Sync and security
Sync
Keep notes together on your devices with free, encrypted sync.
Sync keeps your notes the same on your browser and your Windows PC. It is free during the beta and optional. Without it, everything stays on the device you wrote it on.
How it works
- A sync vault is a private space in the cloud that holds your encrypted notes. You can have up to five per account.
- A connection kit is a block of text that connects a device to a vault. Each device that syncs needs the kit.
- Your account is needed to create a vault, revoke connection kits and delete a vault. Signing in alone does not unlock your encrypted notes. A device needs the connection kit.
- Sync copies your notes (title, text, folder, favorite flag and Trash state). Your settings, theme and graph options are not synced.
Set up sync
Sign in on the web
Open kithnote.app/account and sign in or create an account. See Your account.
Create the vault in the browser app
In the notebook at kithnote.app/notes, open Settings, then under Across your devices choose Free sync. In the Your notes, everywhere window choose Create my sync vault. Kithnote tells you "Sync vault created. Save your connection kit."
Copy the connection kit
The window now says Connected to your sync vault. Under Connect another device, choose Copy connection kit and store it somewhere safe.
Connect your other devices
On the other device, open the same Free sync window, paste the kit into Connection kit from another device and choose Connect this device. You'll see "This device is connected. Your local notes were kept." If you haven't changed anything in a new notebook yet, its sample notes are replaced by the notes from your vault.
Create vaults in the browser app and paste the kit into the Windows app. The Windows app connects with a kit, and the sync window itself says to create a vault in the signed-in web notebook and then copy its connection kit to Windows. The Windows app also shows Create my sync vault, but vaults can only be created in the browser. Leave Sync server as it is.
Keep your connection kit private
The kit holds the vault's address, its ID, an access token and the encryption key, written as plain text that isn't protected by a password. Anyone who has it can read and change everything in the vault. Treat it like a password and don't share or post it. The kit also can't be recovered for you: if you lose every copy and every connected device, the synced notes can't be decrypted. Only paste a kit you made yourself. Connecting uploads every note on this device, including Trash, to that kit's vault, and whoever made the kit can read them.
To stop syncing a device, choose Disconnect this device. Notes already on the device stay.
If a kit has leaked or a device is lost, choose Revoke old connection kits in the browser app at kithnote.app/notes. You must be signed in at kithnote.app to the account that owns the vault, with a verified email, within the last ten minutes. This replaces the vault's access token, so old kits can no longer read or change the cloud vault. Save the new kit, then on each other device choose Disconnect this device and paste the new kit ("Old connection kits are revoked. Save the new kit and reconnect your other devices."). Revoking does not change the encryption key: the new kit uses the same key. Anyone who had the old kit can still read any notes they already downloaded, and a lost device keeps the notes stored on it. To also replace the key, choose Disconnect this device, then Create my sync vault to start a new vault, on each other device choose Disconnect this device and paste the new vault's kit, and delete the old vault from your account page. The Windows app doesn't have the revoke button.
When sync runs
Sync runs about two seconds after you change a note, every 30 seconds while the window is visible, and when you come back online or return to the window. Ctrl S or Sync now syncs straight away. It pulls changes from other devices first, then sends yours. It pauses while you're offline or the notebook is locked.
Sync status
The button in the note header shows the state:
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Local | Sync isn't set up on this device. |
| Connected | Sync is set up and working. |
| Syncing | A sync is in progress. |
| Sync needs attention | Something went wrong. Hover over the button to read the message. |
The Free sync window shows "Last synced" with the time, or "Ready for your first sync". The status bar's Saved on this device only means the note is saved locally.
Conflicts
If you edit the same note on two devices before they sync, Kithnote keeps both. Your local version is saved as a new note titled <title> (conflict copy) and the other version keeps the original note. You'll see "1 conflict copy was saved. Both versions are safe." Open both notes and merge them by hand.
If a sync says "Another device just changed this note. Sync again to safely combine changes.", sync again.
Offline
Your notes are always on your device, so you can write offline in the browser (after its first online visit) and in the Windows app. Sync catches up when you're back online.
Limits
During the beta, each account has:
- 5 sync vaults;
- 10,000 notes per vault, including Trash ("This beta supports up to 10,000 notes per vault, including Trash.");
- 500 MB per vault ("This vault has reached its 500 MB storage allowance.");
- 800 KB per note upload (800,000 bytes, "This upload is too large.").
Attachments and a version-history browser aren't available.
Deleting a vault
Delete a cloud vault from your account page. Devices that were connected lose access and show Sync needs attention. Choose Disconnect this device on each one. The notes on your devices are kept.
Common messages
- "Sync access was denied. Check your connection kit or sign in to the web preview." Check you pasted the right, current kit. When creating a vault, it also means you aren't signed in at kithnote.app with a verified email.
- "Sync is temporarily unavailable. Your local notes are safe." and "Sync is briefly paused for maintenance. Your local notes remain available." Try again later.
- "This account already has 5 sync vaults." Delete a vault you don't need.
- "Too many requests. Please wait a minute."