Get your tasks on iPhone without Obsidian Sync
You can get your tasks on your iPhone through nokko without Obsidian Sync, as long as Markdown is what you need there. nokko carries .md files, not .obsidian or attachments outside People/ and Invoices/. So it does not replace vault sync for notes with attachments, plugins or themes.
For Mac, iPhone · Last checked
What travels and what stays
| In your vault | Reaches the iPhone through nokko? |
|---|---|
Every .md file, including notes with no tasks | Yes |
Images and PDFs in the top-level People/ and Invoices/ folders | Yes |
| Images, PDFs and other attachments anywhere else | No |
.obsidian: plugins, themes, hotkeys, workspace layout | No |
| Any other dot folder | No |
| Any file over 50 MB | No |
A note that embeds photo.png from a Notes/ folder arrives as text. The image stays on the Mac. nokko does not touch it there, and its absence on the phone is not a deletion.
The copy on the iPhone lives inside the nokko app in this version. You read and edit it in nokko. Obsidian on the iPhone does not see it.
When nokko's route suits
- You want Today, your projects and a timer on the phone, not your whole notes archive
- Your notes on the phone are plain text, or you can do without their attachments
- You write notes on the Mac, and on the iPhone you mostly tick tasks and log time
- You already want nokko on the Mac for projects, time or invoices
When it does not suit
- You open your vault in Obsidian on the iPhone or another device
- Your notes depend on images, PDFs or audio
- You want the same plugins, theme and settings everywhere
- You use Windows, Linux or Android: nokko runs only on the Mac and iPhone
In those cases, vault sync is the right tool. Obsidian Sync is Obsidian's own supported way to do this, and nokko works beside a vault that uses another route.
Other free routes exist
Obsidian's help page on syncing lists several. In general terms, there is Obsidian's own iCloud vault option between Apple devices, and the Git and Remotely Save community plugins. Those carry the vault into Obsidian on the other device, which nokko does not do.
A vault in iCloud Drive makes the Mac show nokko's warning, because iCloud Drive can replace files under an open app.
Set it up
- On the Mac, choose Workspace ▸ Open Workspace… and pick your vault's folder. It should be a local folder, not one inside a syncing service.
- Choose a route on Choose your sync. For one person, Workspace ▸ Put Workspace on iCloud… needs the least setup.
- On the iPhone, open Settings and tap Join a Workspace….
Obsidian keeps working on the same folder on the Mac. nokko never moves your vault, and it does not sync .obsidian anywhere. Every .md in the vault goes to the place you chose, so use a private repository or your own iCloud.
Questions
- Will nokko sync my Obsidian plugins and theme to my iPhone?
- No. nokko skips every dot folder, so
.obsidianand everything in it stays on the Mac. That covers plugins, themes, hotkeys and layout. nokko is not an Obsidian client on the iPhone: it shows your tasks and Markdown in its own views, so those settings would have nothing to apply to there. - Can I use Obsidian Sync and nokko on the same vault?
- Yes, as long as nokko's own sync is off for that vault. nokko reads and writes the Markdown on your Mac, and Obsidian Sync carries it. You would not then have nokko's iPhone copy. Turning both on means two services move one set of files, which Obsidian's help page warns against.