What's up with the name? Is this Synctrain, or Sushitrain? Are they the same?

[PeonyThePeon]

The official SyncThing docs mention an iOS/macOS app called Synctrain, and link to the Apple App Store page for Sushitrain - but weirdly they say the same app has this GitHub repo, which is instead called Sushitrain.

What's the difference between Synctrain and Sushitrain. Are they the same?

[FelixIsaac]

It's the same app. It's for two different contexts:

• Sushitrain is the project/repo name on GitHub (pixelspark/sushitrain), the name the developer originally used
• Synctrain is the actual name it ships under on the Apple App Store

I'd like to think that the developer picked "Sushitrain" as a pun, but Apple's App Store presumably wasn't a good fit for that name commercially/for discoverability, so the shipped product is branded "Synctrain" instead.

[PeonyThePeon]

I'd like to think that the developer picked "Sushitrain" as a pun

Sorry, what's the pun?

[FelixIsaac]

A sushi train (AKA conveyor belt sushi) is a restaurant where plates travel on a moving belt past customer seats, and diners pay based on the colour and number of plates stacked at their table. Within these restaurants, there are two main ways to eat: the classic style, where you simply pick random plates that fancy you as they float past, and the ordering style, where you use a screen to send a specific dish directly to your seat via an express track.

In the context of Sushitrain/Synctrain, what I think the inspiration behind the name could be, is that users pick what files (sushi plates/dishes) they want, and the files are served to all your devices, etc. moving past the internet. So the internet acts as a digital conveyor belt carrying data packages, and your devices are the diners. Instead of ordering from a central kitchen, users simply choose which files and folders (sushi dishes) they want, and the network delivers them seamlessly to every device on the line...

[FelixIsaac]

Also as I was writing that reply and finding suitable images to illustrate what I was saying. I got curious as to whether the developer had included the history/reason behind naming the app. Turns out. He did lmao:

Sushitrain is the code name for this app. Due to the name being unavailable in the App Store, it is not the final name of the app.

In Japan, several lower-end sushi restaurants have a system where you order sushi through a tablet, which then is delivered to your table by a small train that runs between the kitchen and the tables. This is a very efficient system of ordering small bites. Additionally, 'SushiTrain' shares the 'SyncThing' initials.

[pixelspark]

Well at least now it's illustrated with actual sushi train pictures, thanks :-)