Hacker ApprovedDepartments

Obsidian Sync

Hacker Approved

Note sync service in Productivity & writing

Paid end-to-end encrypted sync that works without setup across devices, and many like funding the developers. Critics mainly flag weak mobile background sync.

Paid end-to-end encrypted sync that works without setup across devices, and many like funding the developers. Critics mainly flag weak mobile background sync.

78 people gave an opinion

recommend it
65
criticize it
13
approval share
83%
Each figure is one person. RecommendsCriticizes

Recommended in 8 of 13 months

  1. November 2025: recommended
  2. December 2025: not recommended
  3. January 2026: not recommended
  4. February 2026: recommended
  5. March 2026: recommended
  6. April 2026: recommended
  7. May 2026: recommended
  8. June 2026: recommended
  9. July 2026: recommended
  10. August 2026: not recommended
  11. September 2026: not recommended
  12. October 2026: recommended
  13. November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)

Why it carries the badge

  • 65 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
  • 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
  • Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.

The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works

What people say about it

The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.

Why people recommend it

Each mark is one comment

  • Supporting the developers

    “mostly to support the project but also because it's nice to not have to think about it”

    Comment from 14 Apr 2026 in “An Introduction to Obsidian”

    “I've paid for obsidian sync as a way to support their team for the last 3 years”

    Comment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

    “Its one of the few subscriptions where it actually feels like money well spent”

    Comment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”
  • End-to-end encryption and privacy

    “End-to-end encryption, integrated version history, better mobile support, granular control over which settings and files are synced to each device.”

    Comment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

    “all while having the speed, privacy, customizability, end-to-end encryption of Obsidian Sync.”

    Comment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

    “To enjoy the native ease of use and security of Obsidian Sync as a human user on your devices”

    Comment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”
  • Works without setup or tinkering

    “it is the best money spent aside from Claude. I don't have to tinker with weird settings anymore or deal with sync issues, it just works.”

    Comment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

    “"it just works" across platform, without having to think about/set something else up”

    Comment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

    “Obsidian Sync is just so damn frictionless compared to all other solutions”

    Comment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”
  • Integrated conflict handling and app fit

    “the conflict resolution is far better, especially when you have it on both desktop and mobile”

    Comment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

    “The official Sync is focused on providing a more integrated experience in the Obsidian app”

    Comment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

    “Obsidian Sync has been built to provide the best experience with Obsidian.”

    Comment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

What people warn about

Each mark is one comment

  • Mobile background sync limits on iOS

    “Mobile app is pretty good, my biggest complaint is it won't sync in the background.”

    Comment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

    “their only money-making method is to limit the iOS app to sell their cloud”

    Comment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

    “Obsidian supports none of these on iOS so I cant sync all my devices”

    Comment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”
  • Sync bugs and data loss

    “obsidian sync consitently empties random recently opened notes for me”

    Comment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

    “were all way too issue-prone for me to ever trust it”

    Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “An Introduction to Obsidian”

    “Great, now it can corrupt my data headlessly too.”

    Comment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”
  • No self-hosted sync option

    “I'd pay for the option to host my own server with the official sync but they don't offer that for now.”

    Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “An Introduction to Obsidian”

    “the main supported sync module is cloud only they wont let you self host for free”

    Comment from 5 Mar 2026 in “Googleworkspace/CLI”
  • Costly for small amounts of data

    “A lot of people view that as pretty costly for what is incredibly small amounts of data in the scope of things.”

    Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “An Introduction to Obsidian”

    “except it's ANOTHER charge then. I have more than 2 devices...”

    Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

What people said

40 of the 93 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.

“Obsidian isn't making money from things hidden in the code, but rather their Sync service.”

MixedComment from 18 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian”

“mostly to support the project but also because it's nice to not have to think about it”

RecommendsComment from 14 Apr 2026 in “An Introduction to Obsidian”

“I'd pay for the option to host my own server with the official sync but they don't offer that for now.”

MixedComment from 13 Apr 2026 in “An Introduction to Obsidian”

“A lot of people view that as pretty costly for what is incredibly small amounts of data in the scope of things.”

CriticizesComment from 13 Apr 2026 in “An Introduction to Obsidian”

“were all way too issue-prone for me to ever trust it”

CriticizesComment from 13 Apr 2026 in “An Introduction to Obsidian”

“the main supported sync module is cloud only they wont let you self host for free”

CriticizesComment from 5 Mar 2026 in “Googleworkspace/CLI”

“except it's ANOTHER charge then. I have more than 2 devices...”

MixedComment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“The sync works well, it's less hassle, and more secure than using the usual cloud services”

RecommendsComment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“I'll happily support the developers at Obsidian. It's a great product.”

RecommendsComment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“the conflict resolution is far better, especially when you have it on both desktop and mobile”

RecommendsComment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“Obsidian Sync may manage the graph's unique metadata and relationships more elegantly.”

RecommendsComment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“Obsidian Sync is just so damn frictionless compared to all other solutions”

RecommendsComment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“"it just works" across platform, without having to think about/set something else up”

RecommendsComment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“the cost of coffee per month is worth not having to maintain it”

RecommendsComment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“Obsidian supports none of these on iOS so I cant sync all my devices”

CriticizesComment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“I have sync to support the amazing devs, and for convenience”

RecommendsComment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“Fixes all the problems I've had about "In what order do I put this data" and flipping back and forth in a huge stack of papers.”

RecommendsComment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“If I'd built something as great as Obsidian, I'd probably make the same call.”

MixedComment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“That a nuisance as I spend a lot of time on the subway without service but not a total dealbreaker”

MixedComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“Mobile app is pretty good, my biggest complaint is it won't sync in the background.”

MixedComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“Great, now it can corrupt my data headlessly too.”

CriticizesComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“End-to-end encryption, integrated version history, better mobile support, granular control over which settings and files are synced to each device.”

RecommendsComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“This tool should finally make it possible to setup a good web interface to my obsidian notes.”

MixedComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“This was my most-wanted Obsidian feature, so I’m thrilled to see this.”

RecommendsComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“The goal for Obsidian Sync is to be the best option, not the only option.”

RecommendsComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“their only money-making method is to limit the iOS app to sell their cloud”

CriticizesComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“Finally! I had to set up a container with X on my headless server to get a few text files reliably synced”

RecommendsComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“It already works quite well with a custom skill that I build, but this may make the workflow smoother.”

RecommendsComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“The official Sync is focused on providing a more integrated experience in the Obsidian app”

RecommendsComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“I like that I can have some vaults that sync to both my personal and work laptops”

RecommendsComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“Obsidian Sync has been built to provide the best experience with Obsidian.”

RecommendsComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“Its one of the few subscriptions where it actually feels like money well spent”

RecommendsComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“I've paid for obsidian sync as a way to support their team for the last 3 years”

RecommendsComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“You can use this to sync changes in (near) realtime and then either commit them to git”

RecommendsComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“You should use an obsidian syncing system if you want to sync notes and wikis.”

RecommendsComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“obsidian sync consitently empties random recently opened notes for me”

CriticizesComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“it is the best money spent aside from Claude. I don't have to tinker with weird settings anymore or deal with sync issues, it just works.”

RecommendsComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“To enjoy the native ease of use and security of Obsidian Sync as a human user on your devices”

RecommendsComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“It would be good since I don't use obsidian on my desktop but I do on my phone”

RecommendsComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

“all while having the speed, privacy, customizability, end-to-end encryption of Obsidian Sync.”

RecommendsComment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Obsidian Sync now has a headless client”

Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.