Sync Joplin on Mac with Joplin on iPad/iPhone on demand

Support
1

I wonder if there is a direct way to sync Joplin on Mac with app on iPhone or iPad, on demand - for example once a week. I have a large note base that changes infrequently and don’t want to pay for cloud storage (Dropbox, etc).

If not, is there a way to just setup a simple WebDAV server on Mac to accomplish the same.

Thanks!

2

That's a good question, I'd be curious to know if there's any quick way to get a WebDAV server running with minimum configuration. I wouldn't recommend Nextcloud as it's broken with default config, but maybe something Nginx or Apache based?

3

Unfortunately the Apache httpd that comes with macOS does not include WebDAV.

I suggest to use the Docker image bytemark/webdav

1 Like
4

OK. Here is my progress so far, but I am out of my depth and need some help - substitute $USERNAME with your username

  1. sudo mkdir /Users/$USERNAME/Library/WebServer/joplin
  2. sudo chown $USERNAME:staff /Users/$USERNAME/Library/WebServer/joplin
  3. sudo wfsctl share /Users/$USERNAME/Library/WebServer/joplin
  4. sudo wfsctl start

After that I use webdav in Joplin synch configuration, point to a local mac address: https://192.168.1.16/webdav/joplin and provided my mac's username and password.

I also had to check "Ignore TLS certificate errors" for it to work

Clicking on "Check synchronization configuration" gives me "Success! Synchronisation configuration appears to be correct."

However when I click on synchronize button, I get an error:

Completed: 03/11/2020 10:16
Last error: Error: href /joplin/locks/ not in baseUrl https://192.168.1.16/webdav/joplin nor relativeBaseUrl /webdav/joplin

When I try to use the same on iphone, the error is "Network request failed" - please check that URL, username and password, etc are correct...

What next? I am certain this is solvable.
Is there a way to make iOS version of the app to Ignore TLS certificate errors?

5

Not strictly true. It's included, you have to activate it and set it up via the usual Apache command line tricks. I have my Mac happily set up to use its WebDAV server and Joplin is working fine there. I used these instructions... manas[dot]tungare[dot]name[slash]blog[slash]howto-setup-webdav-on-mac-os-x
surprisingly they still apply on Ventura, on an M1 Mac.

You do need to turn off System Integrity Protection first! (Turn it off after starting WebDAV) Follow these instructions... [protocol]support[dot]intego[dot]com[slash]hc[slash]en-us[slash]articles[slash]115003523252-How-to-Disable-System-Integrity-Protection-SIP-

The problem beyond that might be getting the iphone or ipad to recognise the mDNS address [protocol]computer-name[dot]local[slash]webdav

That's where I'm stuck. I can connect to it in Chrome on my Mac from Joplin, but not from my iPhone running joplin. Probably a folder permissions or login error on my part. If I solve this, I'll report back.