> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.anarlog.so/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Cloud sync

> Keep notes end-to-end encrypted across devices, and avoid conflicts with cloud-storage folders.

Cloud sync keeps your notes up to date across your signed-in devices. It is part of Anarlog Pro.

## Turn sync on or off

1. Open **Settings → Sync**.
2. Turn on **Cloud sync**. The first time, Anarlog asks you to create or enter a recovery key.

Sync runs automatically in the background. Use **Sync now** to send and receive the latest changes immediately. Your notes always remain available locally, even while sync is paused or you are offline.

Pause sync when you want changes to remain only on the current device for a while. Resume it to send pending changes and receive updates from your other devices.

## Save the recovery key

Your recovery key encrypts synced notes before they leave your device, so Anarlog cannot read or recover it.

When you create the key:

1. Copy it into a password manager or download the text file.
2. Confirm that you can find the saved copy before closing the setup window.
3. Keep it separate from the computer you are syncing.

The key is shown only during setup. Clipboard copies clear after 60 seconds when the operating system supports it.

<Warning>
  If you lose the recovery key, your existing local notes remain on their devices, but you cannot use that key to add another device. Anarlog support cannot recover it for you.
</Warning>

## Add another device

1. Install Anarlog and sign in with the same account.
2. Open **Settings → Sync** and turn on Cloud sync.
3. Choose the option to enter an existing recovery key.
4. Paste the key from your password manager, then wait for the first sync to finish.

One account can sync up to five devices. If you reach the limit, remove an unused device before enabling sync on another one.

See [Data, privacy, and retention](/data-and-privacy) for what stays on your computer.

Cloud API & Connectors is a separate, optional feature. If you enable it under **Settings → Developers**, Anarlog uploads a server-readable copy for remote agents; it does not decrypt or weaken your end-to-end encrypted sync data. See [Cloud API and connectors](/reference/api-cloud).

## Don't combine sync with a cloud-storage folder

Keep your Anarlog storage location out of folders managed by a file-syncing service such as iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive. Two sync systems changing the same files can cause:

* Conflicted or duplicate copies of recordings and attachments
* Incomplete audio files when a service uploads a recording while Anarlog is still writing it
* Files that are offloaded to the cloud and unavailable offline

This includes Obsidian vaults stored in iCloud Drive.

Anarlog shows a warning in **Settings → Sync** when your storage location is inside a known cloud-storage folder. Backup tools that snapshot files without continuously syncing them back are fine.

Anarlog does not currently expose a control for changing a storage location selected in an older version. If you see this warning:

1. Turn off Cloud sync so changes remain on this device.
2. Leave the existing folder in place. Do not move or delete it manually.
3. Email [founders@anarlog.so](mailto:founders@anarlog.so) with your operating system and the cloud-storage service named in the warning.

Notes and transcripts migrated to the local SQLite database, but saved recordings and attachments may still depend on the existing folder.

## Fix a blocked sync

* **Setup required:** Create a recovery key or enter the key from an existing device.
* **Sign in again:** Sign out and sign back in, then resume sync.
* **Identity mismatch:** Sign in again with the account that owns the synced notes. Check Sync settings before changing local files.
* **Device limit reached:** Remove an unused device, then try again.
* **macOS Keychain error:** Open **Settings → Sync**, click **Repair Keychain Access**, and resume sync.

If sync is paused during recording or an import, let that activity finish. Anarlog resumes background sync when it is safe to do so.