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- Obsidian Sync/Set up Obsidian Sync on another device
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description: You've purchased Obsidian Sync and are ready to get started. This guide will help you set up and adjust your Obsidian Sync settings for daily use.
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permalink: sync/setup
publish: trueSet up Obsidian Sync
You purchased Obsidian Sync and are ready to get started. This guide will help you set up and adjust your Obsidian Sync settings for daily use.
- New to Obsidian Sync? See: Set up Obsidian Sync for the first time
- Connecting a second device? See: Sync a remote vault on another device
- Need to make changes? See: Manage your remote vaults
Set up Obsidian Sync for the first time
In this section, you'll create a new remote vault and connect it to an existing local vault. You don't need to create a new, empty local vault to use Obsidian Sync for this purpose.
Prerequisites
- An Obsidian account. If you don't have one, sign up now.
- An active Obsidian Sync subscription. If you don't have one, subscribe from your account dashboard.
- Recommended: A backup system in place for your Obsidian files. A syncing service is not a backup.
Log in with your Obsidian account
- Open Settings.
- In the sidebar, select General.
- Under Account → Your Account, select Log in.
- In Email, enter your email.
- In Password, enter your password.
- Select Login.
Enable Obsidian Sync
- Open Settings.
- In the sidebar under Options, select Core Plugins.
- Toggle Sync.
Create a new remote vault
- Open Settings.
- In the sidebar, select Sync.
- Next to Remote vault, select Choose.
- Select Create new vault.
- In Vault name, enter the name of the remote vault.
- In Region, choose your server region for your remote vault.
- In Encryption password, choose a password for your vault. This creates an end-to-end encrypted vault. The vault password is separate from your Obsidian account and can be different for each of your vaults. For more information, refer to Security and privacy.
- Select Create.
Connect to a remote vault
- Select Connect next to your newly created vault.
- Enter the password you configured for the vault in the Encryption password field if you opted into end-to-end encryption.
- Select Unlock vault.
- Do not start syncing yet. Check your sync settings in adjust Obsidian Sync settings.
- If you wish to start syncing immediately, move onto begin syncing with Obsidian Sync.
- If you haven't already, close or dismiss the pop-up window prompting you to Exclude Folders and Start Syncing. Proceed to the next step.
Adjust Obsidian Sync settings
- Navigate to Settings → Sync if needed.
- If a device name has not been added, add one to make reading your Sync logs easier!
- Toggle the settings under Selective Sync and Vault configuration sync to indicate which items should be synced to and from the remote vault.
- Note: If you recently disconnected from a remote vault and are reconnecting without an application restart, some settings may already be toggled on.
- If you make changes to any settings, restart Obsidian completely.
- Once Obsidian is restarted, return to Settings → Sync.
Begin syncing with Obsidian Sync
If you are beginning syncing after connecting to a remote vault, you will see a Start Syncing button. Select this button to begin syncing.
If you are beginning syncing after adjusting Obsidian Sync's settings and restarting the application, you will see a Resume button within Sync's settings. Select this button to begin syncing.
When Obsidian Sync completes, a green circle with a checkmark ( 
) appears in the bottom-right corner (desktop) or in the right sidebar (mobile). The Sync log will also display "Fully Synced" as one its most recent message.
For more details on sync statuses, refer to Status icon and messages.
To connect other devices to your newly created and synced remote vault, keep reading!
To learn more about settings and files, move onto Sync settings and selective syncing.
Sync a remote vault on another device
In this section, you have already created a remote vault, and uploaded data to it. Now, you want to connect your other devices to it.
Prerequisites
- An Obsidian account. If you don't have one, sign up now.
- An active Obsidian Sync subscription. If you don't have one, subscribe from your account dashboard.
- Sync enabled within the Core plugins settings.
- An active remote vault. If you have not yet made one, please create a remote vault first.
- Recommended: A backup system in place for your Obsidian files on your most-used device. A syncing service is not a backup.
Sync your vault from the vault switcher
If you have freshly installed Obsidian, when you open the program you will be presented with the Vault switcher. To create a new local vault from the contents of a remote vault, you will want to perform the following steps.
- Open Obsidian (assuming this is your first time opening it)
- Select one of the options depending upon your installation:
- Desktop: In the section that says Open vault from Obsidian Sync, choose Setup
- Mobile/Tablet: Setup Obsidian Sync
- Login with your Obsidian User account
- If 2FA is set up, enter your 2FA code.
- You will be asked to choose which remote vault you want to sync to this device. Select Connect.
- You will be asked to choose a name for the local vault that will be created on the device to hold this data. Enter the name of your choice.
- If you use Obsidian URIs, you will want to use the same name as the local vault on your other device.
- Select Create.
- The remove vaults window will pop-up momentary as Obsidian Sync connects to your server and validates the subscription. It will then present you a Setup Connection window.
- It is highly recommended that you close or swipe down from this window, and adjust Obsidian Sync settings first.
- If you change any Sync Settings, please reload or restart Obsidian.
Sync your vault from Obsidian Settings
If you have already created a local vault on this device, and you want to connect this local vault to a remote vault, the instructions are very similar to Set up Obsidian Sync for the first time.
Log in with your Obsidian account
- Open Settings.
- In the sidebar, select General.
- Under Account → Your Account, select Log in.
- In Email, enter your email.
- In Password, enter your password.
- Select Login.
Enable Obsidian Sync
- Open Settings.
- In the sidebar under Options, select Core Plugins.
- Toggle Sync.
Connect to a remote vault
- Open Settings.
- In the sidebar, select Sync.
- Next to Pick remote vault, click Choose.
- Click Connect next to the remote vault you want to connect to.
- In Encryption password, enter the password for your vault, if you have one.
- You will be prompted to start Syncing. It is recommended to wait and adjust your sync settings first. If you do want to sync the entire vault to the device as is, you may Start Syncing.
Adjust Obsidian Sync settings
- Navigate to Settings → Sync if needed.
- If a device name has not been added, add one to make reading your Sync logs easier!
- Toggle the settings under Selective Sync and Vault configuration sync to indicate which items should be synced to and from the remote vault.
- Note: If you recently disconnected from a remote vault and are reconnecting without an application restart, some settings may already be toggled on.
- If you make changes to any settings, restart Obsidian completely.
- Once Obsidian is restarted, return to Settings → Sync.
Begin syncing with Obsidian Sync
If you are beginning syncing after connecting to a remote vault, you will see a Start Syncing button. Select this button to begin syncing.
If you are beginning syncing after adjusting Obsidian Sync's settings and restarting the application, you will see a Resume button within Sync's settings. Select this button to begin syncing.
When Obsidian Sync completes, a green circle with a checkmark ( ) appears in the bottom-right corner (desktop) or in the right sidebar (mobile). The Sync log will also display "Fully Synced" as one its most recent message.
For more details on sync statuses, refer to Status icon and messages.
To connect other devices to your newly created and synced remote vault, keep reading!
To learn more about settings and files, move onto Sync settings and selective syncing.
Manage your remote vaults
You have created and connected to a remote vault. You may have also synced this remote vault to multiple devices. This section goes over some of the other common instructions you may need in managing this remote vault.
Disconnect from a remote vault
- Open Obsidian's Settings.
- Select Sync in the sidebar.
- Click the Disconnect button next to Remote vaults.
You are now disconnected from the remote vault and are no longer syncing on this device.
Delete a remote vault
- Open Settings.
- In the sidebar, select Sync.
- Select Manage next to Remote vaults. A window will open with your list of remote vaults.
- Select the trash can icon (
) next to the remote vault you want to delete. - Confirm the deletion by selecting the red Delete button.
- Your remote vault has been deleted.
Regional sync servers
Obsidian Sync allows you to choose the hosting location for your remote vault. If you're using version 1.4.16 or older of Obsidian, the location will be automatically chosen for you.
If you're unsure where your current vault's region is, check out Where can I find my current Sync server and where is it hosted? for guidance.
After selecting a location, your data center cannot be moved to a different server without re-uploading your data. To change regions, follow the follow vault migration guide.
Automatic: Your data center is chosen based on your IP location.
Asia: Singapore
Europe: Frankfurt, Germany
North America: San Francisco, USA
Oceania: Sydney, Australia
Next steps
Here are some suggested documents to read next.
- Explore more about selecting files and settings to sync.
- Learn what happens if your remote vault fill up.
- Collaborate on a shared vault with another Obsidian Sync user.
- Check out the Sync FAQ for some answers to common questions.