Authentication

Authentication is currently used for account features and experimental encrypted sync. It should not be described as stable cross-device sync until the manual QA pass in #647 is complete.

Current sign-in method

Notidian’s current sync account flow uses email/password against the Notidian sync server.

  • Your account password authenticates you to the sync server.
  • Your encryption key material is unlocked locally on the device.
  • The server stores encrypted manifests/blobs and should not be able to read note contents.

Google Drive OAuth/direct Google Drive backup is not the current v1 sync path.

What authentication enables

FeatureCurrent status
Local notes without accountSupported
Experimental encrypted syncImplemented, pending #647 manual QA
Account/session managementAvailable through the sync server
Google Drive direct backupNot the current v1 path
Sharing/collaborationSeparate/non-v1 surface

Signing in

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to the account/sync card.
  3. Sign in or create an account with email/password.
  4. If the vault unlocks successfully, the sync engine can run manual/event-triggered sync passes.

Signing out

Signing out clears the current account session and disables the sync engine until you sign in and unlock again. Local notes remain on disk.

Troubleshooting

Cannot reach sync server

  • Check your internet connection.
  • Confirm the configured sync server URL is reachable.
  • Try again after the server is healthy.

Vault is locked

Sign in again to unlock the local key material. Sync stays disabled while the master key is not in memory.

Sync errors after sign-in

Do not assume the remote copy is authoritative. Keep the local vault intact, check Settings for the sync error/conflict count, and preserve any *.conflict-* files for manual review.