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Sync with a server

Tabverse is local first. On its own it needs no account and no network: every tabverse, note, todo and bookmark lives in this browser's own database.

If you want the same workspace on more than one browser, you can pair Tabverse with a sync server. The server is tabversed, an open source Go program you run yourself; the extension talks to exactly the address you type, and to nothing else. See Self-host a server to run one.

What syncs​

  • tabverses, with their tabs, tab groups and split views
  • notes, todos and bookmarks
  • history (closed tabs)
  • the periodic session snapshots older clients wrote (pruned by retention)

Pairing a device​

The sync settings are in Settings ▸ Sync (the Sync button at the bottom left). Once a device is paired, the Status tab shows the server, the device and account ids, and when it last synced, with Sync now, Upload local data and Disconnect:

Settings ▸ Sync ▸ Status

The Setup tab has the two ways to pair.

Tabverse official server - the server the project runs. Sign in with your email (or Google), name the device and approve it; there is no code to copy.

Settings ▸ Sync ▸ Setup: the official server

Custom server - a tabversed you run yourself. Paste its URL and a single-use pairing code minted in its console (see Self-host a server).

Settings ▸ Sync ▸ Setup: a custom server

Each browser pairs once and receives its own device token, which is the only credential that reaches the account's data. A device can be unpaired from the server at any time, and Disconnect stops the sync on this side.

Accounts and the console​

A device is paired; it is not a login. The server also has a small web console, where you sign in to see and manage the account:

  • the paired devices and their tokens, and revoke a lost one
  • the stored data - tabverses, records and search - read only
  • (operators) the directory of accounts on the server

Sign-in is a single-use link emailed to you, or GitHub / Google if the operator of that server configured it; the first time, that leads to a Create your account page before the account exists. There is no master token or shared password: the person who runs the server is an ordinary account, and everything done in the console is recorded. See the Server Console.

Privacy​

The server stores what it must to index and serve your data, in plain text on its disk, so that server-side search can find it; put it on an encrypted volume for more. Session snapshots are pruned after 14 days by default (TABVERSED_RETENTION_DAYS, 0 keeps them forever). Disconnecting a device stops the sync, and the local copy is untouched.

Nothing is ever sent to a third party, and nothing leaves for any host but the server address you entered. The full posture is in the privacy policy.

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