iCloud Keeps Eating Obsidian Vaults
Users are experiencing significant issues with Obsidian's synchronization capabilities, leading to data loss, duplication, and instability across various platforms and cloud services. This frustration stems from inconsistencies in syncing behavior, limitations in version control, and difficulties integrating with different storage solutions. The core pain is a lack of dependable, seamless data synchronization.
SOURCES (60)
Google Drive setting. Might be a right click on the vault folder.
“So you make a new repo, and then copy your vault contents in and that becomes your new vault. So both?”
“Which vault is the one that I should use to sync using Git? Is it the repo folder or is it my original vault?”
“I followed your original tutorial a few months and have my laptop, desktop PC, and android phone all syncing the same vault via Git. Been working great so far!”
“Railway is a hosting platform. For a normal Obsidian Sync user I think the $5/month plan is plenty (IIRC it includes 5GB data storage). There is a free plan but I think that option is only ~500mb and it will put the server to sleep, which is annoying. What's nice is that Railway lets me set up a template with all of the bits already sorted (randomized encryption key, networking, https config, punching a hole in firewall, etc). So, if you want to self-host go for it, but if you want to just c”
“I use Nextcloud in my company for working together on documents, but I really want to use Obsidian. I haven't really found a good solution that lets me have a realtime CRDT-style sync that has the same permission system as Linux does for users. We already have accounts on that machine, so I don't want a second user system sitting on top. I know Obsidian Sync has shared vaults, but the whole infrastructure seems to still be on their servers and there is no realtime collaboration on a file”
“Not exactly sure what you mean with "Storage". An Obsidian Vault is just a folder on your device, containing .md files and attachments. If you delete the main folder (Vault), you delete the content. Just like any other folderstructure on your device. Hav you searched for any of your notes using OS functionality? There me a copy somewhere.”
“Hey y'all, I've been syncing my vault with Git for about two years now across desktop, Android and iOS and it's been rock solid the whole time , for free. The same repo also auto-publishes my Markdown sites , so editing a note on my phone updates the site without me touching anything. If you can afford Obsidian Sync, please go support the team. This is for people who know Git or really need a free option. The setup: One private repo per vault Desktop : Obsidian-Git plugin on a timer,”
“I do this by putting my Obsidian Vault in my iCloud Drive, syncs beautifully across iPhone, iPad, and 2 Macs”
“Does this fix (.obsidian) folder not syncing? I tried saving my vault on iCloud drive on windows so i can open my vault on iPad but this one folder doesn’t sync”
“Does this fix (.obsidian) folder not syncing? I tried saving my vault on iCloud drive on windows so i can open my vault on iPad but this one folder doesn’t sync”
“Have you looked at the online help to see if that brings you anywhere? https://obsidian.md/help/sync-notes”
“While I'm happy to pay for Obsidian Sync, I'm also glad that there are alternative options. Here is an overview and tutorials for you. https://youtu.be/jQRcYIZbYg8”
“Thank you! I did know I needed a plugin. Forgot that step regarding iphone. So when I do the right click on the folder in my OneDrive and “always keep on this device”, it doesnt move my folder to my work computer right? It just needs to have that connection made by the right click folder and “always keep on this device”, correct? Then i should be able to open through Obsidian app?”
“I'm pretty much an Obsidian beginner - maybe slightly better. I have no idea how to synch my vault to my iphone so I can use the webclipper to capture content I want to save and then process it when I can get to my laptop. I have watched all the youtube channels that describe the OneDrive synch process. But I apparently, I don't understand it. Can anyone explain it to me in very simple basic terms? Also, if I use the internet to navigate to my One Drive from another computer - say my wor”
“I've been using a vault created in iCloud across my devices. A few weeks ago, I got a new Mac and started creating notes there. Although the vault in iCloud is there, apparently when I started creating new notes, they were created outside the iCloud vault, though they show up on iCloud Drive. What would be the best way to merge this content in? Would it simply be a matter of copying the .md and the screen shots I have embedded or referenced in these .md files into the iCloud vault from the M”
“This is due to Apple Security settings and how it treats apps in the Files App You can use Synctrain (free) or Mobuis Sync Pro (Paid) but both apps need to be opened to sync files back to the other device. No way around that”
“Great initiative, thank you for sharing for free. Question, have you found an effective way to push Claude to check your vault before responding? I use profile instructions but I don't find it reliable enough.”
“HomeLab + Remote Sync plugin is how I sync between my iPad and laptop. Both syncs point to a Nextcloud folder hosted by my HomeLab and I just sync when needed, but you can toggle a timed sync too. Just depends the route you want to go, there are other self hosted ways I’m sure, but I find mine to be the most simple and private.”
“Noted:) Would you recommend using Git repos over the official obsidian sync feature for linking vaults between devices?”
“Hat GitHub nicht eine Obergrenze von 10gb ? Da bin ich zwar noch lange nicht, aber da ich auch Bilder und PDF Dateien in meinem Vault habe, komme ich da irgendwann hin”
“How is your vault over 1 GB? I have numerous hi-res aircraft photos in my vault and 1000s of notes. If I don’t include the pictures (which are mainly in there so I can put them on Publish for others to see) it’s >300mb. Are you also putting hi-res photos in your vault?”
“Not only that. It's $3 a month for a single vault. Multiple vaults sync costs double.”
“iCloud works really well if you're only using the Apple ecosystem. Problems arise when you try to sync with Windows.”
“So I have this right now, I’ve been using iCloud sync for a while between my iOS devices and MacBook and recently set up a Linux device so the git was easy to get going. But the setup is clunky in the sense that my Linux laptop can only talk to the MacBook, I need to pull changes on the MacBook before they appear on all devices and likewise with pushing changes made on my phone.”
“have you looked into git-crypt? encrypts your repo when on the remote (github or wherever) but keeps contents decrypted on checkouts (laptop, pc) without needing to think about it”
“hey there, I recently acquired a Macbook and I'm pretty new to the Apple ecosystem. So far I've been syncing my vault with Obsidian Git and also Onedrive and the "Personal Vault" feature for the more sensitive notes. I'm wondering if I can just go ahead and replace OneDrive with iCloud, because I'll hit the 5 GB limit on my free account soon. At the moment I don't really use the macbook too often but I think it's gonna be a matter of time and getting used to mac”
“Is your laptop a MacBook?? If so, enable Apple advanced data protection and then set up your obsidian vault in iCloud. Your vault is encrypted even from Apple, and it syncs two ways (to/from iPhone and to/from MacBook).”
“I’ve tried a few different tools for syncing my Obsidian vault, including dedicated sync solutions. Some worked, but they always felt more complicated than what I actually needed. Eventually I realized GitHub is probably the best sync solution for my particular workflow . My sync is basically one-way: Laptop → GitHub → iPhone I do all my editing on my laptop. My phone is mostly just for reading/searching notes. So I don’t really have to worry about merge conflicts or proper two-way sync. And Git”
Do not keep your Vault in iCloud, unless set to "keep downloaded".
“Since I combined my Obsidian (small) and Evernote (big) databases, I can’t get to vaults on Obsidian in my iPhone App (lots of RAM), it just says “indexing vault” and it never stops or even show movement on the progress bar. Is it just too big to open on mobile? It works fine on my computer and iPad. Should I just start fresh with an empty vault and bring in notes as I use them? Maybe do some searches for important topics and bring a lot of those notes over. Are we talking about two copy paste f”
“Nice, glad that did it. The empty-folder-then-create-a-new-one thing trips up a lot of people.”
“it's my first time trying to connect remotely save to my onedrive (personal) on desktop, and I've already connected a vault once on my iPad as a tester. I clicked "auth", then the windows link, and clicked "continue", which brought me back to the obsidian window. Strangely enough, when I go back to the still-open windows page, it still displays the "Are you trying to sign in to remotely-save?" prompt, even after I've clicked "continue" and it r”
“You can use Sync Folders on iOS https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/sync-folders/id530573877 It lets you back up a folder to another location on iOS itself, with some conflict resolution. But since you did look into differencial zip... have you tried using a manual automation instead? You can use the built in ShortCuts app to archive a folder periodically per day.”
“I use Working Copy for Git syncing on my iPad. I just use the git plugin on desktop.”
“While I'm happy to pay for Obsidian Sync, I'm also glad that there are alternative options. Here is an overview and tutorials including an automated 3-2-1 backup system for those who want to know more. https://youtu.be/jQRcYIZbYg8”
“while I have also heard only great things about the service, I think that's more for sync though. I'm specifically looking for backup solutions in case for data loss or something. but appreciate the suggestion!”
“Oh, I haven't thought of it like that. I guess I was too focused on having a backup in case for whichever device I'm on. thanks, will try that out!”
I see, thanks so much! where can I find the shortcut by any chance?
“I use Differential ZIP: https://community.obsidian.md/plugins/diffzip It keeps a backup of the vault in a folder of zip's inside the vault (a mobile limitation), but also supports an S3 destination. Instead, I use a 3 line Siri shortcut to copy the backup folder of .zip's from the icloud vault folder to an ipad local folder. It runs almost instantly, and it's scheduled to night automatically at midnight. That was it's space efficiently duplicated to the ipad to be included in the”
“I use obsidian sync service to get my Mac in sync with my iOS devices. On the Mac, I use Carbon Copy Cloner to replicate the vault, and a few other things, to a local Synology NAS server and Backblaze to backup the machine to private cloud storage. Backblaze keeps a series of roll-back historic machine images.”
“If you're using Remotely Save to sync your vault I don't see any need to backup the vault on iOS. Just backup the desktop vault.”
“Hello! Aside from iCloud, what are some ways to backup a vault that can be done across iOS and desktop? For context, I'm trying to set up a vault that is synced across my iOS devices & my laptop via Remotely Save on Onedrive. I'm looking for methods to back up my vault separately just in case, with the condition that I can apply this method across mobile & desktop devices. I was hoping to install Local Backup plugin on all my devices and point it towards a folder at a network dri”
“I loved Obsidian search but my workplace stopped icloud drive sync. Now might have to pay for obsidian sync.”
“The .obsidian folder where settings are stored is a hidden folder on most OSs... maybe it didn't get copied over?”
“This is usually an issue with iCloud, if you are syncing with that. To solve it, go to your System Settings, and click on your Apple account, and select iCloud. Click on Drive and turn off "Sync to this Mac". This will remove the drive from your mac. Restart it and turn this back on. Your files should resync.”
“my issue is not with the startup time. i noticed with smaller vault, when quickly going back and forth between different apps, the response is immediate. however when vault gets larger (not by size, but by file number), the response becomes noticeably slow. there must be some kind of indexing of the vault whenever app is switched, even if it does not restart.”
“At the settings, in the general menu, there's a clock to see where obsidian is spending startup time. I'd start there, even for app switch. And dataview is known to slow things down, if you don't limit your queries per folder, for example. But check the statistics. Here, with 7k files in the vault, with almost 3 GB, it takes 2s on Android.”
“Yes, I did mean what I wrote :) I would take a wild guess that WE mean Web Extension. Btw, if you don't want to apply it to main browser because of security concerns (even though extension has good reputation), a good alternative is installing some Firefox fork like LibreWolf for explicit purpose of having that extension on it and using it only to save the websites. That's what I did. The main trick with using the extension is simply setting huge custom print layout for the pdf, like 20”