Yandex Disk Sync

Русский

Synchronize your Obsidian vault between computers, phones and tablets through Yandex Disk. The plugin works on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android.

[!WARNING] Use this plugin at your own risk. It does not guarantee the safety or preservation of your data. The author is not responsible for the safety or preservation of your data. Errors or synchronization failures may cause data loss. Keep an independent backup of important files before using the plugin. Deletions propagate to other devices, and Force sync replaces destination files. Synchronization does not replace a backup.

Privacy: The plugin collects no metrics, usage analytics or telemetry. It does not send your files, OAuth token or encryption password to the author. The author has no access to your vault through the plugin.

Interface languages: English · Русский · Қазақша · Беларуская · O‘zbekcha. The interface follows Obsidian's language. You can choose another language in the plugin settings.

Features

• Two-way synchronization, automatic uploads when files change and periodic full sync.
• Synchronization of deletions, with copies of displaced local content and conflict handling.
• Include/exclude filters and optional synchronization of Obsidian settings.
• ZIP backups stored on Yandex Disk.
• Force synchronization from a selected device or from the cloud.
• Optional end-to-end encryption of file contents and names.

Installation

Manual installation

1. Download main.js, manifest.json and styles.css from the latest release.
2. Create <Vault>/.obsidian/plugins/yandex-disk-sync/ in your vault.
3. Copy the three files into that folder.
4. Restart Obsidian.
5. Enable Yandex Disk Sync in Settings → Community plugins.

Preview testing with BRAT

Install BRAT and add Ivansushkin/obsidian-yandex-disk-sync as a repository. Use BRAT to check for updates.

First connection

1. Back up your local vault.
2. Open the plugin settings, choose a dedicated Disk folder, for example obsidian-sync/my-vault, and review the synchronization filters.
3. “Sign in with Yandex” is selected by default. When shared sign-in is configured in the build, click “Sign in”, approve access in your browser, then return to Obsidian or paste the displayed code. Wait for the full sync to finish.
4. If shared sign-in is unavailable or you use your own application, choose manual setup: create an application through Yandex OAuth with Disk read and write permissions, obtain and paste its token, then run a full sync. Use a separate remote folder for each vault.

Starting shared sign-in clears the previous manual Client ID and token; canceling does not restore them. Existing manual connections keep working after an update. Moving to shared sign-in is optional and verifies that the remote folder is the same. After new credentials are saved, a successful manual full sync enables automation; a failed full can be retried without another sign-in. Manual token or folder changes also require a successful manual full sync.

If the remote folder is empty, local files are uploaded. If the local vault is empty, cloud files are downloaded. When a new device joins existing cloud data, cloud versions are received first. Different local versions are preserved in .obsidian/plugins/yandex-disk-sync/overwritten/; local-only files are kept and uploaded after the initial receive.

To connect another device, install the plugin, sign in to the same account (or paste a manual token), select the same remote folder and run a full sync. For encrypted data, enter the same encryption password when prompted.

Use the same plugin version on all devices. Older and newer builds must not work with the same remote folder concurrently. Before upgrading an existing setup, read the instructions accompanying the release and back up your vault.

Everyday use

Enable real-time synchronization to upload local changes automatically. Periodic full synchronization also checks for changes from other devices. You can run a full sync manually whenever needed.

The plugin's own data and the remote .backup folder are protected and excluded from synchronization.

The command palette offers full sync, pause/resume and backup creation. Click or tap the YD indicator to see progress, the last successful sync and errors. Its expanded view also offers sync, pause/resume and log actions. An idle indicator does not mean that changes on another device have already reached this one.

Conflicts and deletions

When both sides change a file, the plugin preserves a conflict copy. During ordinary sync, a file deletion takes priority over a concurrent edit; displaced local content is preserved before replacement or deletion. Review conflict and protective copies before removing them.

For details, see conflict handling.

Backups

Create a ZIP archive from the backup section in plugin settings or the command palette. Archives contain files selected by the synchronization filters and are stored in .backup inside the remote folder. The backup list is shared between devices.

Encrypted archives require the password used when they were created. Downloading one through the plugin decrypts it into a regular ZIP file. Keep independent copies of important backups outside the synchronized storage.

See backup documentation.

Force synchronization

Use Force only when you want to replace one side with the other:

• Local → Disk: replace selected cloud files with files from this device.
• Disk → local: replace selected local files with files from Yandex Disk.

Both directions respect include/exclude filters, the Obsidian settings switch and protected paths. Excluded files and the running sync plugin are preserved.

Force replaces destination files

Check the direction and source before confirming. The confirmation dialog offers an archive, disabled by default. Without it, Force creates no protective or conflict copies. A readable empty source clears the selected destination.

An unreadable source blocks replacement. Partial failures can be retried by a normal full sync. Other devices do not have to stop, but their late requests can affect the result. Restart Obsidian after replacing its settings.

See Force documentation.

Encryption

End-to-end encryption protects file contents and names on Yandex Disk. Local vault files remain readable in Obsidian. File contents use AES-256-GCM and names use AES-SIV.

To enable encryption, open the encryption section in plugin settings, enter and confirm a password, then choose whether to create an archive before continuing. Keep the password in a password manager: it cannot be recovered, and encrypted cloud data cannot be read without it.

Enabling, disabling or changing the encryption password uses the initiating device's local files as the reference within the sync filters. Cloud-only files and older offline edits from other devices are not merged into that reference. Save any needed copies separately, and do not edit the vault on any device until the operation finishes.

See encryption documentation.

Security and limitations

• The OAuth token and encryption password are stored in plaintext in local plugin data. Do not share that directory or diagnostics containing secrets.
• The plugin sends synchronized data to Yandex Disk and collects no telemetry. The encryption password is never sent to Yandex Disk.
• Removing plugin data does not revoke the OAuth token; revoke unused tokens through Yandex OAuth.
• Ordinary sync does not transfer empty folders; Force does. Symlinks and special file attributes are not synchronized.
• Storage quotas, file-size limits and throttling depend on Yandex Disk.
• ZIP creation keeps archive files in memory; large vaults may exceed the memory available on a device.

For technical details and development instructions, see the documentation guide.

License

MIT. This is a community plugin, not an official product of Obsidian or Yandex.