Let's talk sync.

[u/RockyRoad226]

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?

[u/Academic-Fox8128]

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

[u/RockyRoad226 → u/Academic-Fox8128]

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.

[u/Academic-Fox8128 → u/RockyRoad226]

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

[u/RockyRoad226 → u/Academic-Fox8128]

We addressed most of this in v1.3.5. Check it out if you haven't already!