Sync & Storage

Noust prioritizes data sovereignty. Your notes are yours, and you decide where they go.

Export & Import

Take your data with you in a standard format.

• Export: Generates a .npad binary package containing all notes, sections, settings, and environment variables. This format is highly optimized and supports embedded binary assets (like images). We recommend encrypting the file during export for maximum security.
• Import: Restore your workspace from a previously exported .npad or legacy .json file.
• Note: Importing will overwrite your current active session.

Storage Architecture

Noust uses a tiered approach to local persistence to ensure maximum reliability and performance.

1. Primary (IndexedDB): Our main storage engine. It supports large datasets and binary blobs, enabling Local Encryption (At-Rest).
2. Fallback (LocalStorage): Used as a fail-safe only if the browser blocks IndexedDB access. Note: Local Encryption is not available in fallback mode due to storage limits.

Cloud Synchronization

Our cloud synchronization is built on a Zero-Knowledge Architecture. This means we provide the storage, but we never see the data.

How it Works

1. Binary Packing: Your workspace data and assets are packed into a .npad binary envelope to minimize data footprint and eliminate Base64 overhead.
2. Local Encryption: Data is encrypted in your browser using AES-256-GCM.
3. Encrypted Blob: Only the encrypted "blob" is sent to our servers.
4. Key Retention: The keys (your password and optional salt) never leave your device.
5. Desynchronize: Collaborators or owners can desynchronize a shared document at any time. This severs the cloud link while preserving a fully accessible private copy in your local workspace.

Cloud Document Actions

• Save (formerly "Update"): Sends and saves your local document changes to the cloud. If you are creating a new document for the first time, this action is labeled Send.
• Sync (formerly "Auto-Sync"): Toggles automated background synchronization for the active document.

Update Detection & Visual Indicators

Noust continuously verifies document freshness across your devices. Checks occur both manually (clicking Refresh in the document list or opening the Cloud Sync panel) and automatically (e.g., upon network reconnection, resuming after system sleep, or returning after an extended idle period).

When a newer version of your document is detected on the cloud, Noust alerts you in 3 distinct UI locations:

1. Global Header Icon: The Sync icon in the main app toolbar displays an update notification badge.
2. Document List Badge: A hollow indicator dot appears next to the document item in My Docs or Shared with Me.
3. Cloud Form Notice: An "Updates Available" action button appears inside the active Cloud Management panel.

Intelligent 3-Way Line Merge & Conflict Protection

When pulling updates from another device, Noust performs an automated 3-way line-level merge across notes, sections, objectives, and topology metadata:

• Conflict Prevention: To protect you from accidentally overwriting changes made on another device, Noust blocks manual Save operations whenever remote updates or unresolved conflicts are detected. You must pull and resolve the latest remote changes before pushing local updates.
• Granular Conflict Resolution: If changes collide on the exact same line, Noust opens an interactive conflict resolution modal allowing you to select line-by-line which version (Local vs. Cloud) to preserve.

Auto-Update (Paid Subscription Tier)

Users on paid subscription tiers gain access to Auto-Update, which automates background synchronization without interrupting your workflow:

• Automated Pull & Merge: When a remote update is detected and no structural conflicts exist, Noust automatically pulls and merges the remote version in the background.
• Security & Password Verification: Auto-Update executes seamlessly provided Sync is enabled and your local session is decrypted using the same security password as the incoming cloud document.
• Typing Idle Safety: To prevent typing collisions or cursor jumps while you write, Auto-Update waits for a brief period of editor typing inactivity before applying the background merge.
• Non-Intrusive Notifications: A subtle toast notification confirms when a background auto-update has completed successfully.
• Blocking Merge Fallback: If an unresolvable structural merge conflict occurs during an automated update, Noust safely pauses automatic merging to protect your data, flags the document with an update notice, and prompts you to resolve the conflict manually.

Interface Tip

The Sync icon in the global toolbar turns Green when cloud synchronization is active and connected.

Decryption Requirements

To restore your data from another device, you must provide:

• Your Encryption Password.
• Your Custom Salt (if used).

Important

There is no mechanism to recover your data if you lose your password or salt. We do not store them, and we cannot reset them for you.

Collaboration & Shared Documents

Noust allows you to share specific cloud documents with other users.

• Selective Sharing: Share only the documents you choose.
• Discovery Protection (Nickname Basis): Sharing is intentionally restricted to exact nicknames only. We strictly avoid searchable emails or public user lists to ensure that your presence on Noust is never discoverable or "enumerable" by third parties.
• Read-Only Enforced: Shared documents are enforced as read-only at the database level. (Note: Shared access is currently read-only only).
• Revoke Access: As the document owner, you can revoke a collaborator's access at any time from the sharing menu.

Security Auditing (Advanced Tier)

Advanced Tier users gain access to a transparent, privacy-focused audit trail.

• Access Logs: Track your own critical events (Sign-ins, Data Pushe, Deletions).
• Privacy Protection: Logs identify the device family/Operating System and action type, but never expose your public IP address in the user-facing interface.
• Verification: Use these logs to monitor for unauthorized access across your devices.

Account Management & Deletion

Noust provides a secure end-of-life process for your data.

• Soft Delete: When you request account deletion, access is immediately suspended, but data is retained for a 30-day grace period for recovery before irreversible purging.
• Confirmation Mechanism: To prevent accidental loss, deletion requires a deliberate string-match confirmation ({nickname}_delete).
• Data Sovereignty: After 30 days, your identity is purged, though some metadata may be retained for up to 6 months in encrypted technical logs for legal compliance (LGPD/GDPR) before absolute permanent deletion.