Local Sync

Nia Sync is a standalone CLI daemon that continuously synchronizes your local data sources with Nia, enabling AI agents to search your personal knowledge base.

Privacy First: Local folders are private to your account. They’re searched separately from public repositories and documentation.

Quick Install

nia-sync is deprecated. Local sync is now built into the main Nia CLI installed by npx nia-wizard@latest. If you previously installed nia-sync via pip or uv, uninstall it to avoid conflicts with the new nia command:

pip uninstall nia-sync   # or: uv pip uninstall nia-sync

Then follow the Installation guide to set up the current CLI.

Follow the Installation guide to install the Nia CLI via npx nia-wizard@latest.

Getting Started

Authenticate with your Nia account:

nia login

This opens your browser for secure OAuth authentication.

Add a Source

Add a local folder or database to sync:

nia add ~/Documents/notes

The CLI auto-detects known database paths (iMessage, browser history, etc.).

Start Syncing

Start the sync daemon:

nia

The daemon watches for file changes and syncs incrementally in real-time.

Check Status

View all synced sources:

nia status

CLI Commands

Core Commands

Command	Description
`nia`	Start sync daemon (watch mode by default)
`nia login`	Browser-based OAuth authentication
`nia logout`	Clear stored credentials
`nia status`	Show all configured sources with sync status
`nia status --json`	Output status as JSON for scripting
`nia once`	Run one-time sync then exit
`nia add <path>`	Add new source for sync
`nia link <ID> <path>`	Link cloud source to local path
`nia remove <ID>`	Remove source from sync
`nia upgrade`	Check and install updates

Search & Query

Search your indexed sources directly from the terminal:

# Basic search with streaming AI response
nia search "meeting notes from last week"

# Search specific folders
nia search "project updates" --local-folder my-notes --local-folder work-docs

# Show source snippets alongside the answer
nia search "authentication code" --sources

# Raw text output (no markdown rendering)
nia search "api endpoints" --no-markdown

# JSON output for scripting
nia search "config values" --json --no-stream

Flag	Description
`-l, --local-folder`	Limit search to specific folder(s). Accepts ID prefix or display name
`--sources`	Show source snippets used to generate the answer
`--markdown/--no-markdown`	Toggle rich Markdown rendering (default: on)
`--stream/--no-stream`	Toggle streaming response (default: on)
`-j, --json`	Output raw JSON for programmatic use
`-n, --limit`	Max source snippets to display

Monitoring & Debugging

Command	Description
`nia info <ID>`	Show detailed info for a source (chunk count, last sync, errors)
`nia logs`	Show sync logs for all sources
`nia logs <ID>`	Show sync logs for a specific source
`nia logs --tail`	Continuously tail new logs
`nia logs --errors`	Only show error logs
`nia diff`	Dry-run: show what would sync without uploading
`nia diff <ID>`	Dry-run for a specific source
`nia doctor`	Run diagnostics for common issues (auth, API, disk access)
`nia whoami`	Show current authenticated user
`nia version`	Show CLI version
`nia version --check`	Check for available updates

Sync Control

Command	Description
`nia pause <ID>`	Pause continuous sync for a source
`nia resume <ID>`	Resume continuous sync for a source
`nia resync <ID>`	Force full resync by resetting cursor
`nia resync --all`	Force full resync for all sources

Web Integration

Open Nia web app pages directly from the CLI:

nia open dashboard      # Open main dashboard
nia open activity       # Open activity feed
nia open local-sync     # Open local sync settings
nia open api-keys       # Open API keys page
nia open billing        # Open billing page
nia open docs           # Open documentation
nia open <source-id>    # Open specific source detail page

Configuration Management

Config Commands

Manage CLI settings directly from the terminal:

# View all config
nia config list

# Get a specific value
nia config get api_url

# Set a value
nia config set api_url "https://api.trynia.ai"

Ignore Patterns

Customize which files are excluded from sync:

# List current ignore patterns
nia ignore list

# Ignore a directory name
nia ignore add --dir node_modules

# Ignore a file name
nia ignore add --file .DS_Store

# Ignore a file extension
nia ignore add --ext .log

# Ignore a path substring
nia ignore add --path /build/

# Remove an ignore pattern
nia ignore remove --ext .log

Watch Directories

Configure which directories are scanned for auto-linking sources:

# List watched directories
nia watch list

# Add a directory to watch
nia watch add ~/Projects

# Remove a watch directory
nia watch remove ~/Projects

When you create a folder in a watched directory that matches an unlinked source’s name, Nia automatically discovers and links it.

Source ID Shortcuts

You don’t need to type full UUIDs. Nia accepts:

ID prefixes: nia info a3f2 matches a3f2b1c8-...
Display names: nia pause "My Notes" matches by folder name

If a prefix is ambiguous (matches multiple sources), you’ll be prompted with the matches.

Daemon Mode

Running nia without arguments starts the sync daemon with real-time file watching:

NIA Nia Sync Engine

● real-time file watching
● 3 source(s) active
● Auto-refresh every 30s

Ctrl+C to stop

The daemon:

Watches for file changes using native filesystem events
Syncs changes within seconds of detection
Periodically refreshes the source list from the web UI
Auto-discovers new folders matching unlinked sources
Sends heartbeats to mark daemon as online

Daemon Flags

Flag	Default	Description
`--watch/--poll`	`--watch`	Real-time watching vs interval polling
`-f, --fallback`	600	Fallback sync interval in seconds (catches missed events)
`-r, --refresh`	30	How often to check for new sources from web UI

Supported Data Sources

Nia Sync automatically extracts and indexes content from various data sources:

Chat & Messages

iMessage (~/Library/Messages/chat.db)
WhatsApp (ChatStorage.sqlite)
Telegram (JSON exports, ZIP files)

Apple Ecosystem

Apple Notes (NoteStore.sqlite)
Apple Contacts (AddressBook / vCard)
Apple Reminders (SQLite)
macOS Stickies (Stickies DB / plist)

Browser History

Safari (~/Library/Safari/History.db)
Chrome / Brave / Edge
Firefox

Media & Files

Screenshots (metadata + optional OCR text)
Generic SQLite databases
Regular folders with text files, code, notes

Virtual File Format

Database content is extracted into virtual text files for semantic search:

Source	Virtual Path Format
iMessage	`messages/{contact}/{date}_{row_id}_{direction}.txt`
WhatsApp	`whatsapp/{contact}/{date}_{msg_id}.txt`
Safari/Chrome/Firefox	`history/{domain}/{date}_{id}.txt`
Telegram	`telegram/{chat_name}/{date}_{msg_id}.txt`
Apple Notes	`notes/{folder}/{note_title}_{id}.txt`
Screenshots	`screenshots/{date}_{filename}.txt`

Web UI

You can also manage synced sources from the Nia web app:

Go to app.trynia.ai
Navigate to Settings → Local Sync
View sync status, add/remove sources, and configure sync intervals

Sync Intervals

Configure how often sources are synced:

Interval	Description
`5m`	Every 5 minutes
`hourly`	Every hour
`6h`	Every 6 hours
`daily`	Once per day

Searching Local Folders

Once synced, your local folders are searchable via MCP tools:

# Search across local folders
search(query="meeting notes from last week", local_folders=["folder-id-here"])

# Read files from a local folder
nia_read(source_type="local_folder", local_folder_id="folder-id-here", path="/notes/meeting.txt")

# Grep in local folders
nia_grep(source_type="local_folder", local_folder_id="folder-id-here", pattern="TODO")

# Explore folder structure
nia_explore(source_type="local_folder", local_folder_id="folder-id-here", action="tree")

Local folders are private and searched separately from public repositories. Use local_folders parameter in search() to include them.

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
`NIA_API_URL`	`https://api.trynia.ai`	Override API base URL

Config File

Credentials are stored in ~/.nia-sync/config.json with secure permissions (mode 0600).

Limits

Limit	Value
Max files per folder	5,000
Max total upload size	100 MB per folder
Max individual file size	5 MB
Max database size	1 GB
Max rows per table	100,000

Security

350+ exclusion patterns automatically protect sensitive files from being synced.

The following are never synced:

Credentials: .env, .pem, .key, SSH keys, *credentials*, *secrets*, *token*
Version control: .git, .svn
Dependencies: node_modules, venv, __pycache__
Build outputs: dist/, build/, .next/

API keys are stored locally with user-only read/write permissions and are never logged or transmitted in plaintext.

End-to-End Encryption

For sensitive personal data (messages, contacts, notes), Nia supports E2E encrypted sync where plaintext never leaves your device. The server stores only ciphertext and encrypted vectors.

E2E Encryption Guide

Learn how E2E encryption works, supported source types, key management, and cookbook examples for syncing iMessage, WhatsApp, Apple Notes, and more.

Need Help? Join our Discord community or reach out through app.trynia.ai for support.

Getting Started

Capabilities

Source Types

Explore

Examples & Guides

Enterprise

Privacy

Quick Install

Getting Started

CLI Commands

Core Commands

Search & Query

Monitoring & Debugging

Sync Control

Web Integration

Configuration Management

Config Commands

Ignore Patterns

Watch Directories

Source ID Shortcuts

Daemon Mode

Daemon Flags

Supported Data Sources

Chat & Messages

Apple Ecosystem

Browser History

Media & Files

Virtual File Format

Web UI

Sync Intervals

Searching Local Folders

Configuration

Environment Variables

Config File

Limits

Security

End-to-End Encryption

E2E Encryption Guide

Getting Started

Capabilities

Source Types

Explore

Examples & Guides

Enterprise

Privacy

Documentation Index

​Quick Install

​Getting Started

​CLI Commands

​Core Commands

​Search & Query

​Monitoring & Debugging

​Sync Control

​Web Integration

​Configuration Management

​Config Commands

​Ignore Patterns

​Watch Directories

​Source ID Shortcuts

​Daemon Mode

​Daemon Flags

​Supported Data Sources

Chat & Messages

Apple Ecosystem

Browser History

Media & Files

​Virtual File Format

​Web UI

​Sync Intervals

​Searching Local Folders

​Configuration

​Environment Variables

​Config File

​Limits

​Security

​End-to-End Encryption

E2E Encryption Guide

Quick Install

Getting Started

CLI Commands

Core Commands

Search & Query

Monitoring & Debugging

Sync Control

Web Integration

Configuration Management

Config Commands

Ignore Patterns

Watch Directories

Source ID Shortcuts

Daemon Mode

Daemon Flags

Supported Data Sources

Virtual File Format

Web UI

Sync Intervals

Searching Local Folders

Configuration

Environment Variables

Config File

Limits

Security

End-to-End Encryption