Sync, offline and conflicts
How your library stays in step across the web, desktop and mobile apps, what the save icon means, what happens offline, and how Studio handles the same file changed in two places.
Studio saves as you type. With a Studio account, your library lives in the cloud and every app you sign in to shows the same projects and files. Changes made in one place appear in the others, usually within moments.
| App | How it saves | Offline |
|---|---|---|
| Web | Straight to your account as you type. | Needs a connection. If it drops, the save icon turns to a crossed-out cloud. Keep the page open: once you're back online, your next edit saves everything since. |
| Mobile | Straight to your account as you type. | Needs a connection. A red You're offline bar appears. Stay on the page: once you're back online, your next edit (or leaving the file) saves your changes. |
| Desktop, local mode | To your computer. | Always works. No account involved. |
| Desktop, synced | To your computer first, then to your account. | Works fully offline. Changes wait on your computer and sync when you're back. |
Sync between apps needs Studio Premium (or the free trial). On the Free plan the web and mobile apps share your text files and Scratch Pad through your account, and the desktop app keeps its own library on your computer.
The save icon
The small icon in the header tells you where your work stands. Hover it for details.
| Icon | Means |
|---|---|
| Cloud with a check | Saved. The tooltip says when. |
| Cloud with an arrow, Syncing… | Desktop: changes are going up to your account. |
| N saved locally | Desktop: changes saved on your computer, waiting to sync. |
| Crossed-out cloud, Last synced … | Desktop, offline: when your library last synced. Changes keep saving on your computer. |
| Crossed-out cloud | You're offline. On the desktop app your changes are safe on your computer and will sync; on the web, reconnect soon. |
| Cloud with a warning | Studio is having trouble reaching the server. Your work may not be saving: copy anything important and check your connection. |
| N couldn't sync | Desktop: your account refused some changes. They stay on your computer as you made them until you deal with them. Click it to open Account › Sync, which lists each change under Couldn't sync with the reason. Retry sends it again. Discard asks first, then stops sending it for good, so your account and other devices never get that change, and your computer goes back to your account's version. If a change keeps coming back, contact support. |
| On this computer | Desktop local mode: everything is saved on this computer. Click it for sync options. |
Working offline on the desktop
When the desktop app is synced, you can lose your connection and keep going: every tool works and everything saves on your computer. Account › Sync shows how many changes are Waiting to sync; they go up as soon as you're back online. Files you made offline sync too.
When the same file changed in two places
Studio never quietly throws away writing. What happens depends on where the two changes came from:
- Studio and your BYOK. If a file was edited on the device and in Studio since the last sync, Studio shows File Conflict Detected with the Server Version and the Device Version. Choose Keep Server Version, Keep Device Version or Keep Both. See Wi-Fi sync.
- Two Studio apps. If the desktop app was offline while the same file was changed elsewhere, the version already in your account stays, and your offline edits are saved beside it as a conflicted copy. Compare the two and keep what you want.
- Bringing writing in from the card. The Studio file is never overwritten; the device's version arrives beside it with (from device) in its name.
And every file's version history keeps earlier versions, including one saved before each sync from your BYOK.
Signing in on a new device
- Web: sign in at app.byok.io and your library is there.
- Mobile: sign in and it downloads as you open projects.
- Desktop: sign in from the account menu. With Premium, Studio copies your library to the computer so it works offline (a banner shows progress), and adopts any local library already there. See The desktop app.
Still stuck?
Send us a note from Contact Support, or choose Report Bug in Studio’s account menu so your app version comes along with it. For the device itself, see the BYOK device manual.