Sync & Multi-Device

Keeping workspaces in sync across peers and your own devices.

Sync Channels

Krillnotes supports three ways to sync data between peers and devices. No cloud account is required — you choose the channel that works for you.

Channel	How it works	Best for
Relay	An HTTP server with encrypted mailboxes	Always-on sync over the internet
Folder	A shared local or network directory	LAN sync, NAS, USB drives
Manual	Export/import `.swarm` files by hand	Air-gapped machines, one-time transfers

All sync data is end-to-end encrypted (X25519 + AES-256-GCM). The relay server sees only opaque blobs — it cannot read your notes.

Relay Accounts

To use relay sync, you need a relay account linked to your identity.

Setting up a relay account

Open File → Manage Identities, select your identity, and open the Relay Book.

Relay Book dialog showing relay accounts with server URL, email, and session status

Click + Add Relay Account to register.

Add Relay Account dialog with relay URL and email fields

Enter the relay server URL and your email address. Once registered, the relay account is tied to your identity and used for all sync and invite operations.

Workspace Peers

Open Workspace → Workspace Peers to see everyone connected to the current workspace.

Workspace Peers dialog showing peer names, fingerprints, channel types, sync status, and last sync timestamps

Each peer entry shows:

Name — the peer’s declared identity name
Fingerprint — first 8 characters of their public key
Channel — how you sync with them (Relay, Folder, or Manual)
Sync status — current state (idle, syncing, error, auth expired)
Last sync — when data was last exchanged

Sync status indicators

Close-up of peer rows showing different sync statuses: idle (green), syncing (blue spinner), error (red), auth_expired (yellow)

Status	Meaning
Idle	No active sync — everything is up to date
Syncing	Data transfer in progress
Error	Sync failed — hover for details
Auth Expired	Relay session has expired — re-login needed

Syncing Now

Press ⌘S (or File → Sync Now) to trigger an immediate sync with all relay-connected peers.

For folder-based sync, data is exchanged automatically when files appear in the shared directory.

Multi-Device Setup

You can use the same identity across multiple computers. The My Devices section in Workspace Peers shows your own devices.

“My Devices” section in Workspace Peers showing device entries with names and sync actions

Setting up a new device

Export your identity as a .swarmid file from your original device (see Identity & Contacts)
Import it on the new device via File → Manage Identities → Import
Both devices share the same identity and can sync workspaces between them

Once both devices have the same identity and a relay account, they’ll discover each other automatically and can exchange workspace snapshots.

Manual Sync with .swarm Files

For air-gapped or one-time transfers, you can export and import delta bundles as .swarm files.

Creating a delta

Go to Workspace → Create Delta Swarm to generate a .swarm file containing all operations since the last sync with a specific peer.

Create Delta Swarm dialog or menu item

Applying a delta

Go to File → Open Swarm File to import a .swarm file received from a peer.

Open Swarm File dialog for importing a .swarm delta bundle

Folder-Based Sync

For local network sync, you can configure a peer to use a shared folder.

Peer channel configuration showing a folder path for sync

Point both peers at the same folder (e.g., a network share, Dropbox folder, or USB drive). Delta files are written and read automatically.