External changes and conflicts

Because your notes are ordinary files, other tools can change them: a sync service, git pull, or another editor. inkwell keeps an eye on your vault and updates itself.

What inkwell watches for

While a vault is open, inkwell watches its folder for changes it didn’t make itself. That covers:

• Cloud-sync tools such as iCloud Drive, Dropbox and Syncthing.
• Version control, for example a git pull.
• A note you edited in another app, like Obsidian or a plain text editor.

When something changes, inkwell re-reads the vault in the background. New notes appear, deleted ones disappear, and edited ones update, without resetting your selection or the note you’re writing. The watcher waits about half a second so a burst of changes is handled together, and it ignores inkwell’s own saves and .git.

When the open note changes on disk

Most changes are applied silently. The exception is the note you currently have open, because replacing text under your cursor would be surprising. If it changes on disk while open, a banner appears at the bottom of the window:

“Note title” changed on disk It was edited outside inkwell while open here. Keep your version, or reload the one on disk?

Choose one:

Button	What happens
Keep mine	Your version stays. Nothing you typed is lost.
Reload from disk	The note switches to the version on disk.

The banner doesn’t block anything, so you can keep working while you decide.

A good multi-device setup

1. Put your vault in a folder that your sync tool keeps up to date (iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Syncthing or a git repository).
2. Include the whole folder, including the hidden .inkwell folder. It holds boards, attachment lists and note links. See Vaults and your files.
3. Open the same vault on each device.
4. Try not to edit the same note on two devices at the same moment. If you do, expect the conflict banner and pick the version you want.