# Magic Folder

Magic Folder is a Tahoe-LAFS front-end that synchronizes local directories on two or more clients. It uses a Tahoe-LAFS grid for storage. Whenever a file is created or changed under the local directory of one of the clients, the change is propagated to the grid and then to the other clients.

The implementation of the “drop-upload” frontend, on which Magic Folder is based, was written as a prototype at the First International Tahoe-LAFS Summit in June 2011. In 2015, with the support of a grant from the Open Technology Fund, it was redesigned and extended to support synchronization between clients. It should work on all major platforms.

Warning

At the time of this writing, we are in the process of refactoring Magic Folder out of Tahoe-LAFS source tree and re-writing it. Because of this state of development, the documentation you read here may not be up-to-date, and subject to changes.

Magic Folder is not currently in as mature a state as the other Tahoe-LAFS frontends (web, CLI, SFTP and FTP). This means that you probably should not rely on all changes to files in the local directory to result in successful uploads. There might be (and have been) incompatible changes to how the feature is configured.

We are very interested in feedback on how well this feature works for you. We welcome suggestions to improve its usability, functionality, and reliability. Please file issues you find with Magic Folder at the GitHub project, or chat with us on IRC in the channel `#tahoe-lafs` on `irc.freenode.net`.

## Contents

- Using Magic Folder
- How invites work
- Known Issues and Limitations
- Statement on Backdoors
- Magic-Folder Development
- Proposed Specifications