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Accessing Your Knowledge Base Remotely

When EchOS runs on a VPS, the knowledge files live at ~/echos/data/knowledge/ on the server. This guide covers the main ways to access that directory from your local machine so you can open it in Obsidian, back it up, or work with the files directly.

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Option 1: SSHFS (live mount)

SSHFS mounts the remote directory as if it were a local folder. Obsidian sees it as a normal vault. Notes added via Telegram appear immediately; edits made in Obsidian are written directly to the server and picked up by EchOS’s file watcher. Install macOS: requires macFUSE and SSHFS for macOS.
Linux:
Mount
Unmount
Alias for convenience Add to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:
Then point Obsidian at ~/Echos-Knowledge.

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Enabling write access

EchOS’s Docker entrypoint automatically fixes data directory ownership on every startup — it runs briefly as root, corrects any ownership mismatches, then drops to the node user before starting the app. On most setups no manual steps are needed. If you still see permission errors (e.g. after migrating from an older version), re-own the data directory once and restart:
Trade-offs
  • Feels like a local disk, always up to date
  • Requires a stable network connection — slow or dropped connections affect file access
  • nolocalcaches ensures consistency but means every read hits the network

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Option 2: rsync (periodic sync)

rsync copies files from the server to your local machine (or vice versa). It’s not live — you run it when you want a sync — but it’s fast (only transfers changes), reliable, and has no dependencies beyond OpenSSH. Pull from server → local (read your notes locally)
The trailing / on the source path matters — it syncs the contents, not the directory itself. Push local → server (sync edits back)
--delete removes files on the destination that no longer exist on the source. If EchOS has added new notes since your last pull, push carefully — pull first, then push. Or omit --delete if you only want to push additions.
Automate with cron Run a pull every 15 minutes:
Or on macOS with launchd, create ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.echos.sync.plist:
Load it: launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.echos.sync.plist Trade-offs
  • No extra software, works everywhere
  • Not live — there’s a lag between adding a note and seeing it locally
  • Bidirectional sync requires care to avoid overwriting

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Option 3: Syncthing (continuous background sync)

Syncthing is a peer-to-peer sync tool that keeps folders in sync continuously and automatically. Once configured, it runs in the background and you never think about it again. Works across NAT without port forwarding. Install on the server
Run as a service:
Install on your local machine macOS: brew install syncthing or download from syncthing.net. Linux: same as server above, or via your package manager. Configure
  1. Open the Syncthing web UI on the server: http://your-server:8384 (you may need to SSH tunnel: ssh -L 8384:localhost:8384 user@your-server)
  2. Open the Syncthing web UI locally: http://localhost:8384
  3. Add the server as a remote device (copy the device ID from the web UI)
  4. Share the ~/echos/data/knowledge/ folder from the server with your local device
  5. Accept the share on the local side, set the local path to ~/Echos-Knowledge
Syncthing handles conflicts, retries, and compression automatically. Trade-offs
  • Truly automatic — set it up once, forget about it
  • Works through NAT and firewalls without port forwarding
  • More moving parts to install and configure initially
  • Syncthing needs to run as a background service on both machines

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Which option to choose

For most people: SSHFS if you want simplicity and don’t mind needing a connection, Syncthing if you want a fully automatic local copy that’s always up to date.