SempereGetting started
Where to keep your vault
Every vault lives in the app on each device. Sync targets carry it to your other devices; backups protect it.
Each device keeps a complete copy of the vault inside the app. Notes open and save with no connection.
To use the vault on more than one device, give it a sync target: a shared <Name>.sempere folder or a WebDAV server that Sempere keeps in step both ways. Other devices open the target and join by approval. The files there are already encrypted, so whoever stores them holds ciphertext they cannot read.
| Sync target | Reaches | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| None | Nothing: the vault exists on this device only | One device, or trying Sempere out (with backups) |
| A folder in iCloud Drive | Your Apple devices on one Apple Account | iPad, iPhone and Mac |
| Another folder (another provider in Files, a USB drive, a network share) | Whatever can reach that folder | A NAS share, another sync service |
| A WebDAV server | Any device that can reach the server | No iCloud, a NAS or server you run |
A vault can have several targets, for example iCloud Drive and a NAS; a device that syncs with both carries changes from one to the other.
Adding a target
- When you create the vault: Sync With ▸ Choose Folder… in the New Vault sheet.
- Later: Sync Targets… (in the sidebar’s More menu, the sync bar’s menu, or File ▸ Sync Targets… on the Mac), then Add Folder… or Add WebDAV Server….
A folder you pick gets the vault inside it as <name>.sempere, unless it already is that vault. A WebDAV server folder must be empty, new, or already hold this vault. Adding a target to a vault that has notes copies what either side lacks and deletes nothing. Remove forgets a target; nothing in the folder or on the server is deleted.
iCloud Drive
Pick a folder inside iCloud Drive (make one called Sempere, for example). iCloud copies the files to your other devices, and their Sempere syncs with the folder. See How sync works and the tutorial iPad and Mac through iCloud Drive.
If iCloud Drive does not appear in the folder picker, tap Don’t see iCloud Drive? on the welcome screen or in the New Vault sheet.
A NAS share or another folder
Anything the Files app (or the Finder) reaches works: an SMB share added with Connect to Server, a folder of another sync provider, a USB drive. While the folder cannot be reached, changes wait on the device and sync when it is back (Sync Now reconnects a share).
WebDAV
A WebDAV server, such as a NAS, Nextcloud or a small server you run, works without iCloud and away from home. Use Add WebDAV Server… to put a vault there, and Open from WebDAV… on your other devices. The address must be https://, the password stays in each device’s Keychain, and a self-signed certificate works only after you trust its fingerprint. Details: WebDAV and NAS setups; step by step: A vault on a NAS over WebDAV.
Opening a vault from somewhere else
Open Vault… copies a vault folder into the app. Keep syncing with this folder makes a .sempere folder a sync target of the copy; it is on by default for iCloud Drive and other providers, and off for a local folder. Off, it is a one-time copy and the folder is never written.
A device that opens a vault has no key for it yet. It joins: see Add a second device.
Backups
A backup is a <Name>.sempere-backup snapshot for recovery. Choose Back Up To when you create the vault, or Settings ▸ Backups & History ▸ Backups. Nothing syncs from a backup, and it is never a sync target; devices share a vault through sync targets. Open Vault… on a backup makes a separate, one-time copy. See Backup strategy.
Space on the device
Each device holds the whole vault, attachments included. Settings ▸ Backups & History ▸ Storage shows how much, and This Vault and Its Sync Targets shows each target’s state.
With the CLI
The CLI works with any vault folder. It can sync one two ways with a WebDAV folder (sempere sync webdav) or another folder (sempere sync folder), and manage vaults and targets like the app (sempere store). See WebDAV and NAS setups.