Self-hosted Obsidian sync · iOS & iPadOS
Your Obsidian vault, finally in sync on iPhone.
VaultSync syncs your notes peer-to-peer over Syncthing, straight into Obsidian’s iOS sandbox. No note cloud. No account. No tracking.
The sync itself is free — fully peer-to-peer over Syncthing, with no note cloud in between. Cloud Relay is an optional wake-up push for faster server → iPhone updates.
How it works
Your server syncs peer-to-peer with your iPhone.
Syncthing runs on a machine you keep on. VaultSync joins as a peer and writes notes into Obsidian’s vault — no note cloud sits in the middle.
Peer-to-peer & private
Notes move directly between your own devices over Syncthing — on your LAN or across the internet, encrypted in transit. No third-party note cloud, no account.
Lands in your vault
Files sync into Obsidian’s iOS sandbox — exactly where the app already looks for them. No Siri shortcuts, no fragile workarounds. Open Obsidian; your notes are there.
Outsmarting iOS, quietly
iOS won’t let any app sync in the background — that’s Apple’s rule, not ours. Cloud Relay’s clever workaround: the moment your server changes, a tiny content-free push wakes VaultSync just long enough to pull the new notes. The payoff is near-instant incoming sync iOS otherwise won’t allow — and the relay still sees only a Device ID and a push token, never your notes.
Set up in minutes
Pair once. Then it just keeps your vault in sync.
Step 1
Pair your server by QR
Scan your Syncthing Device ID — or paste it — then accept the connection. No keys to copy by hand.
Step 2
Notes land in Obsidian
VaultSync detects your vaults, connects the share, and runs the first sync — straight into Obsidian’s sandbox.
When it matters
Resolve conflicts with diffs
Edited the same note in two places? Settle Markdown conflicts with a clear side-by-side diff — you stay in control.
Always visible
Activity timeline & diagnostics
An activity timeline and diagnostics show exactly what synced and when — never status by colour alone, always an icon and label.
An honest comparison
How VaultSync compares — including where it doesn’t win.
Every sync tool trades something. Here’s the short version; the full breakdowns live on the comparison pages.
| VaultSync | Möbius Sync | Obsidian LiveSync | Obsidian Sync | iCloud | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Setup effort | QR pair · minutes | Siri-shortcut step | Run CouchDB | None | None |
| Real-time sync | Near-real-time * | On trigger | Yes, real-time | Yes | Eventually |
| Lands natively in Obsidian (iOS) | Yes, sandbox | Sandbox workaround | Yes, plugin | Yes, native | Varies |
| Data path | P2P, no cloud | P2P | Your CouchDB | E2E cloud | Apple cloud |
| Open source | MPL-2.0 | No | Yes | No | No |
| Price | Free · Relay optional | Freemium · paid Pro | Free (self-host) | Subscription | Free tier |
* Near-real-time when Cloud Relay delivers a wake-up; otherwise on the next app open. iOS throttles background delivery — see “Honest about iOS” below.
Cloud Relay · optional
Want your iPhone to wake on its own? Add Cloud Relay.
Without it, VaultSync syncs server changes when you open the app. With it, a silent push nudges your iPhone the moment your server changes — even while VaultSync is closed.
Privacy by design
The relay is a wake-up service, not a note cloud. It routes a push and nothing more.
Cloud Relay
Optional in-app subscription.
Prices shown in USD. Your local App Store price may differ. A free trial badge appears in the app when a trial is available.
Turn it on in about two minutes
Subscribe in the app, copy the command it shows you, change one path, and run it on the machine that runs Syncthing.
docker run -d --name vaultsync-notify --restart unless-stopped \
--network host \
-v /PATH/TO/syncthing:/config:ro \
-e SYNCTHING_CONFIG=/config/config.xml \
-e RELAY_URL=https://relay.vaultsync.eu \
ghcr.io/psimaker/vaultsync-notify:latestThe only edit: replace /PATH/TO/syncthing with your Syncthing config folder — usually ~/.config/syncthing. There’s no API key to copy.
We’d rather under-promise than leave you frustrated.
iOS limits background work. Apple throttles silent push and background refresh, so “instant” isn’t something any sync app can truly guarantee on iPhone. Cloud Relay nudges your phone — it doesn’t override the OS.
Sending edits is most reliable with the app open. Incoming changes can land in the background; pushing your own edits out is most dependable while VaultSync is in the foreground. We tell you this up front.
“Encrypted in transit,” precisely. Syncthing encrypts transfers with TLS and the relay protects tokens at rest. VaultSync does not claim to encrypt your notes at rest on disk — your device security does that.
Status is never a guess. Every state shows an icon and a label, not just a colour — so you always know whether you’re synced, syncing, or need to act.
Built in the open
An independent project, developed in public under MPL-2.0.
VaultSync is made by an indie developer and built on the shoulders of Syncthing and gomobile. The full source, changelog, and privacy policy are on GitHub — read exactly what runs on your devices before you install it.
Bring your vault to your iPhone.
Free, peer-to-peer, and open source. Pair your server by QR and your Obsidian notes are there.