please give me a basic understanding of how joplin does sync via dropbox to the mobile version of the app. does the mobile app simply modify the files in the dropbox or is there some other magic involved? i’m asking because i want to make formatting fixes to the import i did from OneNote a while back (words stuck together, missing images and attachments) and this seems like the easiest way to implement that. thanks!
Joplin doesn't directly read/write the files sitting in your Dropbox folder. Instead, both the desktop and mobile apps talk to Dropbox through its API to sync Joplin's own internal data format - each note, notebook, tag, and attachment is stored as a separate small file on the sync target.
So you can't just go edit those files in Dropbox to fix formatting - they're in Joplin's serialized format, not plain markdown files you can open in a text editor.
For fixing up a messy OneNote import the easiest options are:
- Edit the notes directly in Joplin (desktop is best for bulk work)
- Use the Joplin Data API if you want to script bulk fixes - it lets you read/update notes programmatically
Either way, once you save the changes in Joplin, they'll sync automatically to your other devices through Dropbox, hope this helps.
Where can I find the details on using the Joplin API via AI type automations?
I shared the API docs link above - you'll need to enable the Web Clipper Service in the settings to start the API server, then you can use any scripting tool to read and update notes via REST calls.
is there any option to save the sync files as standard MD files instead of proprietary format?
No, see the FAQ:
Is it possible to use real file and folder names in the sync target?
Unfortunately it is not possible. Joplin synchronises with file systems using an open format however it does not mean the sync files are meant to be user-editable. The format is designed to be performant and reliable, not user friendly (it cannot be both), and that cannot be changed. Joplin sync directory is basically just a database.
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