How to Fix Joplin Notes Being Deleted During Sync

A third-party plugin is the most common reason Joplin wipes text during sync instead of making a conflict note. Turn off every plugin that isn't marked Recommended, then switch them back on one by one until you find the one that causes it.

The problem is hard to spot because it doesn't happen every time. It usually shows up when you edit the same note on two devices, like your phone and your computer, and sync between them. Plugins only run in the desktop app, so do the steps below there.

How to find the plugin that deletes your notes

1. Open the plugin list. In Joplin desktop, go to Tools > Options > Plugins. On a Mac it's Joplin > Settings > Plugins.
2. Write down your enabled plugins. Copy the name of every plugin that's switched on. You need this list to turn them back on later.
3. Disable the non-recommended plugins. Switch off every plugin that doesn't show the Recommended badge. Leave the recommended ones on.
4. Restart Joplin. Close the app fully and open it again so the disabled plugins stop running.
5. Sync and use Joplin as normal. Sync all your devices and keep working. Check the notes you edit on more than one device to see if they keep their text.
6. Turn plugins back on one at a time. Switch one plugin on and use Joplin for a while before you turn on the next. The bug doesn't show up every day, so give each plugin days or weeks, not minutes.
7. Remove the plugin that brings the problem back. When text starts vanishing again, the plugin you turned on last is the likely cause. Uninstall it from the same Plugins screen.

This takes patience. Some people need months to narrow it down, but once the bad plugin is gone, the deletions stop.

Turn on automatic backups

Set up backups before you do anything else, so a lost note is a five-minute restore and not a disaster.

1. Go to Tools > Options > Plugins, search for Backup and install it.
2. Open the new Backup section in Options.
3. Set the backup path. A folder inside Dropbox or another cloud drive gives you an off-device copy.
4. Set it to back up every day and keep at least three days of backups. Keep more if you have the space.

When a sync eats a note, open the backup folder, find the note from before it changed and copy the text back.

Install the Conflict Resolution plugin

Joplin's built-in conflict handling just drops one version into the Conflicts notebook. The Conflict Resolution plugin shows both versions side by side so you can merge them instead of losing either one.

Install it from Tools > Options > Plugins by searching for Conflict Resolution. Next time a conflict note shows up, open it and use the plugin to pick which changes to keep.

Sync by hand after every edit

If you switch between your phone and computer a lot, press Synchronise as soon as you finish editing a note. On desktop it's the button at the bottom of the sidebar. On mobile it's in the side menu.

Auto sync only runs every few minutes. If you open the same note on the other device before that, you edit an old copy, and the next sync can overwrite your newer text. A manual sync puts the latest version on the server right away.

Track your edits so nothing disappears unnoticed

If you want proof that nothing is going missing, set up a few plugins that log what changes:

1. Install Note History and check it after you edit a note. It shows each saved version, so you can see if Joplin recorded your change.
2. Install Note Tabs and turn on the option to automatically pin edited notes. Your edited notes then sit in tabs in the order you touched them.
3. Install Overview Notes and create overview notes that list everything created or edited in the last 5 minutes, 20 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day and 4 days.

Glance at these after a sync. If a note you edited is missing its text, you catch it right away and can restore it from a backup.

FAQ

Why does Joplin delete text instead of making a conflict note? When two devices edit the same note, Joplin should keep both versions and put one in Conflicts. If text vanishes instead, a third-party plugin that changes notes in the background is the usual cause. A device syncing with an old copy of the note can also overwrite newer text.

How many backups should I keep while I track this down? Keep at least three days of daily backups, and more if your disk has room. Text that vanished on Monday might only get noticed on Wednesday, so one backup isn't enough.