How to Make Obsidian Sync Faster: 6 Ways to Optimize Your Vault
Is your Obsidian sync slowing down? Learn how to optimize your vault by managing attachments, excluding hidden cache files, and reducing sync friction.
Simon
Obsidian is incredibly fast because it stores your notes as local plain .md text files. As your vault grows over months and years, however, synchronization can start to feel sluggish.
The problem is rarely the text files themselves. Even thousands of Markdown notes typically take up far less space than a handful of large attachments. The real culprits are massive files, hidden caches, and workspace states that generate frequent, unnecessary sync activity.
Whether you use Obsidian Sync, LiveSync, or a cloud drive like iCloud, here is how to optimize your vault for faster and more reliable synchronization.
TL;DR: Quick wins
- Exclude workspace files if your sync method allows it
- Compress large images
- Find and remove unnecessary large files
- Don't sync
.git, caches, or local backups- Keep plugin-generated data out of your vault where possible
- If problems persist, consider a sync architecture designed for Obsidian
1. Stop Syncing Your Workspace Files
One common source of unnecessary sync activity is Obsidian's workspace state. Inside your hidden .obsidian folder, there are files named workspace.json and workspace-mobile.json.
These files record the exact state of your UI: which tabs are open, pane layouts, and other workspace state. Opening notes, switching tabs, or adjusting your workspace can cause these files to be updated. If they are included in your sync settings, your device is frequently uploading new data, consuming bandwidth and battery.
How to fix it:
- In LiveSync: Go to the plugin settings > Hidden File Sync and ensure
workspace.jsonandworkspace-mobile.jsonare excluded (usually by clicking "Add default patterns → Cross Platform"). Note: The exact behavior can depend on your device and LiveSync configuration. - In Obsidian Sync: Go to the Sync settings and toggle off "Active file, workspace, and open tabs" (or the equivalent setting in your current Obsidian version).
- In cloud drives (iCloud/Dropbox): You cannot easily exclude individual files, so optimizing other areas is especially important here. See our guide on iCloud sync conflicts for related issues.
2. Compress High-Resolution Images
A single uncompressed photo from a modern smartphone can be 5 to 10 MB. Pasting just a few of these into your daily notes will bloat your vault faster than thousands of text notes. Screenshots are normally much smaller, but they can still be up to about 3 MB.
How to fix it inside Obsidian:
- Use an image optimization plugin: Community plugins are available that can resize and convert images when you add them to your vault.
How to fix it using system and open-source tools:
If you want to batch-compress existing files in your vault, use these proven external tools:
- macOS built-in: Right-click any image in Finder, select Quick Actions > Convert Image, and choose a smaller format or lower file size.
- Windows: Install Microsoft PowerToys and use the Image Resizer utility directly from your right-click context menu.
- Open-source (cross-platform): Caesium Image Compressor is a free application for batch-compressing images while giving you control over the quality/size trade-off.
3. Find and Audit Massive Files
Sometimes a single embedded video or massive PDF is the bottleneck. Regularly audit your vault to find files that eat up your sync bandwidth.
How to find large files quickly:
-
Mac & Linux (Terminal): Open your terminal, navigate to your vault folder, and run this command to find all files larger than 5 MB while ignoring the
.gitfolder:find . -type f -size +5M -not -path '*/.git/*' -
Mac (GUI): GrandPerspective visually maps your largest files in blocks.
-
Windows (GUI): WizTree is free and scans your vault folder quickly, highlighting which attachments take up the most space.
4. Exclude Unnecessary Hidden Folders
If you use tools like Obsidian Git alongside your regular sync method, or if you delete files frequently, you might be syncing large amounts of hidden data without realizing it.
.gitfolder: If your sync method is configured to include the.gitdirectory, it can create thousands of small file operations and add significant overhead to file-based sync..trashfolder: If your sync method includes.trash, deleted files can continue consuming storage and sync bandwidth until they are permanently removed.
How to fix it:
Ensure that your sync tool is configured to ignore .git completely. Empty your Obsidian .trash folder regularly, or change your Obsidian settings (Settings > Files and links > Deleted files) to move items to your system trash instead.
5. Audit Plugin Caches and Backups
Some community plugins create their own heavy databases or automated backups inside the .obsidian folder. For example, plugins that index your entire vault for AI searches or create daily zip backups can generate gigabytes of data.
Syncing local backups to your remote sync server defeats the purpose of a local backup and creates massive network overhead.
How to fix it:
Review the folders inside .obsidian/plugins. If a plugin generates heavy cache files or zip archives, configure the plugin to save these files in a folder outside of your Obsidian vault.
6. Re-evaluate Your Sync Architecture
If you have optimized your attachments and excluded unnecessary files, but your sync is still slow, the problem might be the synchronization architecture itself.
When many files change at once, file-based sync can generate substantial filesystem and network activity. Some sync systems use a different architecture than traditional file-based cloud drives. LiveSync, for example, stores and replicates vault data through CouchDB and uses chunking and revision-based replication to efficiently propagate changes.
For a broader comparison, see How to Sync Obsidian Across Devices and EiraSync vs. Obsidian Sync.
Final Thoughts
A lean vault is a fast vault. By compressing your images and excluding unnecessary workspace files, caches, and other local data, you reduce network overhead and the likelihood of unnecessary sync conflicts.
You don't optimize your vault because EiraSync is magically faster — you optimize it because every sync architecture benefits from less unnecessary data. EiraSync simply gives you the LiveSync architecture without the self-hosting overhead.
If you like the LiveSync approach but don't want to maintain your own CouchDB server, you can try EiraSync.