Obsidian Cloud Sync Review: Can a 562-Star Self-Hosted Plugin Replace Official Sync?

Anyone who uses Obsidian has probably faced this dilemma: should I pay for Obsidian Sync?

Eight dollars a month (personal plan), roughly $100 a year. The features are solid — cross-device sync, version history, conflict resolution. But honestly, for many people’s needs, sync shouldn’t have to cost this much.

While searching for alternatives I found this plugin: ai-bytedance/obsidian-cloud-sync. 562 stars, from ByteDance’s AI division, MIT-licensed open source. After trying it out, here’s my honest take.

What problem does it solve

One core thing: keep your Obsidian notes synced across devices without spending money, and without routing data through Obsidian’s servers.

Specific scenarios:

• Don’t want to subscribe to Obsidian Sync but need phone-to-computer note sync
• Company compliance requirements — notes can’t go through third-party servers
• Already paying for cloud storage (Nutstore, Nextcloud, etc.) and don’t want to pay extra
• Already comfortable with Git workflows and want to use GitHub for sync

Core features

Multiple backends Actually usable right now:

• WebDAV: Most mature, supports Nutstore, Nextcloud, and other mainstream WebDAV services
• GitHub: MVP stage, supports public and private repos, file create/update/delete all sync
• iCloud: UI placeholder only, not functional yet
• Google Drive / OneDrive: Planned, not implemented

I mainly tested WebDAV (Nutstore) and GitHub modes.

WebDAV experience Nutstore’s sync speed within China is genuinely decent. After configuring the server URL, username, and password, hit the sync button and notes sync bidirectionally. In bidirectional mode, changes from both sides get merged automatically. You can also switch to upload-only or download-only.

One small detail: WebDAV creates folders on demand — empty folders don’t appear remotely until they have files. Doesn’t affect usage, just a personal preference thing.

GitHub experience This mode is actually pretty clever. It uses a GitHub repo as the sync backend. Every sync is essentially a git commit. The upside is natural version history — each GitHub commit is a snapshot, so to see what your notes looked like a week ago, just browse the commit history.

Setup needs a Fine-grained Personal Access Token with Contents: Read and write and Metadata: Read-only permissions, and the repo specified as owner/repo format.

I tested with a private repo, 4 devices syncing 500+ files, no data loss. GitHub has one limitation: empty directories aren’t supported, so empty folders only appear remotely once they contain files — same as WebDAV.

Sync modes

• Bidirectional: merge changes from both sides
• Upload-only: local is the single source of truth
• Download-only: remote is the single source of truth

There’s also an “auto-sync” mode that can trigger on a schedule or when files change. I tried auto-sync with a 5-minute interval, basically transparent in daily use.

Selective sync Configure ignore rules: skip specific files, folders, or extensions. For example, I ignored .obsidian/workspace.json (personal layout data, doesn’t need syncing) and .DS_Store files. This matters a lot for multi-device use, otherwise the layout jumps around every time you switch devices.

Conflict handling Basic level — when the same file is modified on both sides, you’re prompted to manually choose which version to keep. No auto-merge, so it’s not suitable for collaborative editing of the same file. Fine for single-user multi-device usage.

Content encryption (optional) You can encrypt content before uploading. The key is your responsibility — the author explicitly warns that lost keys mean historical content can’t be decrypted.

Encryption uses a symmetric algorithm, end-to-end — data is encrypted before leaving your device, so your cloud provider only sees ciphertext. For privacy-conscious users, this is a plus. But encryption/decryption costs CPU, and large files (embedded images, PDFs) sync noticeably slower.

Markdown link conversion During sync, Obsidian’s [[wikilink]] format gets converted to standard Markdown links [text](path), so notes open correctly in other editors. When downloading from cloud, standard links get converted back. Very practical for cross-tool scenarios.

Real-world usage

Scenario 1: Phone + computer seamless writing Write notes on the computer, open Obsidian on your phone and see updates. Jot things down on the phone while out, organize on the computer at home. Bidirectional sync every 5 minutes, basically transparent.

Scenario 2: Leverage existing cloud storage Already paying for Nutstore or Nextcloud? No need to pay extra for Obsidian sync. One plugin solves it, saving ~$100 a year.

Scenario 3: Git-native workflow Using GitHub as the backend means version history comes for free. Want to see what your notes looked like a week ago? Just browse GitHub commit history. For developers used to version control, this workflow feels completely natural.

Scenario 4: Compliance scenarios Some companies have requirements that note data can’t leave the corporate network. Using a self-hosted WebDAV service with this plugin keeps notes internal, no dependency on Obsidian’s servers.

Quick start

# Currently source-only installation
git clone https://github.com/ai-bytedance/obsidian-cloud-sync
cd obsidian-cloud-sync
npm install
npm run build

# Copy build artifacts to Obsidian plugins directory
cp main.js manifest.json styles.css \
  /path/to/your/vault/.obsidian/plugins/cloud-sync/

Then restart Obsidian, enable Cloud Sync in Settings → Community Plugins, and configure your sync backend (I recommend starting with WebDAV for testing).

Strongly recommended for first-time use: Try it with a disposable test vault first. Make sure everything works before switching to real notes. The author has labeled it Alpha, and the README suggests backing up important data.

The good and the bad

What I loved:

• Completely free and open-source under MIT, zero restrictions
• WebDAV mode is mature enough for daily use
• GitHub mode is creative and comes with built-in version history — great for developers
• End-to-end encryption is optional but available for privacy-conscious users
• Selective sync rules are genuinely useful for skipping files you don’t need
• Markdown link conversion makes notes usable in other editors
• ByteDance quality — code quality is decent

What frustrated me:

• Installation is too tedious — must clone, build, and copy manually, no one-click package
• Not yet in the Obsidian plugin marketplace, so installation and updates are manual
• Alpha stage, stability needs more real-world validation (though I didn’t hit major issues in a week of use)
• Conflict handling is too basic — only manual overwrite, no smart merge
• Managing private repo API tokens for GitHub mode is a bit clunky
• Big file performance drops noticeably with encryption enabled
• Documentation is sparse, debugging requires reading source code

Compared to Obsidian Sync

Solution	Pros	Cons	Best for
Cloud Sync plugin	Free, self-hosted, optional encryption	Tedious install, Alpha, manual conflict resolution	Technical users with existing cloud storage
Obsidian Sync official	One-click, stable, version history	Paid ($8/mo), data goes through Obsidian servers	Users who value stability and don’t want to tinker
iCloud Drive	Free, native	Unstable in China, slow for large files	Apple ecosystem users
Git + GitHub	Version control, fully controllable	Requires Git knowledge, not native	Developers

If you’re already on Obsidian Sync and it’s meeting your needs, don’t bother — a plugin being “better” doesn’t matter if the switching cost exceeds the savings. But if you’ve been holding off because of the price, or you already have cloud storage resources, this plugin can genuinely save you money.

Bottom line

562 stars for a plugin that hasn’t hit the marketplace yet isn’t bad. Shows there’s real demand for a free, self-hosted sync solution.

Cloud Sync’s approach makes sense: provide a lightweight sync layer that routes data through channels you control. WebDAV mode is already usable, GitHub mode has genuine appeal for developers.

But let’s be honest, its maturity doesn’t match Obsidian Sync’s official offering yet. The Alpha label isn’t decorative — the author also says back up important notes. The install process isn’t friendly for non-technical users.

However, if you fit this profile:

• Have a Nutstore/Nextcloud WebDAV service
• Don’t mind tinkering with Obsidian plugins
• Don’t want to pay extra for sync
• Have some privacy requirements

Then this plugin is worth trying. Once set up, daily use feels roughly comparable to official Sync — just free.

---

About the Author

Liudingyu is a full-stack developer and heavy GitHub user. With 900+ starred repos over the past 3 years, this site only covers tools I’ve actually used or deeply researched.

📧 Found a great tool to recommend? Email [email protected]