Conflicts

Because notes are plain files, something else can change them while Shady Notes has them open — a sync client, another editor, a script. Shady Notes watches the vault and notices.

What it does

You choose, in Preferences → Vault:

Mode	Behaviour
Silent	Keep your version, say nothing
Notify	Keep your version, show a toast
Always ask	Stop and let you decide

Notify is the sensible default: nothing is lost without telling you, but you are not interrupted mid-sentence.

When the file changed but you didn’t

If the note has no unsaved changes of yours, the new content is simply loaded. That is not a conflict — it is the point of using plain files.

When both changed

Screenshot conflict-diff.png

The conflict diff window showing your version and the external version side by side.

Shady Notes attempts a three-way merge using the common ancestor. Edits in different parts of the note usually merge cleanly with no prompt.

When they overlap, the conflict window opens with both versions side by side and you pick. Nothing is overwritten until you do.

Reducing conflicts

• Close notes you aren’t using — a note that isn’t open cannot conflict
• Let a sync finish before editing on the other machine
• Turn on revision history: even a bad merge is recoverable if every version was recorded