With an announcement today BitTorrent Inc. released a new API for BitTorrent Sync that provides developers greater control and deeper access to the peer-to-peer synchronization engine.

As previously reported by SilicnAngle, BitTorrent Sync is a peer-to-peer synchronization offering that allows businesses to eschew the cloud for replicating files. When BitTorrent first released the API for Sync the intent was to give developers the key to the engine that drives the operation and build an ecosystem of applications constructed on the protocol.

Since the first API release, Sync has seen the distribution of over 6,000 keys.

The new version of the API is a RESTful and provides access to the entire Sync feature set. It also triples the total number of calls from 14 to 42, and the API is delivered with version 2.1 of BitTorrent Sync. A full copy of Sync 2.1 is available now from GetSync.com.

Sync comes with two pricing schedules. For everyday users there is a free version, which provides blazing fast speed, privacy, and no folder size limits. For business and enterprise users Sync Pro costs $39.99 per year per license, which provides support, on-demand access, and anytime access changes.

Greater functionality available with new Sync API

With the new Sync API, BitTorrent hopes to bring deeper functionality and greater flexibility to developers using the peer-to-peer protocol to replicate large datasets.

First, the API makes it possible to fully integrate the Sync engine into any application providing fully peer-to-peer, fast, private, and reliable file synchronization.

Next, Sync can be configured to manage workflows. Sometimes one workflow needs to be completed before others can move forward, as a result, Sync can be set to wait for priority workflows to complete replication and then trigger other apps after the synchronization is completed.

Reports and alerts are important for any deployment, especially when attempting to make sure that things are operating smoothly or provide a post-mortem to see what happened. It is possible to generate custom reports to consolidate Sync status across multiple devices, send notifications when files arrive, create alerts when devices are not available, and inform of on any number metrics that may hold valuable information for developers.

Automation is also important to development and operations teams and since almost all functionality of the Sync engine is available via the API it is therefore possible to automate the entirety of a Sync workflow. This means that once a DevOps team sets a Sync process in motion between apps, the app can control its own workflow by using the generated reports and alerts in order to keep itself up-to-date.

API developers interested in the Sync API who want to become part of the community can start now by visiting GetSync.com/API. While those developers already part of the Sync community should visit the FAQ to learn how to migrate to the new API.

photo credit: Alessandro Pinna via photopin cc