Self-hosted LiveSync (for Obsidian)

Self-hosted LiveSync is a community-developed synchronization plugin for Obsidian that keeps your vaults in sync across devices using self-hosted backends. It supports CouchDB-based syncing as well as object storage-based approaches, and can optionally sync peer-to-peer using WebRTC (experimental).

Key Features

• Sync Obsidian vaults efficiently with minimal network traffic
• Conflict handling with automatic merging for simple conflicts
• Supports end-to-end encryption for synced data
• Works with self-hostable server options such as CouchDB
• Can use S3-compatible object storage backends (for example MinIO)
• Syncs more than notes, including settings, themes, snippets, and plugins (via customization/hidden file sync)
• Optional WebRTC peer-to-peer synchronization mode (experimental)

Use Cases

• Keep personal or work vaults synchronized across desktop and mobile without using proprietary sync services
• Maintain privacy-focused note synchronization for sensitive research, engineering, or security-conscious workflows
• Run a self-controlled sync backend on a home server or VPS for multi-device Obsidian use

Limitations and Considerations

• Not compatible with the official Obsidian Sync and cannot synchronize with it
• Running multiple sync solutions at the same time (including iCloud) can risk conflicts or corruption
• WebRTC peer-to-peer mode is experimental and requires at least one peer device to be online to sync

Self-hosted LiveSync is a strong option for Obsidian users who want reliable multi-device synchronization while retaining control over storage and security. It is best suited to users comfortable operating a trusted backend such as CouchDB or S3-compatible object storage, with an optional peer-to-peer mode for specific scenarios.