I’ve been using Obsidian for my note taking for a little while and I love it. I love you can just do a quick [[[other note]]] and it will link to the other note. I love that the full thing is just in markdown files, so that I can have full control; even if Obsidian were to disappear.

The one thing that is a little frustrating for me is getting my notes synced between my desktop, laptop, and phone. I have tried using syncthing to just sync the markdown files directly and it worked pretty well. But, it seems a bit overkill on my phone. I think I’d rather move to a single server that I can connect them to and they can sync from there.

I have looked into a few plugins. I saw that there a git one. I am a developer. So, that seems like the natural way for me to do it. But, I also saw a post on reddit where they suggested webdav. Which might be closer to what I want. I don’t need it to be where I can type on two devices and have the stuff sync super fast or something. I just want to type my notes, close the app, and when I open it on a different device; I want it to have my latest notes ready for me.

What are you personally using for Obsidian? I’d love to hear from other people here. I don’t want to pay for Obsidian’s subscription service. I want to host it myself.

  • november@lemmy.vg
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    14 days ago

    I’m using Syncthing. It doesn’t feel like overkill, especially since I’m also using it for music and photos. I basically just set it up and forget about it.

    • S13Ni@lemmy.studio
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      14 days ago

      Same, but apparently android app is no longer supported since google play was too annoying for the developer. So wondering how long I can keep it up.

      • Damage@feddit.it
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        14 days ago

        Just like @BearOfaTime@lemm.ee suggested, Syncthing-fork works fine for now, I’ve been using it on my phone to sync logseq notes and I haven’t had any issues so far

        • N0x0n@lemmy.ml
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          14 days ago

          Planning to close my Google Play Developer Account. Please say hi if you are interested in obtaining the latest gplay release files from me to help in publishing this app.

          Seems like most open source project are leaving Google’s official store? That’s nice but will leave out some potential visibility for people who have no idea other than Google Store.

          I wish their was also an easy way to leave github behind :/. Wait&See !!

          • LiveLM@lemmy.zip
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            13 days ago

            When Google doesn’t restrict apps via the Android APIs, they restrict them via the BS Play Store review requirements. I’ve seen apps loose important functionality over this, meanwhile there’s still rampant viruses roaming free in that dump.

            I predict we’ll see more and more ‘Power user’ apps move away from the Play Store as time goes on

  • boatswain@infosec.pub
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    14 days ago

    It seems to me that Syncthing is the exact right thing to use here; what is “overkill” about it that makes you think you should use something else?

    • FlappyBubble@lemmy.ml
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      13 days ago

      No Syncthing is perfect. The problem is the Android app development issue. The main all had it last update ever earlier this month.

  • floofloof@lemmy.ca
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    14 days ago

    I know you don’t want to pay for their sync service and this is the self-hosted community, but I just wanted to note that they service does work well and gives you access to note history. I decided to pay because Obsidian is excellent and I wanted to support it. I just wish it were open source.

    • Tywèle [she|her]@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      14 days ago

      Yep, I used to sync my Obsidian vault with Syncthing but I had some trouble with it once where stuff wasn’t properly synced and led to conflicts so I switched to paying for Obsidian Sync and have been very happy with it. I was especially happy to see that now offer a cheaper tier that has enough storage if you only sync text files.

  • snrkl@lemmy.sdf.org
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    13 days ago

    For what it’s worth, I ended up choosing the obsidian sync service. While it goes against my “self host everything” mantra, I do also want to support software makers who make great products that respect peoples privacy. As such, I decided the $8/m investment was warranted.

    My son in highschool uses Obsidian for all his school note taking, so he actually is able to use the same sync subscription… As each vault has separate keys, there’s no privacy issues between us…

    My favourite part of this solution is it supports live update from multiple devices at once, so I have the vault open on phone, tablet, home laptop and work laptop simultaneously, and it just works…

    Just thought it was worth sharing.

      • Father_Redbeard@lemmy.ml
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        6 days ago

        Don’t know if you saw that they added a $4/mo tier for Obsidian Sync. I thought $8/mo was too high and went to cancel it and saw the cheaper price. For how well it works as far as speed and reliability of syncing with version control, it’s worth that for me.

      • snrkl@lemmy.sdf.org
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        13 days ago

        Oh, I totally get it… I’ve been in the same place many times (and I’m sure I will be again…)

        I just have a policy of trying to support these things whenever I’m able to, otherwise I feel I’m not able to grumble when privacy respecting apps disappear from existence through lack of financial support…

        • Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          6 days ago

          12€ (I believe) is way too much to using it maybe once every week for private use.
          If it was something like Bitwarden where it’s around 10€ per year I would be totally up to paying it

  • Evilschnuff@feddit.org
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    14 days ago

    I’m using the plugin remotely save and sync via WebDAV. Nextcloud provides a WebDAV interface so it’s pretty straight forward, and I can read my vault online via Nextcloud Web. Im mostly happy with it but sometimes there are some sync hiccups if versions of the plugin are very far apart but I also have 5-6 instances of obsidian that I need to keep in sync.

  • Skunk@jlai.lu
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    14 days ago

    I just have my vault default location saved on a cloud drive. iCloud in my case as I have an IPhone but I guess it could be done with any cloud or owncloud if you have a server.

    I used to use Git, but it is easier to just move the vault on a network/cloud drive as you don’t need to pull/push. As obsidian auto save when you type a character this makes the sync instantaneous with zero effort.

      • Maulana M. Diansyahbani@misskey.id
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        13 days ago

        @Ogygus@lemmy.world reading the readme (https://github.com/LBF38/obsidian-syncthing-integration - or search Syncthing Integration on Community Plugins), it apparently offers conflicting files resolution (happens to me from time to time when I forgot to sync before opening daily notes, but not a big deal) and an option to modify .stignore from obsidian (stil in beta, and also the same for most of the configurable settings), among other features. Just to be clear, you still need to install Syncthing on your devices. I’m not in the position to give any meaningful review for them, though.

  • _cryptagion@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    13 days ago

    I personally use the Obsidian Git plugin and sync it to a self-hosted Gitea server. You could also use GitHub or something similar, if you don’t mind them.

  • FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    14 days ago

    Just sync it using whatever cloud service you use, doesnt matter if selfhosted or not. ie. DIY

    BTW if your library gets large and has a lot of plugins, it wont run to any useful degree on your phone.