vault-link/docs/index.md
András Schmelczer 2b568fd20e wip
2025-12-23 23:14:12 +01:00

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4.1 KiB
Markdown

---
layout: home
hero:
name: VaultLink
text: Self-Hosted Sync & Collaboration for Obsidian and beyond
tagline: Edit with any tool. Automatic conflict-free merging. Your infrastructure.
image:
src: /logo.svg
alt: VaultLink
actions:
- theme: brand
text: Get Started
link: /guide/getting-started
- theme: alt
text: Why VaultLink?
link: /guide/what-is-vaultlink
features:
- title: Single-binary server meant for self-hosting
details: Simple Rust-powered WebSocket server with SQLite.
- title: Your Data, Your Server
details: Built with self-hosting in mind. Single simple Docker container or binary.
- title: Real-Time Collaboration
details: See your collaborators' cursors and edits instantly. Or just use it to sync your files across devices.
- title: Obsidian plugin
details: First-class support for Obsidian through the [VaultLink]() plugin. Sync changes coming from both within and outside of your Obsidian Vault.
- title: Interoperability is the new default
details: VaultLink isn't limited to Obsidian. It comes with a client CLI, and can be easily embedded into other editors and knowledgebases as a plugin to unlock true interoperability.
- title: No Conflict Markers
details: Never see conflict markers in your notes again. Automatic smart merging for text without human intervention which never drops changes. See the [reconcile demo](https://schmelczer.dev/reconcile) for an intuitive visualisation.
- title: Open Source Everything
details: MIT licensed. Server, clients, and sync algorithm are all open source. No proprietary components.
---
## What is VaultLink?
VaultLink is an editor agnostic sync & collaboration engine consisting of:
- a self-hostable server
- an [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md) plugin
- and an optional plugin library & CLI client for integrating with other editors
I'm deeply concived that the shape of a personal knwoledgebase, stack of notes, or "operating system for life" is a folder of Markdown files and attachments. I believe in a rich editing experience built on top of plain text files, owning your own data, and eliminating moats between propriety products.
Obsidian is a well-loved editor ([see the 2025 self-hosting survey]()). Even though it supports E2EE Syncing, it's done through a propriety plugin limited to Obsidian which also lacks support for collaboration. Existing 3rd-party syncing solutions fall short of delivering a stable and editor-agnostic experience. For more on this, see the [alternatives](/guide/alternatives).
VaultLink finally delivers a reliable, self-hosted, and editor-agnostic syncing solution with first-class support for Obsidian.
> And more editors to come in the future, see the [roadmap]().
## Quick Start
Deploy server (single command):
```bash
docker run -d -p 3000:3000 -v $(pwd)/data:/data \
ghcr.io/schmelczer/vault-link-server:latest
```
Then install the [Obsidian plugin](/guide/obsidian-plugin) or [CLI client](/guide/cli-client).
[Full setup guide →](/guide/getting-started)
## What makes VaultLink special
VaultLink's architecture enables a few unique features:
- Its text merging algorithm handles conflicting (even offline & coming from outside the editor) edits without human oversights while ensuring no changes are dropped. Learn more about this in the [syncing algorithm section](architecture/sync-algorithm.md).
- Provides its full feature set through shallow integration meaning that it's straightforward to integrate into editors even ones which haven't been written with real-time collaboration and remote backups in mind. This is detailed in the [architecture section](architecture/index.md).
- There are various text editor/wiki/knowledgebase style apps & websites around. Users should be able to mix & match between them, try them out, and collaborate with people preferring a different editor than themselves. The long-term goal of VaultLink is to break down these barriers. As of today, the two clients are a CLI exectuable client and an Obsidian plugin. However, there's more to come. So for an overview, head to the [roadmap](roadmap.md) page.