# I don't understand "Revision" in sync status
**URL:** https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/i-dont-understand-revision-in-sync-status/49332
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [23 March 2026 23:22 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/i-dont-understand-revision-in-sync-status/49332 "2026-03-23T23:22:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@gotofritz](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/gotofritz)
#### Post date: [23 March 2026 23:22 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/i-dont-understand-revision-in-sync-status/49332/1 "2026-03-23T23:22:34Z")
### Operating system
macOS
### Joplin version
3.5.13
### Desktop version info
Joplin 3.5.13 (prod, darwin)
Device: darwin, Apple M1 Max
Client ID: 469ee3ed3d3048208f281284bbbb0fcd
Sync Version: 3
Profile Version: 49
Keychain Supported: Yes
Alternative instance ID: -
Revision: 0c1511f
Backup: 1.5.1
Freehand Drawing: 4.2.0
Insert YouTube Video: 1.3.0
### Sync target
Dropbox
### What issue do you have?
I have been running Joplin on a Mac Laptop, syncinc with Dropbox. All works well.
Now I have installed it on an android based ebook reader (Boox). It's super slow but it kind of works. Except for the initial sync. After 12 days it's claiming it's done, but it isn't.
The desktop app gives
```auto
Note: 4715/4715
Folder: 60/60
Resource: 52886/52886
Tag: 552/552
NoteTag: 11916/11916
Revision: 316/316
Total: 70445/70445
```
The ebook reader gives
```auto
Note: 3952/3952
Folder: 54/53
Resource: 101121/10104
Tag: 552/552
NoteTag: 11916/11916
Revision: 24/9
Total: 25192/25143
```
One thing I cannot make sense of is the revisions. Aren't revisions specific to individual notes? I don't understand what `24/9` means. I have synced 24 versions instead of potentially 9... but 24 versions of what. And why are the totals it gives completely different?
Thanks
---
### Author:  [@mrjo118](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/mrjo118)
#### Post date: [24 March 2026 15:06 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/i-dont-understand-revision-in-sync-status/49332/2 "2026-03-24T15:06:34Z")
**Synced items / Total items = overall sync progress:**
Example: `850 / 1000` → 850 items are synced, 150 still need syncing.
If the right hand side of the slash is a lower number, it means either some local items have been deleted since the last sync, or in your case, the data set is not yet complete from the initial sync. I’m not sure the internals of how the values are calculated, but the right hand side may not be reliable until the intial sync has completed.
Revisions in the sync status refer to items in the note history.
---
### Author:  [@zblesk](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/zblesk)
#### Post date: [26 March 2026 17:20 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/i-dont-understand-revision-in-sync-status/49332/3 "2026-03-26T17:20:10Z")
Feels like he's probably asking why it says it synchronized 24 out of 9.
Honestly, I have no idea. I think every device has its own setting for history retention, and I don't really know how it's handled.
(Then again, I find the sync status numbers in general a bit opaque.)
Edit: out of curiosity, what do you store in Joplin? A lot of scrapes, or something? You seem to average over 10 resources per note, sounds like a lot!
---
### Author:  [@gotofritz](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/gotofritz)
#### Post date: [26 March 2026 17:54 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/i-dont-understand-revision-in-sync-status/49332/4 "2026-03-26T17:54:36Z")
Kind of - I am not questioning _why_, I am trying to work out what it means. It’s right there in my post
> One thing I cannot make sense of is the revisions. Aren't revisions specific to individual notes? I don't understand what `24/9` means. I have synced 24 versions instead of potentially 9... but 24 versions of what. And why are the totals it gives completely different?
What do the ‘24’ and ‘9’ mean? Surely each note has its own version? Or does ‘version’ refer to a snapshot of _all_ the notes in the DB?
---
### Author:  [@mrjo118](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/mrjo118)
#### Post date: [26 March 2026 18:11 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/i-dont-understand-revision-in-sync-status/49332/5 "2026-03-26T18:11:04Z")
Basically the 24 the number of revision items which are recorded as being synced on the current device, and 9 is total revision items existing locally.
Revisions expire after a configured amount of time, after which they are deleted. And they are only created when you make changes to a note, up to a maximum of once every 10 minutes. So the number of revisions is not likely to equal the number of notes
---
### Author:  [@gotofritz](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/gotofritz)
#### Post date: [26 March 2026 22:47 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/i-dont-understand-revision-in-sync-status/49332/6 "2026-03-26T22:47:40Z")
So those would be my local edits to the some of the notes?
---
### Author:  [@mrjo118](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/mrjo118)
#### Post date: [26 March 2026 22:51 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/i-dont-understand-revision-in-sync-status/49332/7 "2026-03-26T22:51:04Z")
Not just local edits, but edits made in Joplin in general. The revisions are synced across devices
---
### Author:  [@system](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [25 April 2026 22:51 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/i-dont-understand-revision-in-sync-status/49332/8 "2026-04-25T22:51:33Z")
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