Why You Can't Move Vault Into Google Drive Obsidian (And How to Actually Fix It)

You're staring at the screen, and that "Loading" wheel is mocking you. Or maybe you dragged the folder over, but half your notes are missing or, worse, you’re seeing those terrifying "File Conflict" notifications popping up like digital weeds. Honestly, trying to sync a personal knowledge base shouldn't feel like a part-time job. But when you can't move vault into google drive obsidian, it’s usually because of a fundamental clash between how Google thinks and how Obsidian breathes.

Obsidian is just a bunch of Markdown files in a folder. On paper, Google Drive should handle that easily. In reality? The two often fight over who "owns" the file at any given second.

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The Real Reason Your Sync Is Breaking

Google Drive isn't a hard drive. It’s a streaming service for your files. When you use the "File Stream" or "Mirror" settings on a desktop, Google tries to be smart by keeping files in the cloud until you actually click them. Obsidian hates this. Obsidian needs to index every single file in your vault the moment you open it to build those pretty graph views and link your mentions. If Google hasn't downloaded the file yet, Obsidian just sees an empty void.

There’s also the .obsidian folder. This hidden gem contains your workspace settings, themes, and—most importantly—your community plugins. Google Drive frequently chokes on the thousands of tiny JSON and CSS files tucked inside that folder. It sees a massive influx of small changes and assumes something is wrong, or it just takes forever to sync them, leading to a situation where your plugins work on your laptop but are totally broken on your desktop.

It’s Usually a Permissions or Path Issue

Sometimes the fix is boring. If you’re on macOS or a strictly managed Windows machine, permissions can get weird. If you move your vault into a "Shared with me" folder on Google Drive, Obsidian might not have the write-access it needs to create new notes. It’ll let you read them, sure. But the second you try to type? Frozen.

Check your file path. If your Google Drive folder path is insanely long—something like C:\Users\Name\Google Drive\My Drive\Work\Projects\Personal\Notes\ObsidianVault—you might be hitting the 260-character limit on Windows. It sounds like a relic from the 90s, but it still breaks software today.

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Why Mobile is the Final Boss

If you’re trying to do this on an iPhone or iPad, stop. Just for a second. Google Drive on iOS does not expose its file system in a way that the Obsidian mobile app can "live" in. Unlike iCloud or Working Copy, the Google Drive app acts more like a silo. You can’t just point the Obsidian app at a Google Drive folder and expect it to work. It’s a brick wall. Android users have it a bit easier with third-party sync apps, but even then, it’s finicky.

Stop Using "File Stream" Right Now

If you want any hope of this working, you have to switch Google Drive to "Mirror files" mode in the settings. This forces Google to keep a literal, physical copy of every single note on your hard drive. It eats up more space, but it’s the only way Obsidian can reliably index your vault.

But even then, you’ll run into the "sync conflict" nightmare. Imagine you have a note open on your laptop and you accidentally leave it open when you head to your office. You start typing on your desktop. Google Drive now has two different versions of the same file. Instead of merging them—because Google Drive doesn't understand Markdown logic—it creates a duplicate file called "My Note (1)". Now your links are broken. Your graph is a mess. You're frustrated.

The Problem with Hidden Files

Check your .obsidian folder. I mentioned it before, but it bears repeating: this folder is the brain of your vault. Google Drive often ignores files that start with a dot (period) because it thinks they are system files. If Google skips your .obsidian folder, you’ll open your vault on a second computer and find a "vanilla" Obsidian with no plugins, no dark mode, and no custom hotkeys. It feels like your vault is gone, even though the text files are there.

Better Alternatives for the Long Haul

Look, I get it. Google Drive is free and you already have it. But if you’re serious about your "Second Brain," you might need to pivot.

Obsidian Sync is the obvious choice. It’s paid, yes, but it handles the "tiny file" problem and the "mobile" problem perfectly. It’s the only way to get a seamless experience on an iPhone.

If you’re tech-savvy, Syncthing is the gold standard for power users. It doesn’t use a cloud at all. It just pushes files directly between your devices. It’s fast, private, and it doesn't care about "file streaming" nonsense.

For the budget-conscious who still want the cloud, Remotely Save is a community plugin that can connect to Dropbox or S3 buckets. It's a bit more "manual," but it avoids the OS-level file locking issues that Google Drive creates.

Actionable Steps to Fix Your Setup

If you’re determined to make Google Drive work despite the risks, follow this exact sequence to minimize the chance of data loss:

1. Backup locally first. Before you move anything, copy your entire vault folder to a USB drive or a local desktop folder that isn't touched by any cloud service.
2. Toggle Mirroring. Open Google Drive settings on your computer. Change the sync option from "Stream files" to "Mirror files." Wait for the sync to finish completely.
3. The "Move" Method. Don't "Move" the folder. Copy the folder into the Google Drive directory. Once it’s fully uploaded and showing green checkmarks, open Obsidian and select "Open vault from folder."
4. Exclude the Cache. If you can, tell Google Drive to ignore the workspace.json file inside your .obsidian folder. This file changes every time you click a different note and is the #1 cause of sync conflicts.
5. Use a Sync-specific App for Mobile. If you're on Android, use Autosync for Google Drive. It acts as a bridge, pulling files from Google and placing them in a folder that Obsidian can actually see.

The reality is that Google Drive was built for Docs and PDFs, not for a complex database of interlinked Markdown files. If you find your vault keeps breaking, it’s not you—it’s the architecture. Switch to a sync method that respects local file integrity, and you'll spend more time writing and less time troubleshooting folder paths.