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What Nectenda is
Nectenda lets several people edit the same Obsidian notes at once, encrypted on each device so the server that relays them cannot read them.
Nectenda is a plugin for Obsidian. It lets you share a folder of your vault with other people and edit the notes in it together, live: you see each other's cursors and changes as you type, the way you would in a shared document online.
Your notes stay what they always were — Markdown files on your disk. Nectenda adds a connection between vaults, not a new place to keep your writing.
What it does
- Shares folders, not whole vaults. You choose which folders to share and with whom. Everything else in your vault stays private to you.
- Edits in real time. Several people can type in one note at once. Changes merge character by character, so nobody's typing overwrites anybody else's.
- Works offline. Edit on a train or in a basement. Your changes are kept on your device and sent when you reconnect.
- Syncs your own devices too. The same shared folder can be open on your laptop and your phone.
What the server can and cannot see
Every note is encrypted on your device before it leaves, with keys made from a passphrase that only you know. The server passes the encrypted notes between vaults but has no key to open them. It cannot read your notes, their titles, your folder names or your attachments.
Encryption does not hide everything. The server does know who shares a folder with whom, and roughly how much is sent and when. The full account, written so that anyone can check it against the plugin's code, is on How the encryption works.
What it does not do
- It is not a backup. Deleting a note in a shared folder deletes it for everyone. Keep your usual backups.
- It has no read-only role. Everyone in a shared folder can edit it. People and roles explains why.
- Canvas files and attachments do not merge. They sync, but if two people change the same one at once, both versions are kept rather than combined. See Attachments.