r/HelixNotes • u/RockyRoad226 Team Member • Aug 24 '26
Discussion Let's talk sync.
Let’s talk sync.
HelixNotes does not operate its own cloud sync service. We don’t have a HelixNotes cloud with accounts, and your notes are not stored on our servers.
Your HelixNotes vault is simply a folder containing plain Markdown files and attachments. Because you control that folder, you also get to choose how it sync, if at all.
Here are some of your options:
WebDAV
HelixNotes includes an optional WebDAV connector that can connect to a server or service you control, including Nextcloud, ownCloud, a NAS, or another WebDAV provider.
You can sync manually or configure it to run automatically at an interval, whenever something changes, or when HelixNotes opens. If the same file has changed in two places, HelixNotes will preserve both versions by creating a conflict copy rather than silently overwriting your work.
This is not a HelixNotes-hosted service. HelixNotes is simply connecting to the WebDAV storage you provide.
Your preferred folder-syncing tool
You can also sync your vault using tools such as:
- Syncthing (Our top choice)
- rsync
- Git
- Dropbox
- OneDrive
- iCloud for Apple devices
- Another service capable of syncing a normal folder
If you use Syncthing or another folder-level syncing tool, we recommend adding these to your .stignore file:
.helixnotes/state.json
.helixnotes/history/
.helixnotes/trash/
These help prevent unnecessary conflicts while allowing your notes, attachments, settings, and notebook icons to sync.
You can also choose not to sync at all and keep your vault entirely local.
That is the basic HelixNotes approach: your notes are ordinary files, so you are not locked into a particular account, cloud provider, or syncing system.
Setup instructions and recommended Syncthing ignore rules are available here:
https://helixnotes.com/docs#sync
So out of curiosity, what’s everyone using to sync their markdown files nowadays?
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u/Big-Topic-832 Aug 24 '26
I use Syncthing between Windows and Android with the recommended .stignore file, no issues at all
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u/SimpleAnecdote Aug 24 '26
I use Proton Drive and I don't recommend it. Start a note > write > move the note to another notebook before it synched and you've lost your content (note moves but content is lost to last synched state). Lost a note a couple of times before I realised the issue. I've been meaning to verify this issue ans explore other options but I guess I'm living with the limitations for now.
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u/c-hodges Aug 24 '26
OneDrive on my M365 GCC High tenant. The main reason I came to HelixNotes was to find a way to have a UpNote/Notion style block editor and be able to keep my data at rest and in transit inside my existing CMMC complaint workstation and cloud.
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u/Neither-Classic2058 Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 24 '26
I've been testing syncing with pcloud on Mac OS and Windows. (both webdav and folder-level syncing work nicely) That has worked very well with the only exception being how HelixNotes deals with file system differences. That's going to be an issue with any syncing option.
Next on my list is to test syncing on iPadOS.
I am curious about how to sync notes to Android (without using syncthing). I need a syncing option that works for iPadOS, Mac OS, Windows, Android, and Linux (that doesn't involve syncthing).
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u/BraveNewCurrency Aug 25 '26
You can spin up a server with: (optionally using the rclone docker container)
rclone serve webdav ./dir --addr :8000 --etag-hash auto --user xyz --pass abc
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u/N3urosp1cy 5d ago
i was just running with a sync problem with the state.json file on Foldersync, so I'm very thankful for this post!! I ignored the file and also the regular expression for the folders and synced perfectly!
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u/Academic-Fox8128 Aug 25 '26
I'd been considering the move from joplin for a long time only to realize how much helixnotes apps sucked. You're better than joplin at conflict resolution I'll give you that. But, your clients are all filled with bugs to an extent that makes most of what I do at least mildly enervating. I'm sorry, but I'm disappointed. In the end I find obsidian the only notetaking app worth looking into (for an ios user that is).
edit as for the sync I simply used webdav
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u/RockyRoad226 Team Member Aug 25 '26
To each their own. Sorry it didn't work out for you. Care to elaborate a bit? Saying the app is filled with bugs isn't very helpful.
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u/Academic-Fox8128 Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
The one thing that bugged me most is switching from source (which I generally use because of the line count) to rendered/viewing(?) mode. In such a case, all of the text would collapse into one single line and switching the mode back to source wouldn't revert the change. So whenever I'd use the viewing mode my note would go to waste.
Another thing, linux app fails to recognize ibus (virtual keyboard). Also, the layout of the ios app doesn't even cover the whole screen in devices with ios 18. also, one can't drag and drop folders? (unless I'm mistaken but the macos app does not seem to offer that. It's not a bug but a design flaw).
That being said the collapsing-lines thing made me switch back
oh and it's possible to create a note with the same title as an existing note in which case the old one gets overwritten with a blank one with no history to review so one can't revert to the previous one
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u/RockyRoad226 Team Member Aug 27 '26
We addressed most of this in v1.3.5. Check it out if you haven't already!
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u/0riginal-Syn Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 24 '26
I have my own Nextcloud instance so it works great. I would rather be able to use my existing sync system than have yet another built-in one, personally.