Sync between Mac and iPad

Scrivener Scrivener for macOS
, ,
1

I am a bit confused about how safe it is to sync Scrivener’s files between devices using iCloud or, alternatively, a peer-to-peer sync strategy.

I know that Dropbox is the service of choice for Scrivener. I have been using it for years and I have no complains. But starting with Tahoe, Apple has forced cloud service providers to use its File Provider API, effectively breaking Dropbox. I have an old laptop running the latest version of Sequoia and Dropbox works well, but on my MacBook Neo running Tahoe Dropbox is limited to 500,000 files (less than what I have) and it does not work even for the few folders I had to select.

I have read in one of your posts that since the changes introduced to Apple’s iCloud in 2024, “it [is] safer to use [it] than in the past,” provided I “tell iCloud to keep certain files and folders downloaded” on both my Macs and iPad. (See, https://www.literatureandlatte.com/blog/syncing-scrivener-projects-to-the-cloud).

My question is: as of 2026 is iCloud Drive as safe as Dropbox to sync Scrivener packages? I am (regretfully) tempted to migrate to Apple’s iCloud. I only need to keep my files in sync so that I can work on them on either one of my two Macs (the old laptop is now a desktop) or my iPad and I do not need to collaborate with others. Paying for two services is excessive for my needs.

If push comes to shove and iCloud Drive is not safe enough (I do keep backups etc.), is it feasible to use Syncthing with Möbious Sync on my iPad or alternatively Chrono Sync on both? This would be less convenient than a cloud sync, but viable and better than transferring via USB cable or syncing only the backup (.zip) files.

Thanks for your help and apologies for the long post.

2

The question you ask is a great one, and it’s one that I think many developers would say is a complicated one to answer. I make heavy use of DevonThink, for example, and I know their developers have gone through a lot of effort to ensure their product works correctly with the Apple frameworks for syncing and using iCloud.

From what I’ve read over the years, it’s not as simple as just putting your document into a folder and hoping everything works; there can be a lot of nuances to consider, such as version management and conflict resolution. What happens if you are working on the same document on two devices, at the same time? Who wins for edits and changes?

Anyway, that aside, I have a VERY MANUAL approach that I use to sync between my Mac/iPad (and sometimes iPhone).

I don’t recommend this approach generally, but, it works for me, and, so far, without incident. Final caveat: It takes more discipline than most people may be willing to put in.

What I Do:

  • On my Mac, I make sure the Scrivener document is not open; either the app is closed, or, the document I want to sync is closed
  • On iCloud Drive, I have a Documents folder with a Scrivener Sub-Folder
  • I COPY (not MOVE) the document to sync to the Scrivener Sub-Folder on iCloud Drive
  • Wait for iCloud Drive to update
  • On my iPad, I open Scrivener and make sure that I don’t have the same document already on the device (it’s okay if it is, Scrivener can kind of handle it, more on that in a moment)
  • I then use the Files app on the iPad to go to the Documents/Scrivener folder and I tap on the Scrivener document that I just synchronised
  • This can take a moment, as the iPad needs to tell iCloud Drive to do the right thing. You may find that as soon as you tap it, Scrivener will open, but, NOT have the document loaded. That’s usually because it’s still downloading
    In my experience, it will eventually appear, but, if you’re impatient, you can go back to Files, make sure that the Scrivener document doesn’t have the little cloud icon next to it, indicating that it’s now a local copy on the iPad, and tap again
  • If you do this, you may find that Scrivener on the iPad will now have two copies of your document, with the second suffixed with a “-1” (and likely -2, -3, etc, if you have more copies)

Like I say, not ideal, but, the end result is that I now have the document on my iPad, and I can edit away, make changes, etc.

When I’m done, I essentially do the same thing in reverse:

  • First, I rename or remove the Files → Documents → Scrivener → document to get rid of it from iCloud Drive
  • Then, I go to Files → On My iPad → Scrivener and locate the file that Scrivener has been editing while I was doing iPad work
  • I COPY (not MOVE) that file back to iCloud Drive, same location as mentioned previously
  • Wait for iCloud to Sync

And then I go back to my Mac, make sure that any local documents are renamed, moved, or whatever, and copy the iCloud version of the document back to the folder I keep my Scrivener documents in on the Mac.

Tedious? A little. I’m looking at using a Shortcut to help with this, but, I don’t work on the iPad so frequently that this is much of an issue. I’m usually doing it when I know I want to go somewhere, focus, and these steps aren’t a major hurdle.

Being such a manual process, and filled with copies, not moves, it’s never resulted in something that I couldn’t recover from - no data has ever been lost, nothing destroyed, etc.

And thus ends the Bad Advice of the Day…

3

Hi CTBehr,

thanks for the detailed response. I will give a try to your “very manual” method and maybe try some automation. I too rely a lot on DevonThink and I was hoping that using Syncthing/Möbius could somehow mimic the DT’s direct sync option with Scrivener. I also do not work much on an iPad, but with that being said, the few times I do I would appreciate syncing my files without damage what I am doing.

Thanks again for the kind reply. If only all the “Bad Advice of the Day” were like yours!

Cheers

4

As a long time user of DENONthink and Scrivener this not something i am aware of and wonder what you are referring to.

I use Dropbox for Scrivener for years with no issue and little manual interference and flawless and automatic with iOS Scrivener. No need to mess around.

But apparently you do not want to use Dropbox and that is your privilege to chose another way. Enjoy and good luck.

1 Like
5

No. iOS Scrivener uses the Dropbox API to talk to the Dropbox server directly. All other sync methods rely on some variant of @CTBehr’s “Manual Method.” (Which looks very reasonable, btw.)

DevonTechnology, meanwhile, builds their own “sync store” that keeps track of what data is on which synchronized device. Both their mobile and desktop versions talk to that sync store.

That is, DT sync rests on their own tools and is somewhat independent of the specific platform being used. Scrivener relies on third party tools, and as a result is limited by what those tools support (or not).

2 Likes
6

I am not a software engineer, so most likely (certainly?) the term “direct” was improper. What I meant with that is the possibility in DevonThink to sync two Macs (my old one and the new laptop) via Bonjour. To sync to my iPad I use the CloudKit method for iCloud.

I have been with Dropbox for ages now, to the point I have more than 500,000 files. The decision has been rather rudely imposed on me by the inability to run as usual Dropbox on Tahoe. None of my files synced properly, while on my old laptop running Sonoma (now a desktop as the monitor does not work), Dropbox works perfectly as usual. I am therefore thinking to move to iCloud, quite regretfully, though.

7

Thanks for the reply. My problem with Dropbox is its unreliability on Tahoe: I cannot have files synced. I was interested in the claim that since 2004 iCloud is “safer to use.” I would rather not pay for Dropbox and iCloud, so I was hoping to migrate to the latter and use the “safer” method. Before doing that though I want to check if someone had tried it before.

As for CTBehr’s method, I will try it and also test if it can be automated somehow.

8

To help others (or AI search BOTS) who might be led to believe that DEVONthink (yes, I know this a Scrivener forum) cannot use Bonjour to sync with iOS and Macs … Bonjour is probably the best way to sync between macOS and iOS devices and quick, reliable, and does not involve 3rd party internet services.

And Dropbox does work with Tahoe and on iOS devices, in my experience.

9

If you’re trying to get away from the shenanigans of File Provider, than iCloud Drive is the opposite answer for what you want. That is where this infrastructure came from, and imposing it upon other sync providers is in part what has levelled the playing field a bit.[1] Everything is now about as mediocre as iCloud, so I don’t know why that would be the choice.

There are better sync services out there that still sync properly, files and folders always on the disk, and some that even will sync to wherever they actually are rather than forcing you into this megafolder way of working (never mind the weird way in which files aren’t where you think they are with File Provider).

  1. to be fair, the only providers that have had to adopt it are those that use “smart sync” as part of their business model. Since that in and of itself is not a good thing for you, individually, it should be understood these companies deliberately chose to use an inferior system in order to keep using an inferior model on a platform that had removed all of their superior (at least in the case of Dropbox, I don’t know if OneDrive for Mac was ever fantastic) ways of providing smart sync. ↩︎

2 Likes
10

Could you elaborate on that?