Files and vaults

File tree

The Files view in the left dock shows the vault’s folders and files. You can filter it, collapse all folders, drag files and folders to move them, and use the context menu to rename, delete, open in a new tab, open to the right or reveal in Finder.

New notes are created in the vault folder or in the current note’s folder, depending on Default location for new notes (Settings → Files and links).

Deleting

Delete moves the file to the macOS Trash, so it can be restored from there. By default Synapse asks first; turn off Confirm file deletion to skip the question.

Switching vaults

Use Switch vault at the top of the left dock, or Manage vaults… to open the starter screen. To leave the vault and go back to the starter screen, where you can create or open another one, choose Close vault in the same menu, in File → Close Vault, on an empty tab, or press ⇧⌘W (from version 1.3.1). Unsaved notes and the workspace are saved before switching. Your global preferences stay the same in every vault.

What Synapse writes

Location	Contents
Your notes	only the notes and attachments you create or edit
<vault>/.synapse/settings.json	this vault’s overrides, graph settings, attachment folder
<vault>/.synapse/workspace.json	open tabs, panes and recent notes
~/Library/Application Support/Synapse/	global preferences, recent vaults, window size

Every file operation is confined to the open vault. Synapse never modifies .obsidian/.