Sync and working offline
Ensō is offline-first. Every device you sign in on keeps a complete copy of your data, so the app opens and works instantly whether or not you have a connection. Sync happens in the background.
How sync works
Section titled “How sync works”- Each device — the web app included — stores a full local copy of your tasks, events, notes, projects and reading list.
- While you are online, every device checks in with the server about every 15 seconds, sending its own changes and picking up everyone else’s. An edit on your phone shows up on your desktop within a sync cycle or two.
- Nothing waits for the network. You edit locally, immediately; the upload happens afterwards.
Working offline
Section titled “Working offline”Lose your connection and nothing changes in the app: you can keep adding, editing and deleting. Your changes queue on the device and are sent the next time a sync succeeds. Items from other devices arrive then too.
The web app works offline as well: once you have opened https://app.ensoapp.io and signed in, it keeps working without a connection, including as a home-screen app on a phone.
Two things do need a connection: signing in for the first time on a new device (your data has to be downloaded once), and features that live on the server, such as export and import, email that is not stored on the device, and billing.
When two devices change the same thing
Section titled “When two devices change the same thing”Conflicts are resolved the same way on every device, so all your copies end up identical:
- Edits merge field by field. If you rename a task on one device and change its due date on another, you get both. If both devices change the same field, the most recent edit wins.
- Deletes propagate. Deleting an item anywhere deletes it everywhere, including anything inside it.
- Items created offline on different devices never collide.
The status pip
Section titled “The status pip”The bottom of the left rail shows a colored dot with a label. Hover it for details.
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Idle (green) | Everything is synced |
| Syncing (amber) | A sync is in progress |
| Offline (grey) | No connection; changes are queued on this device |
| Warning (orange) | Sync is working but reported something worth a look — hover for details |
| Error (red) | The last sync failed — hover for details |
| Signed out (red) | Your session has ended; sign in again |
| Verify your email (orange) | Confirm your email address to sync |
| Subscribe to sync (orange) | Your trial or subscription has ended — see Billing |
| Storage full (red) | Your server storage is at its limit — see Your data |
| Security check failed (red) | The app could not verify the server’s responses and has stopped syncing — hover for details |
In every paused state your local data stays intact and editable; sync resumes on its own once the cause is fixed.
Multi-device expectations
Section titled “Multi-device expectations”- Vaults sync encrypted and must be unlocked on each device separately — see Vaults.
- Per-device settings such as the split-view layout, which list is selected, and the view filter are not synced.
- Deleting your account signs out every device; anything those devices had not yet synced is lost.
- Sign in on as many devices as you like — the Two devices tutorial walks through it.