Plainva Sync Compatibility

Last reviewed: 2026-09-30

If a WebDAV, CalDAV or S3 service returns a sign-in page or an incomplete inventory, Plainva reports a sync error. It does not treat that response as an empty folder or calendar inventory or infer deletions from it. This applies on desktop and mobile.

If a local file cannot be uploaded because of a permission or read error, its task and error stay in the queue. Restore file access and retry sync. Only a genuinely missing file counts as absent; an access failure is not recorded as a successful upload.

Offline edits are preserved across repeated renames. Plainva completes related moves before uploading the current content; a failed operation holds back dependent tasks. If a remote rename source is missing, Plainva uploads the remaining local file or folder contents at the new location. Unreadable content stays queued with an error for retry.

A deletion confirmation applies only to the deletion actually performed. It survives retries after connection errors or a restart; new files created at the same location do not inherit it. The additional prompt for a paused mass deletion and its restore option affect only the tasks shown there. Large deletions already queued before this update may need confirmation once more.

Journal entries that two devices append to the same daily note before they have synced are not a conflict: Plainva merges them by time and keeps every line of both devices — also when both devices created the day’s note independently. Every other simultaneous change to a note is handled as before. See Journal.

A folder you create in Plainva is created inside the vault folder in the cloud. Up to version 0.8.3, Plainva also created an empty folder of the same name at the top level of Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox, or of the S3 bucket when the vault uses a prefix. Plainva does not remove these copies itself; once you have checked that such a top-level folder is empty and is not part of your vault folder, you can delete it.

Letters with accents can be stored in two ways: ü as one character or as u followed by a combining diaeresis. macOS and iOS usually keep the second form (for example for a folder made in Finder), many servers and other systems the first. Plainva treats both as the same name: it reads and writes the file or folder that already exists, in whatever form this device or the cloud stores it, and renames nothing. Names you create in Plainva are stored in the first form. Only when one folder really holds both forms side by side, or when two names differ in letter case, does Plainva list the pair under Two spellings, one file: it keeps the second spelling out of the sync and deletes nothing, neither here nor in the cloud. Rename one of the two and sync carries on as usual.

Plainva syncs vaults through interchangeable sync adapters. This page shows which services you can use today — directly integrated, via the WebDAV protocol, or via the provider’s own desktop sync client.

Directly integrated

Services usable via WebDAV

The WebDAV adapter speaks standard WebDAV, so the following services should work, among others. They have not been verified individually yet — feedback is welcome. The addresses are typical patterns; double-check them in your provider’s documentation and use an app password instead of your main password whenever possible.

Via the provider’s desktop sync client (local folder)

Until native integrations arrive, you can use any service whose desktop client keeps a local folder in sync. Plainva then treats the vault as a local folder and detects external changes automatically.

Important: Set the vault folder to “always keep on this device” / “available offline”. Online-only placeholder files (Files On-Demand, online-only, streaming mode) can interfere with indexing and sync.

One route per folder: Use either the provider’s desktop client or Plainva’s own sync for a vault folder, never both at the same time. Two sync tools in the same folder upload every change twice and can create folders twice — for example when one of them writes accented letters in a different Unicode form than the other.

• OneDrive (Explorer integration; disable Files On-Demand for the vault folder)
• Dropbox (desktop client; avoid “online-only” for the vault folder)
• Google Drive for Desktop (“Mirror” mode instead of “Stream” for the vault folder)
• iCloud Drive (iCloud for Windows or macOS; set the folder to “Keep Downloaded”)
• Syncthing / Resilio Sync (P2P, no cloud provider at all)

Note on the new integrations (2026-07-04)

OneDrive, Dropbox and S3-compatible storage have been directly integrated since 2026-07-04 (see the table above). Plainva ships its own app registrations for OneDrive and Dropbox, so you don’t need your own client ID or app key — the fields come pre-filled and you just connect. Bringing your own app ID stays optional (e.g. for corporate restrictions); see the OneDrive & Dropbox BYO guide. The desktop-sync-client route (see above) remains available as an alternative.

Deliberately not planned

• iCloud as an API integration: Apple offers no official third-party API for iCloud Drive. Use the local iCloud folder instead (see above).
• Proton Drive / Mega: no official or only hard-to-integrate APIs (E2E encryption, C++ SDK). Kept under observation.
• Watchlist (on demand): pCloud, Box, Filen, SFTP.