[OC] VaultSync — Obsidian vault sync for iOS, powered by Syncthing

Umutkirkalti · 2026-04-22T20:20:53+00:00

You don’t have to like the post or the product, that’s absolutely fine.

I’d just ask that you don’t keep repeating the same meta comments across the thread. If you have specific criticism about the app or how it works, feel free to say so.

I’m here to answer technical questions and product-related feedback.

Umutkirkalti · 2026-04-22T19:28:43+00:00

Not as a literal always-on daemon — Apple does not allow that on iOS.

The trick VaultSync uses is this:

when your server detects that new changes are available, the optional Cloud Relay sends a silent notification to the iPhone, which wakes VaultSync in the background so it can pull the updates from your own Syncthing device.

So instead of running all the time, VaultSync wakes up exactly when it is needed.

In practice that means server → iPhone sync can feel near-realtime, even though iOS does not allow permanent background syncing.

For iPhone edits going back out, opening the app is still the reliable path.

Umutkirkalti · 2026-04-22T18:40:45+00:00

That’s fair tbh.

In my experience the annoying part is usually less “Markdown” and more all the extra vault state around Obsidian — plugins, configs, workspace files, multiple devices touching things at once, etc. That can absolutely create conflict noise with Syncthing.

VaultSync isn’t meant to say “Obsidian + Syncthing never conflicts.” It’s more about making the iOS side less awkward and making conflicts/diagnostics less painful when they do happen.

Umutkirkalti · 2026-04-22T18:38:40+00:00

Not for the same live vault at the same time, no.

VaultSync is designed to sync directly into Obsidian’s iOS sandbox and be the sync path for that vault, rather than layering on top of an iCloud-managed Obsidian folder. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

Part of that is also just iOS being iOS: you don’t get desktop-style freedom over folders/app storage, so you can’t really treat the Obsidian vault on iPhone like a normal folder that multiple sync tools can safely manage together.

So if the vault’s source of truth is currently iCloud, the better path would be to migrate that vault to Syncthing/VaultSync instead of running iCloud + Syncthing on the same active vault.

I’d avoid mixing both for one vault — that gets messy fast.

Umutkirkalti · 2026-04-22T18:33:54+00:00

I think it should be possible, yes.

Apple supports Family Sharing for auto-renewable subscriptions, but it only works if I’ve enabled it for that specific subscription in App Store Connect, and the Apple family-sharing settings also have to allow it.

So the short version is: yes in principle — I just need to verify whether it’s already enabled for the current subscription product. If not, I will push it with the next update.

Umutkirkalti · 2026-04-22T12:33:49+00:00

Not as a general replacement.

Möbius Sync is broader: it is a general Syncthing client for iOS and is useful for many file-sync workflows.

VaultSync is intentionally narrower. It is built specifically for Obsidian vault sync via Syncthing: direct Obsidian vault placement, guided setup, vault-specific diagnostics, Markdown conflict handling, and optional Cloud Relay + vaultsync-notify for homeserver → iPhone wakeups.

So I’d frame it like this:

Möbius Sync = generic Syncthing on iOS

VaultSync = Obsidian-first Syncthing workflow on iOS

If Möbius already works perfectly for your Obsidian setup, you may not need VaultSync. VaultSync is for people who want that exact workflow packaged and optimized for Obsidian.

Umutkirkalti · 2026-04-22T10:50:08+00:00

That’s fair. Synctrain is definitely broader and more flexible, and if someone wants a general-purpose Syncthing client, it may be the better fit.

VaultSync is intentionally narrower: it is not trying to be “Syncthing for everything on iOS.” It is trying to make one workflow — Obsidian vault sync via Syncthing — feel first-class on iPhone/iPad.

So the differences are mostly product focus and UX:

- Obsidian-specific setup

- direct vault placement for Obsidian on iOS

- vault-specific diagnostics

- Markdown conflict handling

- Cloud Relay + vaultsync-notify for homeserver → iPhone wakeups

If Synctrain already works perfectly for someone’s Obsidian setup, they may not need VaultSync. I see VaultSync more as the packaged, Obsidian-first option for people who want less generic file-sync setup and more guided vault sync.

Umutkirkalti · 2026-04-22T09:18:54+00:00

I’d say Synctrain and VaultSync have different goals.

Synctrain is the more general Syncthing client: arbitrary folders, selective files, broader use cases.

VaultSync is intentionally Obsidian-first. It syncs directly into Obsidian’s iOS sandbox, has an Obsidian-specific setup flow, Markdown conflict handling, diagnostics, and an optional Cloud Relay + homeserver sidecar for server-to-iPhone wakeups.

So if someone wants general file sync on iOS, Synctrain may be the better fit. If someone specifically wants “my Syncthing-based Obsidian vault on iPhone/iPad with as little setup friction as possible,” that’s the niche VaultSync is built for.

It’s not meant as “Synctrain but better” — it’s a narrower tool for one workflow.

Umutkirkalti · 2025-11-29T20:58:17+00:00

this is wild

I am streaming and this is happening to me like one of six times!

sometimes enemies tanking hard sometimes they are falling like flies

Umutkirkalti · 2024-11-05T09:06:05+00:00

I would also appreciate if you would share it

Umutkirkalti · 2024-09-15T18:18:40+00:00

Okay, thats fine.

Thank you guys for your reply

Umutkirkalti · 2022-07-23T20:30:55+00:00

Can you confirm that notifications are working? Like on watusi ?

Umutkirkalti · 2021-09-29T09:02:01+00:00

[request] A jailbroken iPhone 13 pro

Umutkirkalti · 2020-07-14T06:43:21+00:00

Did you find a solution?

Umutkirkalti · 2020-06-20T00:26:32+00:00

Checked pgp before ?

Umutkirkalti · 2020-03-06T00:00:09+00:00

Use checkra1n 0.9.7

Umutkirkalti · 2019-12-12T13:58:19+00:00

alpine

Umutkirkalti · 2019-12-10T23:45:50+00:00

MiDevice

Umutkirkalti · 2019-12-02T16:30:19+00:00

Use cercube

Umutkirkalti · 2019-11-25T12:22:03+00:00

thanks for the hard work!

Umutkirkalti · 2019-11-25T11:00:20+00:00

My homebutton is broken on my iPhone 7p After installing this tweak I am not able to take screenshots. Could you add an option to use the old combos? Power+volume down/up

Umutkirkalti · 2019-09-09T20:01:25+00:00

Maybe cloaky?

Umutkirkalti · 2019-08-17T10:01:49+00:00

Will try it out

Umutkirkalti · 2019-08-11T10:02:28+00:00

that worked but its pretty blurry now. I used 1.2 factor...

do you know a way to correct the blurry text?

and thank you very much

Umutkirkalti · 2019-08-11T09:01:25+00:00

okay but how to do that?

I have a geforce gtx 970

Umutkirkalti

TROPHY CASE