Offline & sync
mdedit.ai saves your work locally first, then syncs to the cloud when cloud sync is enabled and the browser is online. The status icon in the editor tells you which part of that flow you are in.
Quick checklist
- Confirm you’re signed in and the document is in a workspace. Scratchpad content is local-only.
- Check whether Sync Articles is enabled in editor settings.
- Check your connection if you see Offline.
- Keep the tab open for a few seconds after typing so background sync can run.
What the sync status means
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Local | Cloud sync is off. Changes are saved in this browser only. | Turn on Sync Articles if you want cloud backup or access from another device. |
| Offline | The browser is offline. Changes are saved locally and can sync after reconnecting. | Keep the tab open, reconnect, then wait a few seconds for sync. |
| Saved | Your latest changes are saved locally and queued for sync. | Keep the tab open briefly. Refresh another device or tab after sync completes. |
| Conflict | mdedit.ai found different local and server versions. | Open the conflict prompt and choose Keep Mine, Use Server, or Apply Manual Merge. |
| Sync Limit | This document hit the cloud sync limit. | Click the status icon for details. You can keep editing locally while deciding what to sync. See Plans & limits. |
“My edits are saved locally but not synced”
Try these in order:
- Keep the editor tab open for ~10 seconds (sync runs in the background).
- Make sure you’re online and Sync Articles is enabled.
- If another tab or device looks stale, refresh that tab or device after the status returns to synced.
If the status still shows Saved, Offline, or a sync error after a couple minutes online, collect:
- the document title
- approximate time of the edit
- your browser + OS
and send it to support: mdedit.ai/contact (opens in a new tab).
Sync Articles off / local-only mode
When the Sync Articles setting is off, mdedit.ai stores documents locally in your browser. This is useful when you want browser-only storage, but it has important limits:
- local-only documents do not sync to other devices
- local-only documents are not backed up to the cloud
- clearing browser cache, site data, or local storage can remove locally stored documents
The app shows this warning in-product and offers an Enable action to turn cloud sync back on. If you plan to write for a long time offline or in local-only mode, consider the Desktop App, which is better suited for long sessions and offline-heavy work.
In the desktop app, non-collaborative documents can also be stored as normal Markdown files. Those files remain readable while offline, and pending cloud work can resume after reconnecting. See Local Markdown files.
“I see a conflict”
A conflict means the version saved in your browser and the version on the server both changed. mdedit.ai does not silently overwrite one with the other. Use the conflict dialog to:
- Keep Mine to keep the local browser version and queue it for sync
- Use Server to accept the server version
- Apply Manual Merge to edit the merged content yourself before saving
If you are unsure, copy the important text out before resolving the conflict.
“Another tab is view-only”
If the same document is open in multiple tabs or windows, mdedit.ai protects the document from silent concurrent editing. The extra tab shows a view-only banner:
- continue editing in the original tab, or
- choose Take over editing in the view-only tab if you want that tab to become the editor
The remaining limitation is that the view-only tab may need a refresh to show the latest synced server version after another tab finishes editing.
“I lost content after closing the tab”
mdedit.ai saves locally first, then syncs. If sync is enabled, the safest habit is to wait for the status to finish moving from local save to synced before closing a tab after a large paste or edit.
- After large edits, wait a few seconds before closing.
- If you are using local-only mode, avoid clearing browser cache or site data.
- If you’re in a flaky network environment, prefer the Desktop App for long sessions: Desktop App overview.