VAULT SYNC
A private, Git-backed Obsidian vault that syncs desktop, laptop, and iOS on a five-minute cycle, with a written onboarding guide for each new device.
gitobsidiangithubdocumentation
Notes follow me everywhere, and every change has history.
// problem
Keep one set of notes on every device without a paid sync service or a third party holding the data.
// limitations
- Private repo only.
- Must work on iOS.
// infrastructure used
- Obsidian Git plugin pulls on open and commits and pushes every five minutes.
- Fine-grained GitHub tokens scoped to the one private repo for mobile devices.
- Plain-language runbook covers new devices and merge-conflict recovery.
// lessons learned
- 01Per-device files caused constant conflicts.
Each device rewrote its own workspace layout on every sync. Those files are now ignored by Git, so only notes travel.
- 02The same note edited on two devices.
Edits made before a sync collide as merge conflicts. Frequent automatic syncs keep it rare, and the setup guide explains how to resolve one.
- 03Git on iOS struggled with large attachments.
The plugin was slow on iPhone and iPad, so the guide offers a dedicated Git app as a fallback.
- 04The public guide drifted from the private one.
The published copy doesn't update itself, so re-pushing it is now part of editing the guide.