How to Use Flexnote Cloud Sync

Flexnote stores the library on the local device by default and does not rely on an official note cloud. To continue the same library on another device, connect storage you control: WebDAV, S3, OneDrive, or Baidu Netdisk. Data is written to a path in your account.

This guide follows the desktop settings interface. It covers how to enable cloud sync, configure each service, synchronize across devices, and respond to conflict prompts.

What is synchronized

An upload performs the following two operations.

First, Flexnote uploads the local data folder incrementally. Files whose contents have not changed are skipped, so the full library is not transferred on every sync. In the local backup folder, only FlexNote-Backup-Cloud-Sync.zip is uploaded. Dated local backup archives remain on the current device.

Second, the other computer downloads that backup and merges it into the local database by each record's edit time. Records that exist only in the cloud are inserted. Records edited later in the cloud are updated. Records edited later on this computer stay as they are, and the cloud copy is not written. The preview calls those "local is newer." Local records that would be deleted are copied into the sync conflict archive first. You can restore them after the merge.

UI preferences are not replaced wholesale. Local paths and window state stay on this computer. Citation templates merge field by field, and an empty side is filled from the other. AI vector and full-text indexes are left out of the backup. After a move, rebuild the index on that computer.

Cloud sync moves a library between your own devices. It does not provide simultaneous editing of the same board. To share a board with others, publish it as a link.

Enable cloud sync

On the desktop app, open Settings, then Cloud Sync, and enable Data Sync. While this switch is off, the service configuration and the save-on-quit prompt remain hidden.

After Data Sync is enabled, the option "Ask whether to save when closing the app" appears and is on by default. Closing the window asks whether to upload the current library to the selected service. Skip exits without uploading.

If you select "Don't ask again" and then save, subsequent closes upload directly. If you select it and then skip, subsequent closes neither prompt nor upload. Enable "Ask whether to save when closing" again to restore the dialog.

Choose a cloud service

The top of the page shows the current sync method. Upload and Sync from cloud apply only to the selected tab. Auto-sync can be enabled separately for each service. A check mark indicates that the configuration is saved. A bolt indicates that auto-sync is on.

Use the same service and the same path on every device. If several services upload automatically at the same time, the libraries may diverge.

WebDAV

Enter the server URL, username, password, and remote path. The remote path must already exist on the server. Flexnote does not create the directory. Select Test and save, then upload after the connection succeeds.

For Jianguoyun, the server URL is https://dav.jianguoyun.com/dav/. The username is the account email. The password is an app password from Account, then Security, then Third-party apps on the Jianguoyun site, not the login password. Create a folder in the drive first, for example flexnote, and put that existing path in the remote path field.

Nextcloud and ownCloud use the same four fields. Use the WebDAV root your host gives you, and the app password that host expects.

S3

The endpoint must start with http:// or https://. A Tencent COS example is https://cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com. Region, bucket, access key, and secret key come from that console. Prefix is the folder inside the bucket, for example flexnote-backup. Backups are stored under that prefix.

URL style defaults to virtual hosted. Switch to path style if the provider requires it. Alibaba Cloud OSS uses virtual hosted style.

S3 also has "Load images from an S3 URL." That only changes how this computer displays note images. Turning it off still reads images from disk. Uploads continue, and the other computer can still sync them.

OneDrive

Click Authorize OneDrive, sign in with Microsoft in the browser, and Flexnote shows the account as connected. The folder defaults to /flexnote and can be changed. Synced files go under that OneDrive folder.

Baidu Netdisk

Click Authorize Baidu Netdisk. Once connected, the path is shown under Apps and cannot be edited. Baidu requires third-party apps to store files there.

Sync order across devices

To move the library to another computer once, without ongoing cloud sync, see the forum tutorial 【教程】如何手动迁移数据到另外的电脑.

The following example uses Device A and Device B. Both have Flexnote installed and are connected to the same service and path.

1. Edit only on Device A. Then select Upload to WebDAV, S3, OneDrive, or Baidu Netdisk, or choose save when quitting. Wait until the progress shows completed. The last upload time will update.
2. On Device B, select Sync from cloud before editing. If there are no risky changes, the merge runs immediately. If the preview shows deletes or "local is newer," review it and then select Continue.
3. After editing on Device B, upload from Device B.
4. Return to Device A. If it is still open, settings may show: "The cloud has a backup that has not been downloaded." Select Download and sync before editing again. Uploading at this point replaces the backup just sent from Device B.

"Sync to the cloud automatically" supports intervals of 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, and 12 hours, and shows the next sync time. Auto-sync uploads only. If another device has already uploaded a newer backup, that upload is skipped and the app reports that automatic upload is paused. Download manually. Do not repeat the upload.

Conflict prompts

Upload is blocked

The dialog title states that the cloud has a newer backup that has not been synchronized, together with the backup time and device. The available actions are:

• Download and sync first. Merge the cloud changes into this device. This is the recommended action.
• Force overwrite the cloud. The risk checkbox must be selected first. The cloud backup is replaced with this device's library. Use this only when changes on the other device can be discarded.
• Cancel. No changes are made.

Preview before a download is applied

The cloud backup is already on disk and has not been written into the database yet. Four counts: inserts, updates, local is newer, deletes. "Local is newer" means those records stay as they are on this computer. Deletes remove the matching local content. Both kinds are written to the conflict archive before you continue. If neither count is above zero, this dialog stays closed and the merge runs.

Conflict archive

The conflict archive is at the bottom of Cloud Sync settings and is collapsed by default. Overwritten, rejected, and deleted records can be reviewed and restored there. If Continue was confirmed by mistake, check the archive before searching archives in the cloud drive.

Limitations

The free plan supports local use on a single device and does not include cloud sync.

Flexnote does not provide real-time multi-user collaboration. If several devices edit the same content offline and you then force overwrite the cloud, changes from the other side are not retained. Download before switching devices, and upload after editing is complete.

If Baidu Netdisk is the only copy and each transfer must be complete, allow for API instability and verify the result after transfer. A WebDAV connection test fails when the remote path does not yet exist. Jianguoyun requires an app password. The account login password will not be accepted.

How to choose a service

If you already use Jianguoyun, Nextcloud, or your own WebDAV, WebDAV is the direct option. If you already use object storage, use S3 and assign Flexnote its own prefix. If you use a Microsoft account, OneDrive is available. If Baidu Netdisk is your primary drive, use that service. Its path is under Apps. Verify the result after each transfer.

After a service is selected, use the same path on every device. The recommended order is: Device A uploads, Device B downloads and uploads after editing, and Device A downloads before editing again. After this sequence completes successfully, auto-sync may be enabled.