Sync & backup

The model

Your vault is a folder of plain files (markdown + media). There is no database to corrupt and no proprietary lock-in: anything that syncs or backs up folders works. Notes are written atomically, so a sync tool never sees a half-written file.

Built-in: git snapshots

With git installed, StemmaFiles snapshots the vault automatically — on close and before every destructive operation (re-import, merge). The History panel browses and reverts snapshots. Without git, destructive rewrites move the old notes into .stemmafiles-backup/<timestamp>/ inside the vault instead.

For free off-machine backup, add a private remote once (git remote add origin …) and push from time to time — or use any of the tools below.

Sync between machines

• Syncthing (recommended — private, peer-to-peer): share the vault folder between machines. The file watcher picks up incoming changes live.
• Dropbox / Google Drive / OneDrive / iCloud Drive: put the vault in the synced folder. Works the same way.
• One editor at a time. Editing the same person on two machines simultaneously can produce sync-conflict copies, like with any synced files. Normal usage — edit on one machine, sync, edit on the other — is fine, and git snapshots add a second safety net.

Phone / tablet

The vault follows Obsidian's conventions: open it in Obsidian mobile (via their sync or any file sync) to read — and lightly edit — your notes on the go. StemmaFiles picks the edits up on the next launch (or live, on desktop).

Restore

• Git: the History panel (or git checkout) restores any snapshot.
• .stemmafiles-backup/: timestamped plain-file copies of everything a destructive rewrite removed — copy them back.
• GEDCOM export (Settings → Data) is a portable, software-agnostic backup of the modelled data.