Obsidian is my favourite way to write notes and articles, and I have started to use the Android app.
To make it more usable, I have set up Syncthing to sync the notes between my desktop and laptop. Here I have shown how I have used it on Windows and Android:
Why I like Syncthing
- It’s free and doesn’t require any servers
- Separate to any software you use
App Setup
If you use Linux, you can install Syncthing from wherever you get software from and skip the first Windows step. Syncthing is managed with systemd.
If you are on Windows, you could also install SyncTrayzor which is a wrapper for the web GUI. You can use it to stop/restart Syncthing, though it starts itself automatically through Task Scheduler, so you aren’t really missing much.
Windows Steps
- Download the windows installer from GitHub (bottom right) and run the exe file.
- Visit
http://localhost:8384in your browser to check it works. Press “Actions” (top) and “Show ID” for the steps below
Android Steps
In this part we also link the devices, you could probably choose the device from the list but here are steps for the QR Code:
- Download Syncthing-fork from your app store
- In the app, choose Devices at the top and press the plus icon
- Press the QR button to scan the one on your computer
- Give your device a name and save with the default settings
- Accept the request on your computer. As a bonus, you can disable the icon in the notifications area (or disable them completely).
Folder Setup
In my case I already had a folder on my laptop which I wanted to sync, so the steps are laid out accordingly, though it doesn’t make any difference:
- (Desktop) Create the folder if it doesn’t exist already
- Press “Add Folder” and on the page, come up with a name
- Under “Sharing” select your phone/device.
- Press save
- (Phone) Accept the folder request, choosing a location for it. Note that this is where files will exist, ie choose something called Notes instead of Documents.
Now everything should be good to go, you can write on one device and the changes will appear on the other.