Some questions on synchronization

Help
1

What do you need help with?

Hello,

My remote space it almost full, and I’m starting to think to migrate to a local-only solution. However, I have a few questions about it.

  • Although it is local-only, can I store the folder in a cloud folder on my pc?
  • I have a MacBook and and iPhone. I know that I can still keep them synced using P2P. Is it the only way? how does it work? Do they just need to be under the same network?
  • What if I’m offline and I want to sync them? Can I make an hotspot in the iPhone and connect the MacBook there?

Also

  • What are the advantages of using a self-hosted compared to local-only? A compared to AnySync?

OS

MacOS Sequoia 15.6.1

Anytype Version

0.49.2

Network Mode

AnySync

Technical Information

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2

There is no benefit of a local only mode over a synced version. Even if you storage is full - you could continue syncing your objects over our network. You would be able to add more files and synced them over local network. Any could folder like Dropbox would not help - you risk to loose data in this case. If our plans are too expensive and you have some free time, you can run self-hosted network and sync everything for free.

3

Thank you for the explanation.

So, if I understood correctly, when I fill the entire remote space, my existing files remain there, while new files will be synced using P2P as for the local-only mode. Is that correct?

Also, what are the conditions to have the P2P sync working? Is a usual house wifi enough? Can I sync them by connecting the MacBook to the iPhone hotspot? Will it work on a public wifi such as an airport wifi?

4

Hi, could you shed some light on this please? I’m curious why putting the Anytype data folder in a drive would cause data lost?

I heard people doing this for Obsidian without any problem

5

Obsidian works with Dropbox because it stores unencrypted markdown files that don’t need real-time collaboration — if a conflict happens, you just get duplicate files. Anytype, on the other hand, uses an encrypted graph of operations (a DAG). To stay consistent across devices, this structure needs a sync protocol that understands it. Dropbox only copies files blindly, which can break the graph and cause data loss. That’s why Anytype requires Any-Sync.

6

Correct — if your remote space is full, your existing files remain there, and new updates will sync peer-to-peer.

For P2P sync, the probability of it working is high in most everyday setups:

  • Home Wi-Fi: very high probability

  • Mobile hotspot (Mac ↔ iPhone): very high probability

  • Public Wi-Fi (e.g. airports, cafés): medium probability — usually works, but some networks block direct device-to-device connections.

If P2P fails due to network restrictions, Anytype will try to fall back to the remote node (if space is available).

7

Thank you. Now everything is very clear.

Last question: what happens to shared projects if my space is full? I guess that new files will not be available anymore to be shared, right?