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When Sync goes wrong
Your files are not at stake. The vault on your Mac is still the truth, exactly as it is without an account, so a sync that can't finish stops rather than touching your notes.
The status line under the vault name in the sidebar is where it tells you.
The status line
| Line | What it means |
|---|---|
| nothing | Sync is off for this vault |
first upload — 12 notes left | The initial upload. The one wait long enough to get a count |
starting sync… | Getting going |
syncing… | Working right now |
synced | Everything is up to date, both ways. Earned, never a default |
offline | The last attempt couldn't reach the server |
sync paused — … | Your plan, not an error you caused |
sync stopped — remote copy deleted | The vault was deleted from the website |
| A note's name, in red | Sync got as far as it could, and this is what it couldn't do |
Routine syncing carries no counts on purpose. It working is not an event, and a line that reported every file would be noise you'd learn to stop reading.
offline
The last attempt couldn't reach the server. It clears itself on the first one that can, with no dialog either way.
You can keep working. Edits queue up and go out when the connection comes back, and notes from your other Mac arrive then too. offline is a state, never an alert.
sync paused
Your plan, not an error. Your files are untouched and stay exactly where they are, and sync picks up where it left off once it resumes.
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
sync paused — trial over | The trial ended |
sync paused — subscription | The subscription lapsed |
Settings → Sync says more under the vault row, including how long the encrypted copy is kept. Plans and billing live on halcyonnotes.com.
A note's name in red
Sync got as far as it could and named what it couldn't do. Four cases, ordered by how much they hold up:
| The line says | What happened | What to do |
|---|---|---|
name collides with another note | Two notes want the same filename here | Rename one of them |
name is waiting on a repair | A download arrived damaged and is being re-fetched | Nothing. It clears itself |
name is too big to sync | The note exceeds the server's per-file limit | Split it, or accept that it stays local |
name was edited in two places | A conflict, already resolved | Nothing required. See Versions and conflicts |
With more than one, the line names the first and counts the rest: notes.md collides with another note · 2 more.
The first two hold everything else up behind them. The third blocks only that note. The fourth is already resolved and is on the line purely so it isn't silent.
sync stopped, remote copy deleted
The vault was deleted from the website, so sync stopped. Your local files are untouched. Nothing restarts on its own, because turning sync back on means uploading the whole vault again.
Nothing appears in Settings at all
There's no Sync tab. That's a build without Sync in it, and not every build has it. See What Halcyon Sync is.
The vault doesn't sync and the line is blank
Sync is off for that vault. It's per-vault, and signing in doesn't turn it on anywhere. Flip Sync this vault beside the vault's name.
If you have two windows open on the same vault, only one shows the status line. That's correct rather than broken.
Something changed on the other Mac and hasn't arrived
Halcyon checks for changes every so often rather than the instant they happen, so a short delay is normal.
If it's been much longer than that, check the status line on both Macs. The one holding things up is the one with something other than synced on it.