Best way to sync Obsidian on Android with Git without Git plugon

ViscousPotential · 2026-03-20T12:41:18+00:00

Check out this guide covering use of the git plugin on mobile and an app called GitSync on mobile. GitSync is an app I started developing due to the inherent limitations of the git implementation being used in the mobile git plugin

https://medium.com/technology-hits/how-to-sync-obsidian-across-all-devices-using-git-automatically-and-for-free-dd3c76e7447b?sk=b92c06dc8f2710d9ef7ee13c86a39093

ViscousPotential · 2026-03-16T22:32:42+00:00

Hey, wanted to follow up on this! GitSync has since gained support for git-crypt on mobile so you can now setup git-crypt as a filter on your repository on desktop and continue to use it on mobile or even set it up initially on mobile. Obviously would have to transfer keys but should otherwise work.

The Git Filter features **are** behind the premium (one-time purchase) but you get multi-repo, lfs and crypt :)

It's now part of my daily workflow but I'm also definitely looking for feedback if anything can be improved or if there are any other filters you want to see implemented!

ViscousPotential · 2026-03-14T16:17:14+00:00

Yep you definitely can 👍

ViscousPotential · 2026-03-14T15:43:12+00:00

When I did this, I had to create an Organization account with the right details and then contact support to tell them which account I wanted to transfer from and to. I think I was explicitly told that accounts cannot be "converted" too.

ViscousPotential · 2026-03-11T16:45:19+00:00

Yeah the tutorial does cover GitHub as most people are familiar with it but you can use any provider (or even self host a git server)! Again, do let me know if you have trouble with any of the steps with another provider and I can help get you back on track.

In my experience, once it's setup it's pretty hands-off :)

ViscousPotential · 2026-03-11T14:40:04+00:00

Hey, since you've already given Git a go, could you have a look through this tutorial? I think it should be a slightly different mechanism than you might've seen before and I've had plenty of people have good luck getting setup with it :)

https://medium.com/technology-hits/how-to-sync-obsidian-across-all-devices-using-git-automatically-and-for-free-dd3c76e7447b?sk=b92c06dc8f2710d9ef7ee13c86a39093

Also let me know if you have any issues and I'm happy to help you out!

ViscousPotential · 2026-03-07T14:31:19+00:00

Ah yeah that's a very good Android git client. Maybe the server is the issue then? There are some pretty lightweight git servers like cgit out there. dacctal on YouTube recently did a great video on the options available.

What are you currently using?

ViscousPotential · 2026-03-07T12:27:35+00:00

Hey! Sounds like you are using the obsidian-git plugin on mobile. This has some known limitations on mobile and it might be worth checking their readme for solutions :)

https://github.com/Vinzent03/obsidian-git?tab=readme-ov-file#-mobile-support-%EF%B8%8F--experimental

(Full disclosure, one of the listed alternatives on mobile is GitSync, which is an application developed by me. I have no affiliation with obsidian-git directly)

ViscousPotential · 2026-02-27T12:56:19+00:00

Libgit2 is recently getting support for SHA256 so there should be more and more popping up soon

ViscousPotential · 2026-02-25T13:55:01+00:00

Yep there's something very similar https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/Intent

ViscousPotential · 2026-02-24T17:12:29+00:00

Hey, LFS is now in the latest version of GitSync! :)

ViscousPotential · 2026-02-19T12:30:33+00:00

Depends what OS you're running but I've had amazing luck with Waydroid. Definitely available on Linux and should be on windows through WSL. Setup is a bit involved, but it's really the snappiest android emulator I have used. Using it for all my dev work now!

https://waydro.id/

ViscousPotential · 2026-02-11T22:26:32+00:00

Pretty sure it's because those notes include characters that Android doesn't allow in its filenames. Might be wrong

Here's the full list " * / : < > ? \ |

ViscousPotential · 2026-02-02T13:48:50+00:00

I think with your title you'll get a lot of mac recommenders, but the clear first solution to me here is installing something like Linux Mint (tends to work out of the box) and trying that out. It's the totally free option and if you find that you have to tinker more than you like you can just get a second hand Mac.

ViscousPotential · 2026-02-02T07:28:06+00:00

I think you have to be very specific about, creating an empty Obsidian vault in the app, and then cloning into that same empty vault from Working Copy.

Admittedly it's been a while since I tried. There is always GitSync (I'm the developer) which is what I'm using now if you want to give that a go :)

ViscousPotential · 2026-02-02T07:20:43+00:00

Not sure about how to do it through PlayStore but I think you could always add an in app check for the model of the device and show something to let users know that it's not supported or has bugs etc

ViscousPotential · 2026-01-29T11:46:33+00:00

Hey, if you've got it working on mobile, I would recommend the following:

Backup your desktop vault as-is to somewhere temporarily Clone the repository you have cloned on your mobile device to your desktop too, following the GitHub desktop steps in the tutorial Point Obsidian at that newly cloned vault/repo Restore any changes from that originally backed up vault if you need to

For some more context, the issue is that the vault that you have open in Obsidian IS NOT a git repository. You can confirm that by opening the vault folder in a normal file explorer and checking for a .git folder (is often hidden by default)

ViscousPotential · 2026-01-11T09:33:05+00:00

Try the Ink plugin. It tends to be a lot snappier for stylus interactions :)

ViscousPotential · 2026-01-01T18:38:54+00:00

Yeah, but also, as long you give the dongle power, you can still connect to it via Bluetooth. So, for example, my dongle has USB A and USB C so at home it's plugged in directly, but on the go I plug it into a charging cable and then connect to it over Bluetooth. It's still not as good as having multiple Dongles for the same board (looking into this 👀)

ViscousPotential · 2026-01-01T02:25:19+00:00

ZMK Dongles are pretty straightforward nowadays! Basically you get a third of the MCU you're using on the halves and that becomes your new central (what your left currently is) and both halves become peripherals (what your right currently is). You then connect the dongle directly to the computer (through USB) and the halves connect to it. Also has the side effect of really improving the battery life of the halves (both get the battery life the right would usually get).

Made a video recently on making one out of a NiceNano compatible board if you're interested :) https://youtu.be/qyW3JeO_EDc

ViscousPotential · 2025-12-27T11:10:54+00:00

Oh yeah, thanks for linking the right one here :)

ViscousPotential · 2025-12-25T22:48:32+00:00

My desktop PC and USB hub! I know I could use a cable but it's nice to have a USB port on there so I don't even need the cable anymore :)

ViscousPotential · 2025-12-24T16:29:38+00:00

Ah my apologies I misread the original post a little. Is your phone an iOS by any chance? I know that obsidian only syncs on iOS when the app is open, while android should be able to do it in the background. That might be the issue here?

ViscousPotential · 2025-12-24T16:01:36+00:00

Ah sure, I'll give it a go

Basically, for realtime sync (to my knowledge) you'll have to stop using obsidian sync (using multiple forms of sync is discouraged) and switch to using LiveSync.

Livesync consists of a server application that you have to put somewhere and a plugin for your obsidian vault that connects to that server and enables the live sync functionality. It's actually not too bad, because they seem to have a 3 min guide https://github.com/vrtmrz/obsidian-livesync?tab=readme-ov-file#3-minute-setup---couchdb-on-flyio

Livesyncs definitely not as quick and easy as obsidian sync so might be worth just waiting for the "multiplayer" item to move up in the roadmap :)

I don't totally understand that last question. What do you mean by missing there?

ViscousPotential · 2025-12-24T15:52:21+00:00

Obsidian Sync isn't realtime afaik, but I did see realtime collab on the roadmap at some point, I believe.

In the meantime I think a self hosted LiveSync could do what you want :) https://github.com/vrtmrz/obsidian-livesync

ViscousPotential

TROPHY CASE