Sync & Offline

ThoughtFree is built offline-first. Every thought you capture is saved locally on your device first, then synced to the cloud in the background. You never lose work, even without an internet connection.

How Sync Works

1. Capture anywhere — thoughts are saved instantly to your device’s local database
2. Background sync — when online, changes push to the server automatically
3. Multi-device — sign in on multiple devices and thoughts sync between them
4. Real-time updates — changes from other devices appear within seconds when online

Sync Status

Check your sync status in Settings > Sync:

• Online — connected and synced
• Syncing — actively pushing or pulling changes
• Offline — no connection, changes queued locally
• Pending items — number of thoughts waiting to sync

The last synced timestamp shows when data was last successfully exchanged with the server.

Working Offline

When you’re offline, you can:

• Create, edit, and delete thoughts
• Use voice input (transcription queues until online)
• Search your local thoughts
• Browse all categories and views

Everything queues up and syncs automatically when your connection returns.

Conflict Resolution

Conflicts happen when the same thought is edited on two devices before they sync. ThoughtFree handles this intelligently:

1. Auto-merge — if different fields were changed (e.g., you edited the title on one device and added tags on another), changes merge automatically
2. Manual resolution — if the same field was changed on both devices, you’ll be prompted to choose:
   • Keep local — use your device’s version
   • Keep remote — use the other device’s version

Conflicts are rare in practice — they only occur when you edit the exact same field on two devices while both are offline.

Force Sync

If you ever need to trigger a sync manually, use the Force sync button in Settings > Sync. This is useful after extended offline periods or if you want to ensure everything is up to date before switching devices.