Help Center · Vault sync

Obsidian vault sync (in the browser)

Point Ledger at a real folder of .md files — your Obsidian vault — and keep both sides in step. Edit in Obsidian, edit in Ledger, and they converge, safely, at the file level. No secrets are ever written, and your files stay exactly as Obsidian writes them.

Two ways to connect a vault, pick the one that fits: this page covers browser folder sync (best on Chrome/Edge/Brave/Arc). If you'd rather work inside Obsidian itself, use the Obsidian plugin. If your browser doesn't support folder access, use the Import/Export fallback.

What this does

Browser vault sync connects Ledger directly to an Obsidian vault folder on your disk and syncs both directions at the granularity of individual .md files. Unlike Import vault (a one-time paste) or Export (a one-time download), this is a continuing link you can re-run anytime, or let run automatically.

It's the on-disk middle layer between your editor and the cloud: Obsidian (your editor) ↔ Ledger (governance) ↔ org cloud (your team).

Connecting a vault

  1. Click ⇄ Vault sync in the top bar. The vault sync panel opens.
  2. Click 📂 Connect Obsidian vault.
  3. Your browser asks you to pick a folder. Choose your Obsidian vault folder (the one containing your .md files).
  4. Grant read & write permission when the browser prompts. (Read-write is required so Ledger can push your Ledger-side edits back to the files.)
  5. The panel shows Connected vault: <name> · linked. Click ⇄ Sync now to run the first reconciliation.

Ledger remembers the folder handle in the browser's IndexedDB, so it can reconnect across sessions. For security, the browser will re-ask permission when you return — that's expected, not a bug.

The two-way sync model

Sync is safe by construction — it never silently loses an unsynced edit. Ledger keeps a per-file content snapshot from the last sync and uses it to decide what changed on each side:

SituationWhat Ledger does
Both sides identicalNothing — already in sync.
Only the vault changedPull — copy the file's new content into Ledger.
Only Ledger changedPush — write Ledger's new content to the file.
Both sides changed (a conflict)The vault (file) wins — Ledger takes the file's version, and the prior Ledger version is kept in version history so nothing is lost.
New file in the vaultCreated as a page in Ledger.
New page in LedgerCreated as a file in the vault.
File deleted in the vault, Ledger page unchangedThe Ledger page is removed too.
Ledger page deleted, file unchangedThe file is removed too.
Deleted on one side but edited on the otherThe edit wins — the surviving, edited copy is kept and re-created on the deleted side. An edit always beats a delete.

After a sync, the panel shows a one-line summary, e.g. "2 pulled · 1 pushed · 1 conflict (vault won; prior kept in history)." If nothing changed it says "already in sync."

Why does the vault win conflicts? Obsidian is your editor of record, so when both sides changed the same file, the on-disk file is treated as the source of truth. You never lose your Ledger edit, though — it's preserved in that page's version history, where you can diff and restore it.

What's skipped & the no-secrets guarantee

Auto-sync

To keep the vault and Ledger continuously in step, turn on auto-sync:

  1. Open the vault sync panel (with a vault connected).
  2. Tick Auto-sync (30s + on focus).

Ledger then reconciles automatically every 30 seconds and whenever you switch back to the browser tab/window. If an auto-sync moves anything, you get a quiet toast summarizing it. Auto-sync failures stay silent (so you're not nagged); run a manual Sync now any time you want to see errors surfaced.

Changing or disconnecting the folder

Pushing the synced KB to the org cloud

If you're also signed in, the vault sync panel shows a ☁ Push to org cloud button, so after reconciling Obsidian ↔ Ledger you can push the merged result to your team's shared org vault in one more click.

Browser support

Direct two-way folder sync uses the browser's File System Access API, which is available in Chromium-class desktop browsers:

If your browser can't open a folder directly, the panel tells you so and points you to the Import/Export round-trip.

Firefox / Safari fallback

If folder sync isn't available, you can still move Markdown both ways manually:

  1. Into Ledger: use Import vault — paste a single note, or paste a bundle exported from Ledger. See Import.
  2. Out of Ledger: use Export all to get a bundle (or Export .md for one page), then drop the files into your vault. See Export.

It's a round-trip rather than a live link, but it's lossless — frontmatter, folders, tags, and wiki-links all carry over. Alternatively, switch to a Chromium browser for live folder sync, or use the Obsidian plugin to work inside Obsidian.

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