Troubleshooting and FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is inkwell free?

Yes. inkwell is open source under the MIT license.

Where are my notes stored?

On your computer, as plain .md files in the vault folder you choose. See Vaults and your files.

Do I need an account?

Not to write. An account is only needed for real-time collaboration.

Can I use it with Obsidian?

The vault format is Obsidian-compatible, so you can open the same folder in both.

Can I sync across devices?

Yes. Use any folder-sync tool (iCloud, Dropbox, Syncthing, git). inkwell’s vault watcher picks up external changes and warns you about conflicts. See External changes and conflicts. For sharing with other people, use built-in collaboration.

How many teams can I create?

Each account can own up to 2 teams, with no limit on the teams you’re invited to.

Which platforms are supported?

macOS, Windows and Linux.

Can I export my notes?

Anytime: Markdown, HTML or PDF. They’re already just files, too. See Sharing and exporting.

Vaults and notes

A note I added outside inkwell isn’t showing up

• Check that it ends in .md. inkwell only shows markdown files.
• Check that it isn’t inside a folder whose name starts with a dot, or a code folder such as node_modules, dist, build or vendor. inkwell skips those. See what counts as a note.
• Make sure it’s inside the vault folder you have open. Look under Settings → Vaults → Active to see which one that is.
• If you add or edit files while inkwell is open, it normally picks them up within a second or so. If it doesn’t, switch to another vault and back.

I see “Could not open vault”

inkwell shows this when the folder can’t be read. If it says the folder “may have moved or been deleted”, the vault was renamed, moved or is on a drive that isn’t connected. Reconnect it, or pick the new location with Open Vault, and remove the old entry from Recent.

My boards, attachments or note links are missing on another computer

Those live in the vault’s hidden .inkwell folder, not in the .md files. Make sure your sync tool includes hidden folders. See The hidden .inkwell folder.

My drawing isn’t in this vault

By default the canvas is shared by every vault and saved in your home folder. Link it to a vault under Settings → Features → Canvas storage if you want it to live with one. See Canvas.

I can’t find the Draw page

Turn the canvas on under Settings → Features → Canvas.

I deleted a note by mistake

inkwell has no trash, and deleting is permanent. Look in your computer’s backups, in your sync service’s version history, or in git if your vault is a repository.

Conflicts and syncing

A banner says a note “changed on disk”

The note you have open was edited by another program while you were looking at it. Choose Keep mine to keep what’s on screen, or Reload from disk to take the other version. See External changes and conflicts.

GitHub

“GitHub token not configured. Go to Settings → GitHub.”

Add your token and username under Settings → GitHub, then click Save. See GitHub sync.

A push fails with a 403 error

Your token can read but not write. Create a classic token with the repo scope, or a fine-grained token with Contents → Read and write, and save it again.

“Test connection” fails

Check that the token hasn’t expired or been revoked, and that you’re online. Re-create the token if in doubt.

Collaboration

“Sign in first (Settings → Team).”

Sharing or joining a vault needs an account. Sign in under Settings → Team, then try again.

“Pick an empty folder”

When you join a shared vault, inkwell downloads it into a folder on your computer. That folder must be empty, so nothing already in it gets uploaded by mistake. Create a new empty folder and choose that.

Sign-in or syncing fails with “Load failed”

This usually means your copy of inkwell wasn’t built with the collaboration service’s settings, which can happen with a build you made yourself. See Build from source. Otherwise check your internet connection.

I can’t create another team

Each account can own at most 2 teams. You can still be invited to as many as you like.

The status says “Offline” or “Sync error — retrying”

You can keep writing. inkwell saves your edits on your computer and merges them as soon as the connection is back. See Work offline.

Shortcuts and windows

⌘NCtrl+N doesn’t open Quick Note

The shortcut is system-wide, so another app may already be using it. Use the inkwell icon in the menu bar or system tray and choose New Quick Note instead. See Quick capture.

I closed the window, but inkwell is still running

That’s intentional, so quick capture keeps working. Use Quit inkwell from the tray icon to quit.

The glass options don’t change anything

Glass sidebar and Glass body are macOS-only.

The update button says “Update failed — click to retry”

Click it to try again. If it keeps failing, download the latest installer manually from the releases page.