iCloud Sync

Sync your saved library between Macs using your iCloud account.

Enable sync

Open Settings → iCloud and enable Sync snippets with iCloud. Your saved local library joins this account’s library after restarting. Resolve any unsaved draft when asked. A fresh library starts empty; File → Add Example Snippets adds starter examples if you want them.

What syncs

Saved snippets, collections, favorites, enabled states, and placeholder mappings sync. Appearance, expansion delay, excluded applications, permissions, clipboard contents, and unsaved drafts stay on each Mac.

Offline and activity

Keep editing your local library while offline. iCloud transfers changes when available, so delivery can take time. Last successful transfer reports an observed import or export; it does not mean every Mac has received the changes. Check iCloud Account refreshes account availability, not the transfer schedule.

Conflicts

CloudKit merges saved edits automatically. Concurrent edits to the same field may overwrite one another. Duplicate keywords pause expansion for all affected snippets until you rename or clear a keyword. You can still copy a valid snippet manually. If a saved snippet changes while you have a draft, saving applies your changed fields while retaining remote changes to untouched fields. A remotely deleted draft can be saved as a new snippet.

Turn off or change accounts

Turning sync off requires a restart and keeps the downloaded library on this Mac without deleting cloud data. An iCloud account change pauses library editing and expansion until restart. Textend preserves a local copy; enabling another account opens a separate library and does not upload the previous account’s snippets. Export a backup if you deliberately want to transfer snippets between accounts.

Backups

Use File → Export Backup for a portable JSON copy. Sync is not a substitute for a backup because deletions also sync. Before the V2 migration, Textend creates a local SQLite backup beside its library.