Obsidian + Syncthing = Killer Combination

The Obsidian Android app is finally live! 🔴

I have been experimenting with the app for the last few days and have discovered some interesting things.

Earlier, I was using Obsidian on my Linux and Windows 10 PC. I used Google Drive to sync the Obsidian Vault between computers.

Now, since the mobile app is live, I decided to sync the vault among my laptop, PC, and Android device.

Google Drive worked fine for syncing between the computers but there’s no efficient way to sync a local Android folder with the Google Drive remote folder.

Yes, there are a few third-party options like Autosync and FolderSync, but I did not want to involve another client which will have access to all my data.

Later, I came across Syncthing and decided to give it a try. I knew about Syncthing from earlier but never thought to use it in this setting.

After trying, it turned out to be exactly what I was looking for.

Obsidian’s mobile app is so cool — the look and feel are almost exactly the same as the desktop app. You can install multiple themes, plugins and customize them the way you want.

Also, Syncthing is open-source, free, and available for Windows, Linux, Android, and macOS devices (not for iOS though) so there shouldn’t be any problem.

And the best thing about Syncthing, it doesn’t require internet bandwidth to work. Your devices just have to be on the same wifi network.

Obsidian Valut Sync using Syncthing between PC and Android devices

I absolutely love the setup!

📢 Update – 31 August 2021

I have decided to subscribe to Obsidian Sync which is $5 per month (if billed monthly).

While Obsidian + Syncthing works great, I started to have some issues with it.

The issue is, both your devices need to be connected to the same wifi network otherwise the changes will not sync immediately. Plus, the Syncthing mobile app keeps always running in the background and drains the battery fast.

Also, if you make some changes in a note from one device and then again make some changes from the other device without letting Syncthing sync the first change, there will be conflicts in syncing. And, you will have to resolve it manually every single time.

For my use case, it wasn’t working efficiently and that’s why I decided to get Obsidian Sync.

However, if all your devices are always connected to the same network, you can keep using the Obsidian and Syncthing setup.

Also check: Why I chose Obsidian over Evernote, Standard Notes, Simple Note, and Logseq


💬 Discussion

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7 responses to “Obsidian + Syncthing = Killer Combination”

  1. David R. Reed Avatar
    David R. Reed

    Hello, Deepakness.

    I am very pleased to have found your work. My aim is to start writing to share my life experiences and what I’ve learned to help others make the best of their senior and elderly years. I want to connect with as many people as I can to learn from and to pass on their helpful experiences and ideas as well. Your online entrepreneurial contributions are helping me with getting started in this endeavor.

    I appreciate the writing and blogging processes you are using along with the software tools you make us of. I am primarily a Windows PC/Android user though I am learning to use the Apple Mac/IOS platforms. I will be following your suggestions as a launching pad from which to begin my own writing and blogging career. I look forward to studying more of what you have to offer around all of this.

    I hope that you reach back to me and that we can occasionally correspond. Please let me know of the best ways for that to happen.

    Dave Reed

    1. DeepakNess Avatar
      DeepakNess

      Hi David,

      Glad my writings were of any help. All the best for your journey.

      Thanks a lot.

  2. Thank you for your Use Case… Gonna switch back to my Cloud Sync solution again tomorrow. Syncthing is a great tool which i was glad to find but it is not handy enough to sync Obsidian because of the issues you were talking about. Maybe im gonna switch to sync.com, then this can be an two party solution again.

    1. Glad you found this useful, Jannis.

      I haven’t personally used it, but sync.com should work great. Kindly let me know your experience with it.

      1. Okay finally got a good solution: Just use “Resilio Sync” which is a less buggy Freemium Version of “Syncthing”. The whole Foldersync workaround is only good if you are using mainstream cloud services which i don’t. I am using internxt which runs on blockchain and sync.com as a free user. Foldersync doesnt provide a service for these clouds and the clouds dont sync folders on the mobile clients.
        But yeah, Resilio Sync seems to be just fine and i can work bug free on my scripts parallely from all devices. All the best ✌

  3. you can use zerotier one for helping syncthing fast sync

    1. Haven’t used it, yet. But will try and see. Thanks.

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