GitHub Get the plugin
New in 0.4: web editor and publishing

Sync your vault through a server you own.

SimpleSync is a small server and an Obsidian plugin. Enter the server address, your name and password, then pick a vault. Your notes live on a ZimaOS box, a NAS or a €4 VPS, and nowhere else.

Get the plugin Setup guide
  • Free and open source
  • Desktop, iPhone, iPad, Android
  • Edit in any browser
  • History and backups
MacBook
synced · rev 1285
iPhone
synced · rev 1285
iPad
synced · rev 1285
Work PC
synced · rev 1285
Your server
sync.example.com
rev1285
3 vaults · 4 devices online
Runs anywhere Docker runs ZimaOSCasaOSSynologyUnraidRaspberry PiAny VPS
How it works

Three steps, then forget it's there

No config files, no database to set up, no cloud account. The setup guide walks through each step with screenshots.

1

Start the server

One Docker container. Paste a YAML into ZimaOS or run one command, then create your admin account.

$ docker run -p 8080:8080 \ ghcr.io/jirkacepelka/obsisync
2

Install the plugin, log in

Install SimpleSync from Obsidian's community plugins and fill in three fields.

3

Pick a vault

Choose a vault from the list and click Connect. Every device you connect stays in sync.

Personal owner
Work editor
Family recipes read only
Features

Everything you need, nothing to tune

Built for a household or a small team: one server, a few vaults, every device you own.

Changes arrive in seconds

Every change gets the next revision number. The server announces it over a WebSocket, and each device fetches only what it hasn't seen yet.

rev 1285iPhoneGroceries.mdnow
rev 1284MacBookGarden plan.md12 s
rev 1283iPadReading/Reading list.md4 min
rev 1282Work PCMeetings/2026-09-26.md21 min
rev 1281MacBookDaily/2026-09-26.md1 h

Version history

Preview any earlier version in the browser and restore it.

Monrestorenow

Scheduled backups

Per vault, kept as long as you choose.

hourly6 hdailyweekly keep 7 dkeep 30 dforever

Sharing with roles

Share a vault with family or a team.

ownereditorread only

Server wins on connect

An empty new device can never overwrite your vault.

local leftovers.trash

Ready-made vault

Download a vault with the plugin already set up. Open it, type your password.

Personal.zip
27MB

Tiny footprint

Go and SQLite, tens of MB of RAM, amd64 and arm64.

Speaks eight languages

The plugin and the web admin: English, Čeština, Slovenčina, Deutsch, Français, Español, Italiano and Polski.

ENCSSKDEFRESITPL
Web editor

No Obsidian at hand? Write in the browser.

Every vault opens in a full editor on your server. On a work computer, a borrowed laptop or a phone without the app, and for people who never installed Obsidian at all.

The SimpleSync web editor: file tree, Markdown source and live preview side by side

Saved as you type

Changes reach Obsidian on every device within seconds, through the same sync as the plugin. Concurrent edits are merged line by line.

Obsidian syntax

Live preview of [[wikilinks]], embedded images, callouts, highlights, tags, tasks, tables and properties.

Files, not just text

Create, rename and delete notes and folders. Paste or drop images, type [[ to link a note.

Roles respected

Owners and editors can write. Read-only members get a clean reading view.

A published note on a public SimpleSync site
Publishing

Turn notes into a website

Mark a note with publish: true, or publish a whole folder, and it appears on a public site served by your own server. Anyone with the address can read it, no account needed.

sync.example.com/p/garden/
  • Navigation, front page and Obsidian-style rendering
  • Links to private notes stay plain text, names never leak
  • Images are public only when a published note uses them
Conflicts

Edited on two devices at once? Nothing is lost.

Every write is checked against the version the device last saw. If another device got there first, SimpleSync runs a three-way merge, and changes on different lines simply combine. If the same line changed on both sides, the server version stays and yours is saved next to it as Groceries (conflict 2026-09-26 1530 jirka).md.

  • An edit always beats a delete
  • Unicode file names work across macOS, Windows and Linux
  • The plugin asks first if a sync would delete more than half your vault
MacBookbase 1280
Oat milk
Lemons
Coffee beans
iPhonebase 1280
Oat milk
Coffee beans
Fresh basil
three-way merge
Groceries.md on every devicerev 1281
Oat milk
Lemons
Coffee beans
Fresh basil
Web admin

A control panel in your browser

Users, vaults, sharing, devices, history and backups. These are real screenshots.

Overview

Overview: your vaults, their backup plans, devices online and disk usage.

Install

Two minutes on any machine with Docker

Start the server where it suits you, open its address in a browser and create the administrator account right away.

App Store›+›Install a customized app›YAML. Delete what's there, paste this, click Install and open http://<zimaos-ip>:8080.

name: obsisync
services:
  obsisync:
    image: ghcr.io/jirkacepelka/obsisync:latest
    container_name: obsisync
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - target: 8080
        published: "8080"
        protocol: tcp
    environment:
      TZ: Europe/Prague
    volumes:
      - type: bind
        source: /DATA/AppData/obsisync/data
        target: /data
x-casaos:
  architectures:
    - amd64
    - arm64
  main: obsisync
  category: Utilities
  title:
    en_us: SimpleSync
  tagline:
    en_us: Simple self-hosted sync for Obsidian
  icon: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jirkacepelka/SimpleSync/main/server/internal/web/static/icon.svg
  index: /
  port_map: "8080"
  scheme: http
Privacy

Your notes never leave your server

SimpleSync is not end-to-end encrypted. It doesn't need to be: the only one who can read the server is you.

No third parties

The plugin talks only to the server address you enter. No telemetry, no cloud service, no account with anyone else.

No stored passwords

Your password is used once to get a device token. The server keeps only a hash of the token, and passwords are hashed with Argon2id.

Checked on the server

Every request is authorized by the server and login guessing is throttled per address and per account. Use HTTPS to encrypt traffic in transit.

FAQ

Questions

Anything else? Read the setup guide or open an issue.

Is it free?

Yes. SimpleSync is open source under the MIT license. You only pay for the machine it runs on, which is often a box you already own.

Does it replace Obsidian Sync?

It does the same job, keeping vaults in sync between devices, but on your own server. Obsidian Sync is a great paid service; SimpleSync is for people who want to self-host.

What happens when I connect a new device?

If the vault on the server has content, the server always wins: the device becomes an exact copy and nothing is uploaded from it. Files that were only on the device are moved to Obsidian's trash, so nothing is lost. The plugin warns you before this happens. To upload an existing vault, use “Create a new vault from this one”.

Can I use it outside my home network?

Yes. On a VPS you get HTTPS automatically. At home, the easiest way is Tailscale or a Cloudflare Tunnel. See Reach it from anywhere.

Do I need Obsidian on every device?

No. Every vault can be opened and edited in the browser, on the server's own web page. Changes show up in Obsidian on your other devices within seconds.

Is anything public?

Only what you publish. Publishing is off until a vault owner turns it on, and then only notes marked publish: true (or one chosen folder) are on the public site. Everything else needs a login.

Is it end-to-end encrypted?

No. The server can read the notes, which is what makes version previews and server-side backups possible. Since you run the server, that's you.

How do I back up the server?

Everything lives in one data folder. Copy it, or use the built-in scheduled backups with optional ZIP files.

Own your sync.

Set it up once and forget it's there.

Get the plugin Setup guide