Kempt Sync Beta

Kempt Sync keeps your notes in sync across your computers. It is a paid add-on, currently in beta, and everything local stays free. Your notes are encrypted on your device before they leave it, so the server can never read them.

Set up sync

1. Open Settings > Account and sign in. Create an account with your email and a password (you will get a confirmation email), or use Continue with Google.
2. Subscribe. Pick a plan; checkout opens in your browser, and payment is handled on the web, never inside the app. Plans differ in storage, device count, and maximum file size.
3. Open Settings > Cloud Sync and set your encryption password. This is a separate password from the one you sign in with, and only you know it.
4. Kempt shows Save your recovery code, a code shaped like XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX. Copy it somewhere safe, then confirm. This step matters more than any other on this page.
5. Click Turn on sync. From here, the Auto sync toggle keeps your computers up to date on its own, and Sync now runs a sync on demand.

Your recovery code

Warning: Zero-knowledge encryption means nobody can reset your encryption password. There is no reset email and no support override. If you lose both the password and the recovery code, the data stored on the server cannot be decrypted, by anyone. Your local files are not affected; only the encrypted copies on the server become unreadable.

Treat the recovery code like a spare house key. Print it, or keep it in a password manager. You will need it if you ever forget your encryption password.

How the encryption works

Your notes are encrypted on your device with a password only you know. What travels to the server, and what sits on it, is ciphertext: scrambled bytes the server cannot read. This is what zero-knowledge means. Kempt stores your data without being able to open it.

The trade-off is real, and it is the reason for the warning above. Because we cannot read your data, we also cannot recover it for you without your password or recovery code.

Add a second computer

1. Install Kempt on the other machine (download).
2. Sign in to the same account.
3. Unlock with your encryption password, or with the recovery code.

Your notes appear once the first sync completes.

Choose what syncs

By default, your whole home folder syncs. In the advanced options you can sync by area: exclude specific workspaces you do not want in the cloud. New workspaces sync by default.

Storage shows how much of your plan you are using. Synced devices lists the computers connected to your account; each plan has a device limit.

First connection safety

When you connect a folder for the first time, Kempt checks before it acts. If the folder belongs to a different account, if the account already syncs another folder, or if local and cloud contain different notes, Kempt stops and asks what you want to do (for example, combine them). Nothing is deleted without your choice.

Files that are too large

Files larger than your plan’s maximum file size are skipped, and Kempt reports it: “Some files weren’t synced.” Everything else syncs normally.

Your local files come first

Sync mirrors your local files; it does not replace them. Your home folder on disk remains the source of truth, and a plain copy of that folder is still a full backup, with or without sync. See Your data.

What beta means

The sync engine is young. It works, and we are still hardening it in the open. Two practical requests while the beta badge is on:

• Keep your normal backups. A copy of your home folder costs nothing.
• If anything looks odd (a conflict you did not expect, a file that did not arrive), tell us on Discord or write to hello@kempt.md.

Everything local in Kempt keeps working without sync, offline, for free. Sync is there when you want your computers to agree.