Auto-Save

Notidian automatically saves your work so you never lose changes.

Overview

Auto-save provides:

• Instant Saving - Changes save as you work
• No Manual Save Needed - Focus on your content
• Workspace Restoration - Resume where you left off
• Experimental Sync Triggering - Saved notes can request an encrypted sync pass when sync is enabled

How It Works

For Notes (.note files)

1. Trigger - Any change to title, content, or canvas
2. Debounce - Waits 500ms after last change
3. Save - Writes to disk immediately
4. Sync trigger - Requests an experimental encrypted sync pass (if enabled)

For Markdown (.md files)

1. Trigger - Any text change in edit mode
2. Debounce - Waits 2 seconds after last change
3. Save - Updates the markdown file
4. Indicator - Yellow dot clears when saved

Save Indicators

Look for these visual cues:

Indicator	Meaning
No indicator	Document is saved
Yellow dot (•)	Unsaved changes
Spinning	Save in progress
Sync status	Experimental sync state is shown in Settings

Manual Save

You can still save manually:

• Keyboard - Cmd+S (Mac) / Ctrl+S (Windows)
• Button - Click Save in the toolbar

Manual save is useful when:

• You want immediate confirmation
• You’re about to close the app
• Auto-save seems delayed

Workspace Restoration

Notidian remembers your session:

What’s Restored

• Open tabs and their positions
• File Explorer navigation state
• Last viewed note per tab
• Scroll positions

When It Restores

• On app launch
• After browser refresh
• When reopening a workspace

Storage

Restoration data is stored in:

• IndexedDB (primary)
• localStorage (fallback)

Experimental sync triggering

When encrypted sync is enabled and the vault is unlocked:

1. Local save - Note saves to disk
2. Event - The app emits a local-change/save signal
3. Debounce - Sync waits briefly to batch bursts of changes
4. Sync pass - The sync engine compares manifests and uploads/downloads encrypted changes

This means local saves stay independent from sync. Sync is still pending the #647 manual QA pass before it should be treated as stable backup.

Performance

Auto-save is optimized for performance:

Debouncing

• Multiple rapid changes = single save
• Prevents excessive disk writes
• Reduces experimental sync traffic

Incremental Updates

• Only changed data is written
• Canvas strokes save incrementally
• Metadata updates are lightweight

Background Processing

• Saves happen in background
• No UI blocking
• Canvas remains responsive

Configuration

Currently, auto-save settings are not configurable. Future options may include:

• Disable auto-save
• Adjust debounce timing
• Configure sync triggers

Troubleshooting

Changes Not Saving

1. Check indicator - Look for yellow dot
2. Try manual save - Press Cmd+S
3. Check permissions - Ensure workspace is writable
4. Check disk space - Ensure storage available

Slow Saves

• Large notes with many strokes take longer
• Heavy media content increases save time
• Experimental sync can add additional time when it runs

Data Not Restored

• Check if IndexedDB is enabled
• Clear browser cache may reset restoration
• Try refreshing the page

Sync Not Triggering

• Verify experimental sync is enabled/unlocked
• Check you’re signed in
• Look at the sync engine status in Settings

Best Practices

1. Trust the system - Auto-save is reliable, don’t over-save
2. Watch indicators - Glance at save status before closing
3. Keep backups - Do not rely on experimental sync as your only backup yet
4. Check sync status - Before switching devices

Technical Details

Storage Locations

Data	Location
Note content	Workspace folder (file system)
Session state	IndexedDB
Preferences	localStorage
Experimental sync	Notidian encrypted sync server

File Events

Auto-save triggers on:

• input events (text changes)
• Canvas stroke completion
• Metadata updates (title, tags)
• Media additions

Error Handling

If a save fails:

1. Error is logged to console
2. Retry is attempted
3. User is notified (for repeated failures)
4. Data remains in memory until successful save