How to Obsidian Sync for FREE! (No Paid Plan Required)

Obsidian is one of the best note-taking apps available today. It provides a powerful, Markdown-based experience with local-first storage. However, there is one problem: the official sync feature costs around $8 per month. What if I told you there’s a way to sync your notes across multiple devices completely free? In this guide, I will walk you through a method using GitHub and Git that allows you to keep your notes in sync without spending a dime.

What Would Need

It could feel that you need to do a lot of things, but don’t worry; in an ideal scenario, you would need about 10–15 minutes and these things:

• GitHub Account & Repository
• GitHub Access Token
• SSH key (optional)
• Git
• Obsidian
• Git Plugin for Obsidian
• iSH app for iPhone
• Obsidian App for iPhone

Step 1: Create a GitHub Account and Repository

GitHub is a cloud-based platform primarily used for software development, but it can also be used for managing personal projects and files — including Obsidian notes.

A Git repository (or repo) is a storage space where Git tracks all the changes to a set of files. It records modifications, allowing you to revert to previous versions, collaborate with others, and synchronize your files across different devices. In the context of Obsidian, a Git repository helps store and sync your notes while keeping track of all edits.

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1. Go to GitHub.com, and sign up.
2. Once logged in, click on the New button to create a new repository.
3. Give it a name (e.g., “Obsidian-Notes”).
4. Make sure to set the repository to Private so your notes are not publicly accessible.
5. Click Create Repository.

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Step 2: Install Git on Your Computer

If you don’t have Git installed, follow these steps:

• Windows: Download and install Git from git-scm.com.

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• Mac: Install Git using Homebrew with brew install git.

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• Linux: Use sudo apt-get install git (for Debian-based systems) or sudo dnf install git (for Fedora-based systems).

\ Once installed, open your terminal (Command Prompt, PowerShell, or macOS Terminal) and verify installation by running:

git --version Basic Git Commands

Here are three essential Git commands that you’ll use frequently:

git status

\ This command shows the current state of your repository. It tells you which files have been modified, added, or staged for commit.git status

git pull

\ This command fetches the latest changes from the remote repository (GitHub) and updates your local repository.

git push

\ After making changes, you need to upload them to GitHub using git push. This command sends your committed changes from your local repository to the remote repository.

Step 3: Clone the GitHub Repository

Now, let’s connect your local Obsidian vault to GitHub:

• Open your terminal, and navigate to the folder where you want to store your notes.

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• Run the following command, replacing YOUR-REPO-URL with your GitHub repository URL:

git clone YOUR-REPO-URL

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• This will create a local folder linked to your GitHub repository.

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\ Move your Obsidian notes into this folder so they are ready for syncing.

Step 3. How to Get a GitHub Classic Token

GitHub has deprecated password-based authentication for Git operations. Instead, it requires you to use a Personal Access Token (PAT), which provides a more secure way to authenticate.

How to Get a GitHub Classic Token

Go to GitHub Developer Settings:

• Open GitHub Token Settings.
• Click Generate new token → Select Classic.

\ Set Expiration & Permissions:

• Choose an expiration date or set it to No Expiration (not recommended for security).

Select the necessary scopes:

• repo → For accessing private repositories.

\ Generate and Copy the Token:

• Click Generate token and copy it immediately.
• GitHub won’t show it again after you leave the page.

\ Use the Token in Git Authentication:

• When prompted for a password in Git operations, paste the token instead.

Step 4: Set Up SSH for Authentication (Optional)

To avoid entering your password every time you sync, you can set up SSH authentication:

• Generate an SSH key by running:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"

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• Copy the SSH key using:

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

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• Go to GitHub, navigate to Settings > SSH and GPG keys, and add the copied key.

  

\ Now, your system will authenticate with GitHub automatically.

Step 5: Set Up Git Plugin in Obsidian

I assume you already have the Obsidian App, which is why I won’t cover the installation process for it here. I will only show you the quick steps to install the Git plugin.

\ Obsidian has a plugin that makes Git syncing easier:

6. Open Obsidian, and go to Settings > Community Plugins.
7. Search for “Git,” and install it.
8. Enable Auto Commit and Sync (set an interval, e.g., 5 minutes).
9. Enable Pull on Startup to prevent conflicts.

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\ Now, whenever you edit notes, Obsidian will sync them automatically with GitHub.

Step 6: Syncing Notes on Mobile (iOS, iPhone, iPad)

Syncing on mobile is slightly more complicated but still doable.

• Install Obsidian from the App Store.

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• Install iSH, a terminal app that allows you to run Linux commands.

  

• iSH App

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• Open iSH, and install Git using:

apk add git

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• Create a folder for your obsidian notes:

mkdir obsidian

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• Run the mount command to mount the obsidian vault folder.

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mount -t ios . obsidian

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• A file picker will show up. Choose the folder with your local vault.

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• Then use the following commands:

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cd obsidianrm -rf .git clone YOUR-REPO-URL .

Once this step is done, you will see your notes in the Obsidian application.

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Step 7: Install Obsidian Git Plugin on iPhone

The last step in our tutorial - the Git community plugin.

• Open Obsidian.

• Go to Settings > Community Plugins.

• Tap Browse and search for Obsidian Git.

• Tap Install, then Enable the plugin.

• Set up an auto-commit interval (e.g., every 5 minutes).

• Enable Pull on Startup to sync changes when opening Obsidian.

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Video Tutorial

If you are struggling with the steps, I recommend you to watch my detailed video tutorial.

https://youtu.be/PScdHzUiBLA?si=C5UNiV7Ou1BJhEbr&embedable=true

Conclusion

While it takes a bit of setup, once done, it works seamlessly. If you found this guide helpful, let me know in the comments, and feel free to ask any questions!

\ Cheers! ;)