Skip to main content
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

curl -fsSL https://app.trynia.ai/install-sync | bash
Or install via pip: 
pip install nia-sync

​
Getting Started

1

Login

Authenticate with your Nia account:
nia login
This opens your browser for secure OAuth authentication.
2

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.).
3

Start Syncing

Start the sync daemon:
nia start
The daemon watches for file changes and syncs incrementally.
4

Check Status

View all synced sources:
nia status

​
CLI Commands

CommandDescription
nia loginBrowser-based OAuth authentication
nia logoutClear stored credentials
nia statusShow all configured sources with sync status
nia startStart sync daemon (watch mode by default)
nia --pollStart daemon in polling mode (no file watching)
nia onceRun 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 upgradeCheck and install updates

​
Supported Data Sources

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

Chat & Messages

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

Browser History

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

Databases

  • Generic SQLite databases
  • Auto-extracts tables into searchable text

Folders

  • Regular folders with text files
  • Code, notes, documentation

​
Virtual File Format

Database content is extracted into virtual text files for semantic search:
SourceVirtual Path Format
iMessagemessages/{contact}/{date}_{row_id}_{direction}.txt
Safari/Chrome/Firefoxhistory/{domain}/{date}_{id}.txt
Telegramtelegram/{chat_name}/{date}_{msg_id}.txt

​
Web UI

You can also manage synced sources from the Nia web app:
  1. Go to app.trynia.ai
  2. Navigate to Settings → Local Sync
  3. View sync status, add/remove sources, and configure sync intervals

​
Sync Intervals

Configure how often sources are synced:
IntervalDescription
5mEvery 5 minutes
hourlyEvery hour
6hEvery 6 hours
dailyOnce 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

VariableDefaultDescription
NIA_API_URLhttps://api.trynia.aiOverride API base URL

​
Config File

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

​
Limits

LimitValue
Max files per folder5,000
Max total upload size100 MB per folder
Max individual file size5 MB
Max database size1 GB
Max rows per table100,000

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