Why make it so complex ?

[r4nchy]

Why can't be have a simple livesync ? The current state of obsidian-livesync plugin is so complicated to use and manage.

Even if it provides a lot of customization, the lack of any documentation or any sort of tutorials on how to sync multiple devices etc is really making me irk.

Why not make it as simple as possible so you don't have to customize the crap out of everything on every device.

Please make documentation or videos or something so we can understand how to use this thing.

[lushangkan]

If you want to use it out of the box, please use the official Sync service. Also, there is already documentation for this project, please check the README.md.

[pertsevds]

@r4nchy bro, the answer is simple. It's free! Want good service? Want simple things? Pay. Use official Sync service. Or hire vrtmrz to work on this project 24x7. Or do your sync project.

[r4nchy]

@lushangkan the documentation on how to use the plugin effectively is not there. I get nightmare amount of notification from this plugin saying "chunks invalid" etc. I have already lost few canvas files due to data corruption. Everytime I add notes from one device and then try to access obsidian on another, I have to be on a constant lookout to see if newer notes are getting overwritten by older notes. And its a nightmare when multiple notes are involved.

There is no documentation on how to use all the features of this plugin without corrupting data and loosing notes.

[r4nchy]

@pertsevds you are right, the free stuff is always less quality. The Official Obsidian Sync is also cheaper now. They halved the subscription cost. I was using this plugin as it gives the freedom to host your own server. etc.

[thany]

I'm on the fence about this. On the one hand, customisability is good, as it allows software to be useful for a greater amount of people. But the dark side of it is that it makes software look more complicated to novice users.

On the flip side is closed source or commercial software. They often provide little customisation, but this has two reasons. Not only to make their software appear simpler, but most notably because it makes support cheaper. Less options means less things for support staff to worry about.

I feel any software with loads of customisation needs two things:

1. A maintainer who knows what really needs to be customisable, and what doesn't. It's tempting to turn every feature request into an option, but it's important to keep project goals in mind which might include ease of use.
2. Sensible defaults. So a novice user should be able to use the software (somewhat) effectively without having to dive into the customisation options.

To be more specific, I feel obsidian-livesync could do with fewer options, and maybe function more akin to the official Sync mechanism. Maybe it can be smarter in autodetecting what a user otherwise needs to enter manually. I dunno. But safe to say, it can't do without any options other than connection parameters, simply because different people have different needs.

[vrtmrz]

I am very sorry for being absent for so long on such an important topic! First of all, I also would love to express the pleasure, of being open and being in freedom. This includes expressing different perspectives and concerns. Even though we have different perspectives, we will be able to see one future through that. Of course, we have to avoid the "Useless for everyone". So, please do not hesitate, you all. I always appreciate your thoughts and feelings.

Now, back to the topic (Thank you for reading). Did you tried Minimal setup in Wizard mode? I assume that this is the easiest setup except using set-up uri. And it has been documented as Quick Setup. Yes, a short clip is also linked.

If you have not, please read it once and give me feedback! If you have read and felt not enough, please point it out. Of course, I always welcome your contribution too.

[r4nchy]

For example I am trying to understand the Plugin sync, as mentioned here https://github.com/vrtmrz/obsidian-livesync/blob/main/docs/settings.md#enable-plugin-synchronization

but in the extension I don't see anything that says Plugin Sync but instead there are Hidden file sync and Customization Sync (Beta) etc etc.

I mean if there is a easy to follow guide that will have atleast simple setup where we can easily setup multiple devices so that they sync properly with explanation on how to install new plugins or edit configuration on obsidian/plugins so that the new settings can be propagated to new devices without, and how can that be done.

For example I couldn't find any docs on "Customization Sync" like what the `Scan changes", "sync once", "refresh", "Select shiny" , "apply all" button does.

For example: The QuickAdd Plugin dev has this video documentation and I was hoping something like this to exist.

[ikomhoog]

Please note that this document you linked is from 2 years ago and starts with:

NOTE: This document surely became outdated. I'll improve this doc in a while. but your contributions are always welcome.

This is probably outdated like it was already expected to be 2 years ago, so features mentioned have probably been renamed/changed.

I mean if there is a easy to follow guide that will have atleast simple setup where we can easily setup multiple devices so that they sync properly with explanation on how to install new plugins or edit configuration on obsidian/plugins so that the new settings can be propagated to new devices without, and how can that be done.

There is a simple setup, like vrtmrz already mentioned: https://github.com/vrtmrz/obsidian-livesync/blob/main/docs/quick_setup.md I followed this and now have a password protected URI that I can just enter into any obsidian client as soon as I install this plugin to set it up. That's all I need to do to get the syncing going successfully.

Plugins are in a hidden folder ".obsidian" in your vault, due to this it's done through the hidden files part of livesync. I have hidden files sync enabled and set to overwrite, you choose this with a dialog box when you set it up or first disabling the hidden files sync and then clicking overwrite to enable it again. Wenever I download a plugin or change a setting a popup on my other device shows up with "click HERE to reload", after that reload the settings have successfully synced. The only caveat is that it doesn't automatically download the other plugins, instead the plugin shows up in the community plugins -> installed plugins list as disabled. I assume this is because not all plugins are wanted everywhere or maybe it's a limitation.

I personally turned off the hidden files sync because I didn't want to sync these and use different plugins depending on the device. I don't need HTML export on my phone for example.

[r4nchy]

@vrtmrz my apologies, I was too harsh, I think this is a very well made extension. I was just playing around with a lot of new configuration on the livesync which made the extension unstable as I was using other devices in sync. By looking at the the logs most of the problems are solved.