Sync error: Sync server has instance ID which is also local.

[mgrantbro]

Description

I get the error Sync server has instance ID 'XX' which is also local. I checked the sync settings in the (web) client and it's set to my Trilum self hosted. The host is an LXC Debian container and the clients are both web clients using Brave browser on Windows.

TriliumNext Version

.098

What operating system are you using?

Windows

What is your setup?

Local + server sync

Operating System Version

Windows 11 client and Debian server

Error logs

19:04:28.011 Sync failed: 'Sync server has instance ID 'kPQAR9WTdze4' which is also local. This usually happens when the sync client is (mis)configured to sync with itself (URL points back to client) instead of the correct sync server.', stack: Error: Sync server has instance ID 'kPQAR9WTdze4' which is also local. This usually happens when the sync client is (mis)configured to sync with itself (URL points back to client) instead of the correct sync server.
at qXi (/opt/trilium/main.cjs:1634:4028)
at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:105:5)
at async wNr (/opt/trilium/main.cjs:1634:3752)
at async /opt/trilium/main.cjs:1634:3181
at async Object.FCn [as doExclusively] (/opt/trilium/main.cjs:16:3684)
at async rlt (/opt/trilium/main.cjs:1634:3033)
19:05:22.244 Table counts: notes: 550, revisions: 138, attachments: 72, branches: 565, attributes: 837, etapi_tokens: 0, blobs: 339
19:05:22.254 All consistency checks passed with no errors detected (took 10ms)
19:05:22.335 Slow query took 43ms: DELETE FROM sessions WHERE expires < ?
19:05:27.979 200 GET /api/setup/status with 59 bytes took 0ms
19:05:28.001 200 POST /api/login/sync with 55 bytes took 1ms
19:05:28.010 Sync failed: 'Sync server has instance ID 'kPQAR9WTdze4' which is also local. This usually happens when the sync client is (mis)configured to sync with itself (URL points back to client) instead of the correct sync server.', stack: Error: Sync server has instance ID 'kPQAR9WTdze4' which is also local. This usually happens when the sync client is (mis)configured to sync with itself (URL points back to client) instead of the correct sync server.
at qXi (/opt/trilium/main.cjs:1634:4028)
at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:105:5)
at async wNr (/opt/trilium/main.cjs:1634:3752)
at async /opt/trilium/main.cjs:1634:3181
at async Object.FCn [as doExclusively] (/opt/trilium/main.cjs:16:3684)
at async rlt (/opt/trilium/main.cjs:1634:3033)
19:06:05.135 304 GET /api/note-map/_options/backlink-count with 11 bytes took 1ms
19:06:05.138 204 PUT /api/options with 0 bytes took 2ms
19:06:23.398 200 GET /api/note-map/_backendLog/backlink-count with 11 bytes took 1ms
19:06:23.402 204 PUT /api/options with 0 bytes took 0ms

[dosubot[bot]]

Hi @mgrantbro! I'm Dosu and I’m helping the Trilium team.

This error occurs because the sync client is detecting the same instance ID for both the "client" and "server" — which means it's essentially trying to sync with itself.

The key issue here: When you access Trilium via a web browser, you're using a web client that connects directly to the server's database. Web clients don't have their own independent databases or instance IDs — they share the server's. This means sync configuration on a web client doesn't make sense, because there's nothing to sync; you're already working directly with the server's data.

What you should check:

1. If you're only using web clients (Brave browser) to access your self-hosted server, you should not have any sync settings configured. Go to Options → Sync and ensure sync is disabled on the server itself (unless you have another actual sync server).
2. The sync URL in your settings might be pointing to the same Trilium instance it's running on (e.g., localhost or the same IP/domain), causing it to try to sync with itself.

If you want to use sync properly:

• Web clients only: No sync needed — just access your server URL directly
• Desktop + Server sync: Install the desktop Trilium app on Windows, and during setup choose "I have a server instance..." to sync the desktop client with your Debian server. The desktop client will have its own instance ID and sync will work correctly.

Can you confirm whether you intended to configure sync between two separate Trilium instances, or if you're just trying to access your server from multiple browsers?

To reply, just mention @dosu.

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[mgrantbro]

Thank you that makes perfect sense. I appreciate the quick response!

No, I don't intend to sync server-to-server at this time. It's just multiple browsers. Honestly the PWA on android and Windows are everything I need right now.