Hopelessly untested – a thought inspired by Stacey.

The idea is to use BitTorrent Sync (BtSync) to sync a local development directory to a live web server directory.

Two approaches spring to mind.

Approach 1: Live Edit

Local directory structure:

syncedsite/src/

Setup BtSync to sync syncedsite/src/.

Anything that is modified or added to the src directory will be taken live, almost as you type (well, save).

Approach 2: Deploy

Local directory structure:

syncedsite/dev/src/
syncedsite/live/src/

Setup BtSync to sync syncedsite/live/src/.

Develop and test locally in the dev/src directory. Once you’re done, move changes over to live/src to be instantaneously deployed.

Possible uses?

  • for the hobbyist web developer who maintains a simple or static site.
  • a shared host could offer this as a service.
  • for easing responsive site testing.

Final thoughts

Using the BtSync mobile app, you could edit a site “on the go”.

Although I haven’t put much thought into this, there may be security benefits to using BtSync over FTP or Rsync.

Finally the immediacy and hands-off aspects are just fun.

There are also problems with this approach – the type of user most likely to benefit from this setup may be unable to install BtSync on their live server (either due to lack of experience or access on a shared server).

It is very easy to delete and take down your entire site by accident – I would recommend adding a Git repository or some sort of backup.

I’m also not sure to what extent it might look like you are running a BitTorrent seed box from your live server (minus the huge traffic of course).

Read the comments at Hacker News.