Local-only files
Some notes are only yours: a draft, a private journal, the instructions you give your AI. Mark them local only, and they stay on this device while the rest of the folder syncs.
Keep a note or folder local
Right-click a note in the sidebar and choose Keep local only. For a folder, choose Keep folder local only: everything inside it stays on this device.
A local-only note shows Local only above its title.
<!-- screenshot: the right-click menu with Keep local only -->
If the note is already in the Space
Niv asks first:
the people in the Space keep the version as it is now;
your future edits stay on this device.
Nothing is deleted from the Space.
Sync it again
Right-click the note and choose Sync this note, or Sync this folder for a folder.
See the list
Settings › Sync › Local-only files lists everything you've kept local. The list belongs to this device: another device has its own. It's saved in the folder, in .niv/settings.toml.
Instruction files stay local
AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md at the top of your folder tell your AI agent how to work. How you use AI is personal, so Niv keeps these two files local by default. To share one, right-click it and choose Sync this note. See Set up your agent.
If Niv can't read the list
If .niv/settings.toml has an error, Niv can't tell which files are local only. Rather than guess, it stops sending anything to the Space until the file is fixed, and the sync line says receiving only. You still receive other people's changes. See Sync status.