second-brain/GIT-SYNC.md

Git Auto-Sync Setup for Second Brain

Automatically sync vault changes between server, desktop, and phone using Git.

How It Works

Desktop/Phone Changes → Git Repo ← Server Auto-Commits
        ↓
   All devices sync

Server Setup

1. Install Auto-Sync Service

sudo cp /workspace/second-brain/git-auto-sync.service /etc/systemd/system/
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable git-auto-sync.service
sudo systemctl start git-auto-sync.service

# Verify
sudo systemctl status git-auto-sync.service

2. Watch Auto-Commits

# View logs
sudo journalctl -fu git-sync

# Example output:
# [2026-04-26 07:45:30] Changes detected:
#   M  03-learnings/architecture.md
#   A  00-inbox/new-idea.md
#   ✓ Committed
#   ✓ Pushed to remote

Desktop Setup

1. Clone the Vault

# First time
git clone ssh://user@server:/workspace/second-brain ~/Obsidian/second-brain

# Or if using Local Sync, configure it to pull from this git repo

2. Pull Latest Changes

cd ~/Obsidian/second-brain
git pull

3. Auto-Pull (Optional)

macOS/Linux:

# Add to crontab (every 5 minutes)
crontab -e
*/5 * * * * cd ~/Obsidian/second-brain && git pull -q 2>/dev/null

Or use a Git hook:

cat > .git/hooks/post-merge << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
# Auto-sync after merge
echo "✓ Vault synced"
EOF
chmod +x .git/hooks/post-merge

Phone Setup

With Obsidian + Local Sync Plugin

1. On Server:

   • Make sure git repo is accessible (or use Gitea)

2. On Phone:

   • Install "Local Sync" plugin in Obsidian
   • Configure it to sync with: ssh://user@server:/workspace/second-brain
   • Or configure with Gitea URL

3. On Desktop:

   • Same setup, pull regularly

---

Sync Strategies

Strategy 1: Git-Only (Recommended)

• Server auto-commits all changes
• Desktop: git pull manually or via cron
• Phone: Local Sync pulls from server git

# Desktop cron (every 5 min)
*/5 * * * * cd ~/Obsidian/second-brain && git pull -q

Strategy 2: Obsidian + Local Sync

• Desktop + Phone: Use Obsidian's Local Sync plugin
• Server: Git auto-sync mirrors changes

Advantage: Real-time sync on devices, server keeps git history

Strategy 3: Git + SSH Pull

• Desktop/Phone: SSH git clone
• Pull before opening Obsidian
• Push changes after editing

#!/bin/bash
# pre-open-obsidian.sh
cd ~/Obsidian/second-brain
git pull
open ~/Obsidian/second-brain  # macOS

---

Remote Repository (Gitea / GitHub)

Configure Remote Push

If using Gitea on your server:

# On server
cd /workspace/second-brain
git remote add gitea ssh://git@gitea-server/your-repo.git

# Verify
git remote -v

# Push existing commits
git push -u gitea master

Then on desktop/phone:

git clone ssh://git@gitea-server/your-repo.git

---

Monitoring Syncs

View Recent Commits

cd /workspace/second-brain
git log --oneline -10

Check Sync Status

# See what's staged but not committed
git status

# See changes in last hour
git log --since="1 hour ago" --oneline

Manual Sync Test

# On desktop: make a change
echo "test" >> 00-inbox/test.md
git add .
git commit -m "Test sync"
git push

# On server: should auto-pull (if configured)
cd /workspace/second-brain
git log --oneline -1

---

Conflict Resolution

If both server and desktop edit the same file:

# Server (auto-sync) will get it first
# Desktop pulls and sees conflict marker:

<<<<<<< HEAD
desktop version
=======
server version
>>>>>>> origin/master

# Manually resolve, then:
git add .
git commit -m "Resolved conflict"
git push

---

Disable Auto-Sync (if needed)

sudo systemctl stop git-auto-sync.service
sudo systemctl disable git-auto-sync.service

---

Performance Notes

• Poll interval: 30 seconds (adjustable)
• Commit overhead: ~50ms per check
• Memory: ~64MB (limited)
• CPU: ~10% max

---

Created: 2026-04-26