Markdown notes that sync through your own Google Drive

What actually lands in your Drive

Turning on sync creates a normal, visible ppage-app folder in My Drive — not a hidden application data area you cannot browse. Open it at drive.google.com and this is what is inside:

• pages/ — one Markdown file per note, as plain .md text.
• images/ — the images you pasted into notes, as real image files.
• sync.json — the metadata: note titles, folder structure, timestamps and content hashes.

You can open, download, share or delete any of it without going through PenPage, and Drive's own version history applies to these files like any others. If you stop using PenPage tomorrow, your notes are still sitting in your Drive as Markdown, readable by anything.

PenPage can only see the files it created

The Google authorization uses the drive.file scope. That is the narrow one: it grants an app access only to files that the app itself created. Your documents, spreadsheets, photos and shared folders are not something PenPage promises not to look at — the permission to read them is never granted in the first place. Google states the scope on the consent screen, so you can check rather than take our word for it.

The honest trade-off: because the scope is that narrow, PenPage also cannot pick up a Markdown file you drop into the folder by hand. Bring existing notes in through import instead; once imported, they sync like everything else.

How the sync actually works

Sync is built around one metadata file rather than a per-note conversation with the Drive API, which is what keeps it quiet enough to run on a phone connection.

• Nothing changed costs one request. PenPage checks sync.json by its modified time. If it has not moved, the sync ends there.
• Changed notes only. Every note carries a content hash, so a note you opened but did not edit is never re-uploaded.
• A typical sync is two or three API calls, and the metadata file is written in one piece so it cannot be left half-updated.

Sync runs on its own in four situations:

When two devices disagree

Per note, the newer timestamp wins. There is no three-way merge and no conflict copy — the older version of that note is replaced.

That is the right model for one person moving between a laptop, a desktop and a phone, which is what this is for. It is not a collaboration model, and it is not what you want if two people edit the same note, or if you edit the same note on two devices while both are offline. For anything that needs real merge resolution and review, keep the file in git instead — PenPage can link a local folder so the same note lives in both places.

What people use it for

The same notes on a laptop and a phone

The common case. Write on the desktop, read and amend on the phone, no install on either — PenPage runs in the browser and can be added to the home screen as an app.

Backup you already have

Notes stored only in a browser's local storage are one cleared-site-data away from gone. Drive sync turns your existing Drive backup into note backup without adding another subscription, and the files stay in a format you can read without us.

An instruction and prompt library that follows you

Developers keep a personal CLAUDE.md, prompt snippets and command notes that are not in any repository. Drive sync keeps one current copy on every machine you work from. See editing CLAUDE.md in PenPage for that workflow.

How it compares

Git remains the better answer whenever changes need review or a genuine merge. Drive for desktop syncing a folder is fine on a computer and miserable on a phone. PenPage's niche is the middle: one person, several devices, no install, and files you can still read if the app disappears.

Setting it up

1. Open PenPage and write something. Everything works locally first — sync is optional and off until you turn it on.
2. Sign in with Google and approve Drive access. Check the scope on the consent screen while you are there.
3. PenPage creates the ppage-app folder and uploads what you already have.
4. Sign in on your other device with the same Google account. It picks up the same folder.

Frequently asked questions

Try it without signing in

The editor works immediately with no account. Turn on Drive sync later, only if and when you want your notes on a second device.