One Brain on every computer.

Before you start

• Notryn 0.2.0-beta.12 or newer. Save your notes, quit Notryn and run notryn update.
• Git on each computer. Check with git --version. On macOS install it with xcode-select --install; on Linux use sudo apt install git, sudo dnf install git or sudo pacman -S git.
• A free GitHub account. Create one if you do not have it.
• A Brain with Read and write access. Read-only Brains cannot sync, because sync changes files.

Your notes are already on GitHub?

For example, you already keep your notes in a GitHub repository, or you created one before. Then you do not create a new repository:

1. In Notryn, open the folder with your notes: Your Brains → Open a folder, with Read and write access. Skip this if it is already a Brain.
2. Create the access token as in step 2 below, and in Only select repositories pick the repository you already have.
3. Click the cloud, paste the token and press Connect.
4. Type your existing repository, for example your-name/my-notes, and press Start syncing.

Nothing is overwritten: if the folder and GitHub have different notes, both are kept. Notryn uses the repository's main branch; if the folder is on another branch, it stops and asks you to switch first. Notryn adds its own connection and does not change your existing Git setup. Tip: make a copy of the folder before the first sync, just in case. If another Git sync tool also runs on this folder, turn off its automatic sync so the two apps do not sync at the same moment.

Set up your first computer

1. Create a private repository

Skip this if your notes are already on GitHub. Open github.com/new. Give it any name, for example notryn-brain, keep it Private and leave it empty: no README, no .gitignore, no license. Press Create repository.

2. Create an access token

Open Settings → Developer settings → Fine-grained tokens → Generate new token and fill in:

• Token name: Notryn Sync.
• Expiration: your choice, for example one year. You will create a new token when it expires.
• Repository access: Only select repositories, then pick the repository from step 1.
• Permissions → Repository permissions → Contents: Read and write. Leave everything else as it is.

Press Generate token and copy it. It starts with github_pat_. GitHub shows it only once.

3. Connect Notryn

In Notryn, open the Brain you want to sync and click the cloud button in the top bar (or press Y). Paste the token and press Connect. Notryn checks it with GitHub and shows your account name.

4. Choose the repository

Type the repository as your-name/notryn-brain (or paste its GitHub address). Choose how often to sync, keep Sync when Notryn opens on, and press Start syncing. Your notes are sent to GitHub. The cloud turns green when it is done.

Several Brains

Yes, you can sync as many Brains as you like. Each Brain uses its own repository, for example my-work and my-personal:

1. Create one more private repository for the new Brain (or use one you already have).
2. Add it to your token: on GitHub open the token, choose Edit, add the repository under Only select repositories and save. You do not need to connect again in Notryn.
3. In Notryn, switch to the other Brain, click the cloud and type its repository.

Each Brain keeps its own schedule, and the cloud always shows the status of the Brain you are viewing.

Add another computer

1. Install or update Notryn and make sure Git is installed.
2. Create an empty Brain where you want the notes to live.
3. Open the cloud button, paste a token (the same one, or a new one made the same way) and press Connect.
4. Type the same repository and press Start syncing. Your notes arrive on the first sync.

If the folder already had notes, both sides are merged. Nothing is overwritten.

Day to day

• Notryn syncs when it opens, on the schedule you chose (every 5 to 60 minutes) and when you press Sync now or Shift Y.
• The cloud shows a green dot when synced and red when the last sync failed. While notes are being sent or received it turns blue and fills up, and a short message appears when changes arrive or are sent. Hover it to see when it last synced.
• New, edited, renamed, moved and removed notes all follow to your other computers.
• Conflicts never lose an edit. If two computers change the same note before syncing, this computer keeps its version and the other one is saved next to it as Note (GitHub copy …).md. Compare them, keep what you want and delete the copy.
• Save the note you are editing before pressing Sync now.
• Stop syncing keeps your notes in the folder and on GitHub. Disconnect deletes the token from this computer.

Privacy and security

• Your notes go only to your own GitHub repository. Notryn has no server that receives your notes or your token, and no Notryn account is needed.
• The token is kept in macOS Keychain or your Linux keyring, or in a private file only your user can read when no keyring is available. It is only sent to GitHub and never shown again in the app.
• A token limited to one repository with Contents access cannot read your other repositories.
• Notryn warns you before syncing with a public repository, and pauses if a private repository later becomes public.
• Sync is not a backup on its own: a note removed on one computer is removed on the others. GitHub keeps the full history, so older versions can be restored from the repository.
• You can revoke the token at any time in GitHub → Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens.

Phone and tablet

A mobile version of Notryn is in development, with no release date yet. Brains you sync through GitHub today will be ready for it.

Price

GitHub Sync is free during the beta. It may become an optional paid feature in the future to support development. If it does, it will be a very affordable price, with a one-time option, and the rest of Notryn stays free. Your notes and repository always remain yours, whatever you decide.

If something goes wrong

Git is not installed

Install Git (see Before you start) and open the cloud again.

GitHub did not accept the token

It expired or was revoked. Create a new token and connect again.

Repository not found

Check the name, and that the token's repository access includes this repository.

GitHub refused the upload

Edit the token and set Contents to Read and write.

The repository is public

Make it private in the repository's settings, or confirm in Notryn that you want a public one.

A file is larger than GitHub allows

GitHub rejects files over 100 MB. Move the file out of the Brain folder.

This Brain must allow reading and writing

Open Your Brains → Access and choose Read and write.

Still stuck? Contact us or read the technical sync guide. Never send your token to anyone.