Prevent closing Obsidian if it is currently syncing (or keep syncing in the background)

[SebbeJohansson]

This feature request applies to mainly Obsidian Sync.

Use case or problem

I would like it if the application prevented me from closing it (or kept syncing in the background). Currently I am having pretty much daily a situation where I have written a lot of new things in a note and I close obsidian before it is has finished syncing. This means that when opening on a different device there is content missing.

Proposed solution

My proposed solution is to either:

• Prevent the application from being closed.
• Ask if it should wait until synced before closing.
• Keeping the sync going in the background until finished.

Current workaround (optional)

I have not found a workaround except for learning to wait!

Mod edit Related feature request

Make Obsidian Sync work in background (on Mobile)

Platform iOS Android Obsidian Mobile version: v1.0.4 When I open Obsidian, it syncs. This is good — but it takes time. I would like Obsidian Mobile to sync in the background instead, so that when I open it, it’s ready to go. I have two ideas around this: (Possibly simplest?) Expose an intent/activity, which I could then hook into using Tasker. So I would implement my own cron job with Tasker that would just use the hook. Implement it internally, “Sync every X minutes”. Is any of thes…

[CawlinTeffid]

There’s an existing request for “keep syncing in background”. If you’re on iOS, the system limits background activity so there’s not much that can be done there.

You can turn on Settings > Sync > Prevent Device Sleep. I don’t know how much it helps, but I’m using it.

Update 2025-04-16: Stopped using this a while ago because I started finding my phone awake when it shouldn’t be. A recent conversation made me wonder if that might be a bug, tho. Still a useful option when doing first sync or a big restructure.

[CuriousKid]

I still have this problem. I often restructure folders and rename them or move them in a subfolder. This not only often takes ages it doesn’t sync to my mobile device or vice versa

[Craig]

Perhaps if the user attempts to close the app while it’s actively syncing, the app could pop up a modal that asks the user if they’re sure they want to close while still syncing:

• If the user clicks “Close”, then the app closes regardless of sync status.
• If the user clicks “Wait”, then the app will stay open until the sync is complete.
• If the user clicks “Cancel”, then the app will abort the close action.