A guide to syncing your notes or files across different devices using Obsidian.

1. Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed on your devices:

• Obsidian (for note-taking)
• Git (for version control and syncing)
• iSH Shell (for Git on iOS)
• Termux (for Git on Android)

2. Why I Chose This Method

Initially, I used VS Code and Markdown for note-taking. Over time, I explored alternatives like Notion and Standard Notes, but they didn’t suit my workflow. Eventually, I switched to Obsidian—a simple and efficient choice.

However, I didn’t want to pay for Obsidian Sync. Instead, I set up Git-based syncing for my notes, and I realized others might find this approach useful too.

3. Getting Started

Step 1: Install Obsidian

Download Obsidian based on your operating system:

Mobile:

• iOS
• Android

Desktop/Laptop:

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux:
  • AppImage
  • Snap
  • Deb
  • Flatpak

Step 2: Install Git

Download Git based on your operating system:

Mobile:

• iOS: iSH Shell (it uses Alpine Linux, so we can install Git using apk add git)
• Android: Termux (install Git using pkg install git)

Desktop/Laptop:

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux (I use Arch, so just sudo pacman -S git)

4. Setting Up Git-Based Syncing

Step 1: Create an Obsidian Vault and Initialize Git

• First, create an Obsidian vault on your primary device (e.g., your PC or Mac).
• Navigate to the vault directory and initialize a Git repository:

  cd /path/to/your/obsidian-vault
  git init
  git add .
  git commit -m "Initial commit"
  git branch -M main
  git remote add origin <your-github-repo-url>
  git push -u origin main
  

Step 2: Syncing Notes on iOS

• Download and install iSH Shell.
• Inside iSH, install Git using:

  apk add git
  

• Clone your Git repository to iSH:

  git clone <your-github-repo-url>
  

• iSH creates a storage folder inside iPhone storage. Copy the cloned vault to the Obsidian app’s folder manually.
• Whenever you update notes, pull the latest changes in iSH and copy them to the Obsidian folder again.
• Make sure to create the Obsidian vault inside On My iPhone location.
• Make sure you know the path of your cloned repo on iSH, mine is /home/notes.

Step 3: Syncing Notes on Android

• Open Termux and install Git:

  pkg install git
  

• Clone the repository into a convenient location:

  git clone <your-github-repo-url>
  

• Open Obsidian and set the vault location to the cloned directory.
• Whenever you update notes, pull the latest changes.

Step 4: Pull Changes

• You just need to write this command

• git pull origin main
  

Step 5: Syncing Notes on Linux & Windows

• Clone the Git repository wherever you want.

  git clone <your-github-repo-url>
  

• Open Obsidian and set the vault location to the cloned directory.
• Since .obsidian settings are present in the repo, opening it in Obsidian will work seamlessly.
• To update and sync notes, simply pull or push changes via Git.

5. Conclusion

• This method allows you to sync notes across multiple devices without paying for Obsidian Sync. While it requires manual Git commands, it’s a powerful and cost-effective way to maintain version-controlled, cross-device note synchronization.
• Also never push changes from mobile phones. Only use laptop or pc or mac.
• I recommend using SSH for authentication. Instead of cloning with HTTPS, use

git clone git@github.com:your-username/your-repo.git

• Set up SSH keys for secure, password-less authentication.

6. Resources

• ssh
• iSH SHell
• termux
• git
• obsidian
• For more details, read the official documentations.