
| Command | Menu | What it does |
|---|---|---|
share |
1 | Pick games and devices to sync |
share --dry-run |
2 | Preview only, changes nothing |
accept |
3 | Accept saves shared to this device |
unshare |
4 | Stop syncing a game on all devices (files are kept) |
status |
5 | Show sync status |
init |
6 | Set up this device |
share options
--all: also show excluded games (e.g. games with no save files). In the menu, typeshowallat the game prompt instead.--devices <name>: choose target devices without being asked.--yes: skip confirmations. Settings files are not synced unless you add--include-config.--include-config/--exclude-config: sync or skip settings files without being asked.
unshare options
--game <ID or name>: choose the game without the list.--yes: skip confirmation.
share asks Ludusavi where the game keeps its saves. Savething creates the share on this device and on the server, and records the save path in the savething-registry folder relative to the home folder, e.g. <home>/Saved Games/Hades II. On another device, accept fills in its own home folder. After that, Syncthing does all the syncing.
On SteamOS, a Proton prefix's drive_c/users/steamuser is the home folder, so the same path works there:
Windows: C:/Users/you/Saved Games/Hades II
SteamOS: .../compatdata/<appid>/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Saved Games/Hades II
- Excluded games: games that only save to the Windows registry, and games whose saves are only inside Steam or install folders (e.g. Steam Cloud's
userdata; those are left to Steam Cloud). Steam games are treated like any other game. [ignored in Ludusavi]means the game is unchecked in Ludusavi's Backup tab. It's only a note: the game can still be shared and synced normally.- Settings files: graphics and control settings are not synced by default, so each device can keep its own. You're asked for each game during
share. - Games with saves in several places get one synced folder per location.
- Existing saves: if a device already has saves for a game, the newest file wins. The older one is kept as
*.sync-conflict-*. - Backups: the server keeps the last 10 versions of every save file in
.stversionsinside the game's folder. - Unshare keeps all save files. Other devices stop syncing the next time they run
accept. - Don't delete the
savething-registryfolder.acceptneeds it to know where each game's saves go.
accept finds nothing, but Syncthing shows an invitation
Wait a few seconds for the registry to sync from the server, then run accept again.
"Cannot reach server Syncthing"
Open http://<server IP>:8384 in a browser on this device. If it doesn't load, check the server's GUI Listen Address and firewall.
"The server Syncthing does not know this device yet" / "has not added the server device yet" The device and the server aren't paired in Syncthing.
A device is missing from the list in share
It isn't added in this device's Syncthing, or its name matches exclude_device_patterns.
"Cannot find ludusavi"
Set the full path in the "ludusavi" entry of %APPDATA%\savething\config.json, e.g. "C:\\Tools\\ludusavi.exe".
"Cannot find the local Syncthing config.xml"
Run savething with --st-home <Syncthing config folder>.
Windows SmartScreen blocks savething.exe
The exe is unsigned. Click More info → Run anyway, or use python savething.py instead.
Changing the server address or API key
Run init again, or edit %APPDATA%\savething\config.json.