Sync

Binderus stores your notes as plain Markdown files in a folder you choose. That means any tool that syncs files works — pick whichever you already trust. This page is the recipes index for the most common providers.

Important — vault location constraint: Binderus is sandboxed by the OS to read and write only inside the standard Documents directory. Whichever sync provider you pick, the vault folder itself must live under:

macOS: ~/Documents/
Windows: %USERPROFILE%\Documents\ (i.e. C:\Users\<you>\Documents\)
Linux: ~/Documents/ (the XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR)

Picking a folder outside this path makes Binderus error out at vault-init time. This guide configures every provider around that constraint — point your sync at the Documents-resident vault rather than moving the vault into the provider's default folder.

How sync works in Binderus

There's no proprietary sync server. Your vault is a regular folder under the OS Documents directory; whatever cloud or peer-to-peer tool you point at it handles replication. Binderus watches the folder for changes and reloads notes when files appear or update.

Encrypted vault note: if you switched to the encrypted libsql backend, your vault is one DB file. All sync recipes below still work — the file just happens to be encrypted at rest. See Settings → Storage for the backend choice.

iCloud Drive (macOS)

The simplest path on Apple devices — uses iCloud's "Desktop & Documents" sync to replicate your vault automatically.

Create the vault folder at ~/Documents/binderus-vault/.
Open System Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → iCloud Drive → Sync this Mac.
Click Apps Syncing to iCloud Drive and enable "Desktop & Documents Folders". Your ~/Documents now syncs to iCloud Drive automatically.
Open Binderus, point the data directory at ~/Documents/binderus-vault/.
On a second Mac signed into the same Apple ID, repeat steps 2-4. iCloud replicates the vault.

Pros: zero extra setup, fast on Apple silicon, encrypted in transit.
Watch for: "Optimize Mac Storage" can evict your vault to the cloud and Binderus then sees missing files. Disable it for the vault folder, or pin via Finder → right-click → Keep Downloaded.

Dropbox

Cross-platform pick — same UX on macOS, Windows, Linux. Dropbox needs to be configured to sync a folder under Documents (rather than its default ~/Dropbox).

Option A — Add Documents-resident folder via Dropbox Backup

Create the vault at ~/Documents/binderus-vault/ (macOS / Linux) or C:\Users\<you>\Documents\binderus-vault\ (Windows).
Open Dropbox preferences → Backups → enable backup of the Documents folder. Dropbox then syncs everything under Documents (including your vault).
Point Binderus at the vault path. Done.

Option B — Symlink approach

If you want only the vault in Dropbox (not the rest of Documents):

Create the vault inside the Dropbox folder: ~/Dropbox/binderus-vault/.
Symlink it into Documents: ln -s ~/Dropbox/binderus-vault ~/Documents/binderus-vault.
Point Binderus at ~/Documents/binderus-vault. The symlink satisfies the Documents-only check; Dropbox still syncs the underlying folder.

Watch for: Dropbox's Smart Sync "online-only" mode hides files behind a placeholder — Binderus won't read those. Turn off Smart Sync for the vault folder.

OneDrive

Best on Windows where OneDrive natively backs up the Documents folder.

Create the vault at %USERPROFILE%\Documents\binderus-vault\ (Windows) or ~/Documents/binderus-vault/ (macOS).
Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon → Settings → Sync and backup → Manage backup. Enable backup for the Documents folder.
OneDrive starts syncing your vault automatically. Point Binderus at the path.
On other devices signed into the same Microsoft account, the vault appears under their Documents folder.

Watch for: disable Files On-Demand for the vault — same hidden-placeholder issue as Dropbox Smart Sync.

Google Drive

Works but adds friction. Use Drive for desktop in Mirror mode and add the Documents-resident vault as a "Folder from your computer".

Create the vault at ~/Documents/binderus-vault/.
Open Drive for desktop → Settings → Google Drive → Folders from your computer → Add folder.
Pick ~/Documents/binderus-vault/ and choose Sync with Google Drive (Mirror, not Stream).
Point Binderus at the path.

Watch for: Google Drive's file-locking and conflict-resolution can create note (1).md on simultaneous edits. Avoid editing the same note on two devices at once, or prefer Syncthing / git below.

Syncthing (peer-to-peer, no cloud)

The privacy-first pick. No third party sees your files; devices sync directly when both are online.

Install Syncthing on every device (macOS via Homebrew, Windows via SyncTrayzor, Linux via package manager).
Create the vault at ~/Documents/binderus-vault/ on the first device.
Add the folder to Syncthing; share its ID with each other device.
On the second device, accept the share invitation and set the local folder path to ~/Documents/binderus-vault/ as well — keeping the same path under Documents on every device.
Point Binderus at the path. Done.

Pros: end-to-end encrypted, no monthly fee, no quota, all paths stay under Documents naturally.
Watch for: Syncthing only syncs while both devices are online; consider running it on a home server / NAS as an always-on relay.

Git (versioned, with history)

The power-user pick. Every change becomes a commit; you get full history, easy rollback, and free off-device backup via GitHub / GitLab / self-hosted.

Create and init the vault under Documents:

mkdir -p ~/Documents/binderus-vault
cd ~/Documents/binderus-vault
git init

Add a .gitignore for system clutter:
```
.DS_Store
.binderus/cache/
*.swp
*~
```
git remote add origin git@github.com:you/notes.git
Wire commit + push as a daily cron job, post-commit hook, or via a small wrapper script.
On other devices: git clone into ~/Documents/binderus-vault/ on each one — the vault stays in Documents everywhere.

Tip: the encrypted DB storage backend produces a single binary notes.db file. Git tracks it as a binary blob — no diff. For full text-diffable history, use the Filesystem storage backend.

Encrypted sync layered on top

If your sync provider is fine but you want zero-trust on the cloud:

git-crypt — transparently encrypt files in a git repo with a GPG key. Works with GitHub etc. Run inside ~/Documents/binderus-vault/.
rclone + crypt — encrypts before sending; works with Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, and 70+ providers. Configure rclone to mirror ~/Documents/binderus-vault/ to a crypt-wrapped remote.
Cryptomator — drops a virtual encrypted drive on top of a regular cloud folder. Mount the cleartext view inside Documents (e.g. ~/Documents/binderus-vault/) for Binderus to read.

Multi-device gotchas

Same path on every device. Pick a single canonical vault path under Documents (e.g. ~/Documents/binderus-vault/) and use it on every machine — keeps wiki links portable across devices.
Clock skew: if two devices have very different system clocks, file modification times can confuse sync clients. Keep system clocks synced via NTP (the default on macOS, Windows, modern Linux).
Simultaneous edits: if you edit the same note on two devices while both are offline, almost every cloud provider creates a "conflict copy" rather than merging. Resolve by manually picking the right version. Git users get a real merge instead.
File case sensitivity: macOS HFS+/APFS is case-insensitive by default; Linux ext4 is case-sensitive. A vault that has Note.md and note.md on Linux collapses to one file on macOS. Pick one casing convention.

Troubleshooting

"Only directory under ~/Documents allowed" toast: the vault path you picked is outside the OS Documents folder. Move it under Documents (or symlink as in Dropbox Option B) and re-pick the directory.
Notes don't appear after a sync: some clients don't trigger filesystem-watcher events on remote-originated changes. Toggle Binderus's window focus or restart the app.
Conflict copies ((1) / conflict filenames): diff the two versions manually, save the one you want, delete the other.
Sync slow on a vault with 1000s of notes: exclude the .binderus/cache/ folder if your sync tool offers per-folder rules.