Thanks for the reply and clarification. It’s really a shame the docs don’t make that clear (if they do, I didn’t find it - I can’t post links here but it doesnt’ seem to be mentioned in the “Sync your notes across devices” page). It’s a pretty frustrating experience as a new user, this thread (and many others I came across while searching for help) show it is a common one.
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This is a hack that I’ve seen in another forum and it worked in this case for my ipad:
- Delete Obsidian
- Go to
Settings > Apple Account (first option with your photo) > iCloud > Saved to iClouc - Go to
iCloud Drive - Deselect
Sync this iPad, confirm it - Select again
Sync this iPad - Reinstall Obsidian
I think I understood my issue now. Here is an ai generated summary of my back and forth with ChatGPT:
# Obsidian iOS vault not appearing on macOS iCloud Drive
## The problem
You create a vault in **Obsidian on iPhone/iPad**.
The vault appears in the **Files app → iCloud Drive → Obsidian**.
But on macOS:
> Finder → iCloud Drive → the “Obsidian” folder is missing
It looks like iCloud sync is broken — but it actually isn’t.
## The real explanation
Apple has **two different iCloud storage types**:
| Type | What it is | Visible in Finder |
| ----------------------- | ------------------- | ----------------- |
| User iCloud Drive | Normal documents | Yes |
| App container (sandbox) | App-private storage | Hidden by default |
Obsidian on iOS stores vaults inside its **app container**, not the normal iCloud Drive root.
So the vault exists here:
```
/Users/your_user_name/Library/Mobile Documents/iCloud~md~obsidian/Documents
```
But Finder normally only shows:
```
iCloud Drive (user documents container)
```
The Files app merges both visually → so on iPhone it *looks* like a normal folder.
macOS Finder does not.
Nothing is broken. The folder is simply hidden.
## The solution
### 1) Open the hidden Obsidian container
In Finder press:
```
Cmd + Shift + G
```
Paste:
```
~/Library/Mobile Documents/iCloud~md~obsidian/Documents
```
(due to the spaces this might not work, so you might need to use the full path: ~/Library/Mobile\ Documents/iCloud~md~obsidian/Documents)
You will now see your Obsidian vault(s).
And here the magic happens: The vault(s) now appeared in Finder.
### 2) (Optional but recommended) Make it visible in iCloud Drive
Create a symlink so Finder shows it like a normal folder:
```bash
ln -s ~/Library/Mobile\ Documents/iCloud~md~obsidian/Documents \
\~/Library/Mobile\\ Documents/com\~apple\~CloudDocs/Obsidian
```
Now Finder → iCloud Drive will contain an **Obsidian** folder.
THANK YOU! The symlink step is the only thing that fixed this for me. Once I did that, the app specific Obsidian folder appeared along with the symlinked folder.
What worked for me (April 2026, macOS Tahoe 26.5 + iOS 26.5):
I had the same issue as OP — created my vault on Mac first, iOS app couldn’t detect it. The combination of kilian’s explanation in #23 and the symlink fix is what solved it. Here’s exactly what I did:
-
On my iPhone, created a new vault in Obsidian with “Store in iCloud” toggled on
-
On my Mac, opened the hidden app container in Finder using Cmd+Shift+G and navigating to
~/Library/Mobile Documents/iCloud~md~obsidian/Documents -
Moved my existing vault contents into the vault folder iOS had created
-
Created a symlink so the vault is accessible from Finder’s iCloud Drive sidebar:
ln -s ~/Library/Mobile\ Documents/iCloud~md~obsidian/Documents
~/Library/Mobile\ Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/Obsidian
- Right-clicked the Obsidian folder in iCloud Drive and set “Keep Downloaded”
Everything syncs between Mac and iPhone now.
kilian’s post (#23) explaining the two different iCloud storage types was the key to understanding the problem. The official docs really should mention that you need to set up the vault from iOS first — it would save a lot of people a lot of frustration.
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Thank you David! I tried your steps and it works! I don’t have to do the step 4 though, the new Obsidian folder is already automatically created under Finder’s iCloud Drive.