Sync ILIAS with PFERD and upload the files to bwSync&Share using rclone.

Setup

1. Create the server

Create an Ubuntu server and set up SSH access.

A free, good option is bwCloud.

Install the required packages:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y git wget rclone

Clone the repository into /home/ubuntu/pferd:

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/FreGeh/kit-ilias-sync pferd
cd pferd

Expected structure:

/home/ubuntu/
├── Nextcloud/
└── pferd/

2. Update PFERD

Download the latest Linux executable:

wget -O pferd-linux https://github.com/Garmelon/PFERD/releases/latest/download/pferd-linux
chmod +x pferd-linux
chmod +x syncing.sh

3. Configure PFERD credentials

Create the local credentials file:

cp .pferd_pass.example .pferd_pass
nano .pferd_pass
chmod 600 .pferd_pass

Fill in the two existing lines with your ILIAS credentials.

.pferd_pass is ignored by Git and should never be committed

4. Configure the semester

Set the current semester in syncing.sh:

SEMESTER="SS26"

If no config exists for the semester yet, it automatically creates one from configs/config_template.ini, so you just gotta add or adjust the course rename rules in the generated config if needed.

5. Configure rclone

Create a WebDAV remote:

rclone config

First create a new app password in bwSync&Share Security Settings, to then set it up like this:

name: bwsyncshare_pferd
type: webdav
url: https://bwsyncandshare.kit.edu/remote.php/dav/files/<APP_USERNAME>/
vendor: nextcloud
user: <APP_USERNAME>
pass: <APP_PASSWORD>

Do not use the normal KIT password here. Use the generated bwSync&Share app credentials.

The remote must be named:

bwsyncshare_pferd

Test it:

rclone lsd bwsyncshare_pferd:

It should list your bwSync&Share folders.

6. Test the sync

Run the script manually first:

./syncing.sh

PFERD downloads into:

/home/ubuntu/Nextcloud/<SEMESTER>

rclone then uploads to:

bwsyncshare_pferd:KIT Sharing/<SEMESTER>

Check the log if something fails:

tail -n 100 pferd.log

7. Run automatically

crontab -e

For example every 15 minutes:

*/15 * * * * /home/ubuntu/pferd/syncing.sh

Check:

crontab -l

Follow the sync log:

tail -f /home/ubuntu/pferd/pferd.log