How to sync Markdown notes without a server
Sync Markdown notes across computers and your phone with no sync server, using iCloud Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Git or Syncthing, and resolve conflicts.
To sync Markdown notes without a sync server, keep them in one folder and let a tool you already use carry that folder between machines: iCloud Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Git, or Syncthing. Your editor reads the folder on each computer, and the sync tool copies the files. The real decision is which tool's history and conflict handling you trust, and what you do on the rare day two copies disagree.
Where do your notes actually live?
Noteline runs no sync servers and has no accounts. Every note is a plain .md file in a folder you pick, with no database beside it. Moving your notes means moving the folder.
Until you choose a folder, the desktop app keeps notes in its own internal storage. The first time you pick a folder, with "Choose folder…" in the sidebar or File ▸ "Open Folder…" (⌘/Ctrl+O), those notes move into it. Pick the folder first, then point your sync tool at it. A shallow folder structure stays tidiest across machines.
How do you move notes to a new computer?
For a one-time move, copy the folder.
- Copy the notes folder to a USB drive, a zip file, or a network share.
- Install Noteline on the new machine from the download page (macOS, Windows 10/11, or Linux).
- Choose File ▸ "Open Folder…" and select the copied folder.
One $4.99 license covers you on up to 5 devices, so a second computer doesn't mean a second purchase.
Copying suits a one-time move: once you write on both machines, you lose track of which copy is newer.
Which tool should sync your Markdown notes?
| Option | Free tier | History | When two copies disagree | Phone, with Noteline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copy the folder | Free | None beyond your own copies | The copy you move last wins | Import files one at a time |
| iCloud Drive | 5 GB, shared with backups and photos | No version history for edits; deleted files recoverable for 30 days | Check for duplicate files | iPhone/iPad: live folder. Android: import and export copies |
| Dropbox | 2 GB, up to 3 devices (Basic) | 30 days on Basic, Plus, Family | Keeps a "conflicted copy" file | Import and export copies |
| OneDrive | 5 GB, shared with Outlook.com | 30 days, all file types | Keeps both; device name added (work or school) | Import and export copies |
| Git | Free software | Every commit, indefinitely | Conflict markers inside the file | Import and export copies |
| Syncthing | Free, open source | Off by default; opt-in, incoming changes only | Older copy renamed .sync-conflict-… |
Import and export copies |
Plan details as of September 2026; check each provider's page for current terms.
iCloud Drive
Apple gives every account 5 GB free, shared with backups and photos, and iCloud Drive is built into macOS. On a Windows PC, iCloud for Windows brings iCloud Drive into File Explorer. Deleted files can be recovered on iCloud.com for 30 days, but iCloud Drive keeps no version history for a plain .md file, so an overwritten note can't be rolled back through iCloud. After offline edits on two machines, look for an unexpected duplicate.
Dropbox
Dropbox Basic is free with 2 GB and can be logged in on up to three devices. Version history lasts 30 days on Basic, Plus and Family, and 180 days or more on Essentials, Professional and business plans. When two edits collide, Dropbox saves a conflicted copy with the editor's name, "conflicted copy", and the date added to the filename, for you to merge by hand.
OneDrive
A Microsoft account includes 5 GB of cloud storage, shared between OneDrive and Outlook.com, and OneDrive's version history covers all file types for 30 days. For OneDrive for work or school, Microsoft documents that a conflict on a non-Office file keeps both versions and appends your device name to the local copy, for example Report-JOHNS-SURFACE.txt.
Git
Git keeps every change you commit, and a Markdown diff reads line by line. Noteline has no Git buttons; the folder can simply be a repository you manage with your usual Git tool. Noteline skips hidden dot-folders, so .git never shows up in your note list or search. When a merge conflicts, Git writes conflict markers (<<<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>>) into the file itself. Switch to Markdown Source (⌘/Ctrl+Shift+M) to see them exactly as Git wrote them, edit them out, and commit. The cost: committing and pushing are manual, and Noteline's phone apps can't open a Git repository, so the phone gets imported and exported copies.
Syncthing
Syncthing copies files directly between your own devices, with no cloud storage in between. When the same file changes on two devices, it renames the copy with the older modification time to <filename>.sync-conflict-<date>-<time>-<modifiedBy>.<ext>. File versioning is off by default. Turn on "Simple" or "Staggered" for the notes folder on each device, so files replaced by incoming changes are kept in .stversions, a dot-folder Noteline doesn't list. Edits you make locally on that device are not versioned. Syncthing's official downloads target desktop and server systems; mobile apps come from the community.
What does Noteline do when a synced file changes?
The desktop app watches your folder. When another app, Git, or a sync client changes a file, the note list refreshes, and tabs of deleted notes close.
If the note you have open changes on disk, a bar appears with the message "This note was changed on disk." and two buttons, "Use disk version" and "Keep my version".
"Use disk version" reloads the file and drops your unsaved edits. "Keep my version" writes your version over the disk copy. Neither button merges. Before every save, Noteline checks whether the file on disk has a newer modification time than the copy you opened. If it does, it shows the bar instead of overwriting. The check compares timestamps, so keep each machine's clock set automatically.
Saves are atomic: Noteline writes a temporary file and renames it into place, so a sync client never picks up a half-written note.
What does a sync conflict look like, and how do you fix it?
The bar in Noteline. A sync tool delivered a newer copy of a note you were editing. If you aren't sure which version you need, copy all your text first, choose "Use disk version", then paste back whatever is missing.
An extra file from the sync tool. Two machines edited the same note while one was offline. Syncthing, Dropbox and OneDrive for work or school all keep the .md extension on the extra copy and change only the name, so like any .md file in the folder, it appears in your note list as a second note with an odd name. Merge what you need into the original and delete the extra; git diff --no-index a.md b.md compares the two even outside a repository.
Three habits prevent most conflicts:
- Let sync finish before you close the laptop.
- Avoid editing the same note on two machines while one is offline.
- Run one sync tool per folder, not two.
How do you sync Markdown notes to your phone?
iPhone and iPad (iOS 14 or later, free, no account). Tap "Storage" in the sidebar to open "Where your notes live", then choose "On My iPhone" (or iPad) or "iCloud Drive". With iCloud Drive, the app uses its own Noteline folder, shown in the Files app as iCloud Drive ▸ Noteline, and folders inside it. Switching doesn't move notes you already have on the device. Move them in the Files app, from On My iPhone ▸ Noteline to iCloud Drive ▸ Noteline.
On your Mac, choose File ▸ "Open Folder…" and select iCloud Drive ▸ Noteline, or a folder inside it. Other iCloud Drive folders aren't reachable from the phone. The app re-reads the folder when you switch back to it, and new notes from the Mac appear once iCloud has downloaded them. If the open note was changed elsewhere, you'll see "This note was edited in another app."
With any other sync tool, the iPhone app can't join the folder live. Bring notes in with "Import a file…", which makes a copy, and send them back with "Share note" (one .md file) or "Export all notes" (a .zip).
Android (7.0 or later, free, no account). Notes live in the app's own storage, which sync tools can't reach and Android deletes on uninstall, so export anything you want to keep first. Use the same import, share and export options.
Which setup should you pick?
- Mac and iPhone: iCloud Drive, with your notes in iCloud Drive ▸ Noteline, the one folder the phone app opens live.
- Mac and Windows, or several PCs: Dropbox or OneDrive, or iCloud Drive with iCloud for Windows.
- You want every change on record: Git.
- You want no third-party cloud: Syncthing, with versioning turned on.
- An Android phone in the mix: any of the above, with the phone as an import-and-export notebook.
If you'd rather not manage any of this, first-party sync is simpler. Obsidian's paid Sync, for instance, merges Markdown conflicts automatically by default, something iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive and Syncthing leave to you. The Obsidian comparison covers that trade-off, and our local-first Markdown app roundup covers the others.
Whichever tool you choose, the notes stay plain .md files, so changing your mind later means moving one folder.