Daily use

For people using obsync.

Once two devices are paired, sync runs on its own. This page is the rest of it: the commands, what the status bar is telling you, what obsync does and does not touch, how to get an older version of a note back, and the dashboard.

Commands and the status bar

Every command is under Self Hosted Private Sync in the command palette, and each name ends in (obsync), so typing obsync there lists them all:

Command	What it does
Sync now	Sends and fetches everything waiting now. A computer also checks the contents of files up to 8 MiB; a phone asks its storage for each file's size and date and reads only the files that differ
Verify all files	Checks every file's contents, however large. Slower; use it if you think another tool changed a file without changing its size or date
Show sync status	What the engine is doing, and why it is not doing more
Pair a new device	Mints a one-time pairing code on this device
Pair this device	Opens the dialog that takes a pairing code from a device that already syncs; on a device that syncs already, it only says so
Show recovery phrase	Re-displays the 24 words, from this device's own key
Restore from history	Browses retained versions and restores one as a copy
Show remote-only files	Lists files above this device's ceilings, to fetch on demand
Open dashboard	Mints a one-time dashboard sign-in link
Open the setup guide	Opens the setup guide in your browser

The status bar shows one icon, always the same width: a check when this device is up to date, a turning wheel while it syncs (it stands still under Reduce Motion), a cloud struck through while the server does not answer, an alert in your theme's error colour when sync has stopped and needs you, and a pause sign for a paused note. A faint cloud means the device is not paired yet, or syncs no folders. A save that syncs within half a second leaves the check where it is, so the bar does not flicker while you type.

Hover the icon for its words: obsync: not paired before pairing, then obsync: idle (obsync: idle — syncing no folders when Selected folders is empty), obsync: syncing <n> while n files are in flight, obsync: offline — retrying when the server cannot be reached, and obsync: error — <reason> when sync has stopped and needs you. Click it for Show sync status, which says the same in full, stays current while it is open, and offers the one thing to do next: Retry now, Pair again or Open settings. Sync now always answers with a notice: what it sent, that nothing needed sending, or why it could not.

On a phone or tablet, where Obsidian hides the status bar, the same icon sits in the header of the note in front; tap it for Show sync status. A refusal that needs you there -- this device removed from the account, a clock that is off, a full server -- is also said once in a notice.

An incoming update may also stay pending while you type in its note. After your text saves and you pause typing for ten seconds, obsync retries it automatically. Other notes keep syncing; Show sync status explains the wait.

obsync: paused — <note> means a note is being rewritten repeatedly after sync, often by a plugin that updates a timestamp. The note stays on your device, and other notes continue syncing. See Stop repeated rewrites.

offline — retrying clears itself. A device that opens Obsidian away from its server -- a laptop waking before Wi-Fi, a phone off the home network, a server restarting -- keeps trying on its own, 5 s apart at first and every 5 minutes at most, and starts the moment the device reports its network back. Nothing needs pressing when you return; Sync now only makes the next attempt happen now. error is different: it names a refusal the plugin will not retry by itself, such as a revoked device or a clock too far off, and the reason says what to do.

What syncs and what does not

• obsync syncs one person's vault across their own devices. Every device you pair has full access to the vault. Sharing part of a vault with someone else is not supported (what that would take).
• Hidden folders (.obsidian, .git) and symlinked folders are not synced in either direction.
• A folder opened as its own vault with obsync installed is excluded from the outer vault. Pairing that inner vault is refused on desktop: otherwise the two vaults could repeatedly copy each other. Use Selected folders in the outer vault when you want a smaller set of notes on a device.
• A saved folder selection limits obsync's reads, writes and deletions on this device. Narrowing keeps excluded local files and server history. It does not sandbox Obsidian or other plugins, or revoke a paired device's access to content already shared. Keep administration code outside selected folders. Adding a folder in this device's settings brings in its existing server history too; allow that first download to finish. Another device cannot change this device's selection.
• On phones, files above Largest file to download (512 MiB by default) stay on the server and are listed by Show remote-only files for on-demand fetch; Total to keep on this device defaults to 50 GiB. Both are settings. Computers have no ceiling.
• Every edit is kept as a version for 30 days and at least the last 10 versions per file; conflicts never discard an edit — text merges cleanly or you get a conflict copy (conflicts.md).
• Update through Settings → Community plugins → Check for updates on each device. The plugin never installs code from the sync server. See installation trust and distribution.

If you accidentally open a folder inside your synced vault as another vault, this message explains how to continue. The capture uses disposable test vaults.

Stop repeated rewrites

If a note keeps bouncing between devices, obsync pauses that note and names it in the status bar. Your local edits stay in the file. Updated devices share the pause; an older plugin version cannot honour it, so update every device.

1. Stop or reconfigure the plugin that rewrites the note, on every device where it runs. For example, a timestamp plugin should not treat a download as a new edit you made.
2. On each device that still shows the pause, open Show sync status and select Resume for the note, or run Sync now. A device keeps its local hold until you resume it there. Let the devices finish syncing.
3. Check the note on both devices. If a conflict copy remains, compare it with the main note before deleting it; Conflicts explains how.

The capture below shows a disposable note paused during a real desktop test. All twenty typed letters remained in the editor while the timestamp plugin continued rewriting the file. This is a 1.1.3 candidate capture, not evidence that the candidate is already available in Community plugins.

Show sync status provides the Resume button beside each paused note. Stop the rewriting plugin before using it.

On a phone, open Show sync status from the command palette. The same explanation and Resume control appear below the status details:

The validation record separates native observations from automated coverage.

Restore a retained version

1. Open Self Hosted Private Sync: Restore from history in the command palette.
2. Optionally type part of a file name and select Restart search, then Load next. Versions appear newest first, including notes that have since been deleted; turn on Oldest first to start from the other end. Each Load next checks at most 100 entries, so an empty page can still have more history after it: select Load next again.
3. Select Restore a copy beside the version you want. obsync creates a copy with a new, unique name beside the original, inside the folders this device syncs. A deletion entry has no content to restore; a deleted note's saved versions are listed before its deletion entry.

A restored copy works on any drive, a USB stick or memory card included, and never replaces a file that is already there.

Nothing else changes: the original note, your unsynced edits and the history all stay as they were, and the copy syncs like any new note. The notice confirms the local copy; Show sync status shows whether it has uploaded. This device's size limits apply to the copy too.

If you cancel while a copy is already being written, that copy may still appear. If an error names a path, check that path before you try again. How restoring works inside, per platform, is in the architecture.

See your devices

On any paired computer, run Open dashboard: it mints a one-time sign-in link to the dashboard, where you see every device (type, address, country, last sign-in, last edit), storage per volume, scrub and garbage-collection state, and installation guidance. Revoke a lost device there or from the Devices list in the plugin settings.