Offline & Sync

Holy Resource is designed to work offline first.

• When you save something, it saves to your device immediately.
• Sync (if you enable it) shares those changes with your other devices.
• If you lose internet (or Wi‑Fi), you can keep working. Sync will catch up later.

That same model now applies to supported attachments on member records, events, and service plans. When you add a file there, Holy Resource stores it in the local database first, then syncs it to joined devices for the same branch.

This page explains what sync does, what happens when you’re offline, and how to connect devices in a non‑technical way.

The Sync Lifecycle

When sync is enabled, Holy Resource keeps a small “to‑send” list of changes on your device and delivers them when possible.

You can choose one of these sync targets from the sync controls under Settings → General. In practice, Holy Resource uses the Database tab for the underlying storage setup and the dedicated Sync tab for connection, pairing, and conflict work when sync is available:

• No sync (local‑only): Everything stays on this device only.
• LAN sync (same network): Sync with devices on the same Wi‑Fi/Ethernet network.
• Server sync (internet): Sync through your organization’s hosted sync server.

Only one sync target can be active at a time for a branch. If you switch from LAN sync to server sync, Holy Resource shuts the LAN runtime down before server sync takes over, and the reverse is also true.

In Holy Resource, a branch usually means a campus/location (for example: “Main Church” and “Downtown Campus”). Sync is set up per branch.

If you don’t see these settings or can’t change them, ask your administrator to grant the right permissions.

In free mode, sync management UI may be limited or hidden depending on your current license state.

Permission Changes Across Synced Devices

Permission changes are treated as security changes, not just UI changes.

• If a user loses access to a whole branch, that device is signed out after the updated access state reaches it.
• If a user keeps the branch but loses access to a module such as Kids Wing, Holy Resource refreshes branch permissions and removes local data for modules that user can no longer read.
• This re-check happens after sync passes and other access refreshes so a device does not keep using stale authorization for long.

Synced Attachments

Supported attachment flows follow the same local-first pattern as other branch records.

• Add the file on the member, event, or service-plan screen.
• Holy Resource writes that file into the local branch database right away.
• If sync is enabled, the file is shared with the branch's other joined devices.
• Each device keeps its own local copy after sync, so the file is still available offline later.

This means you do not need a separate shared drive or a public CDN just to make planning documents, images, or forms available across devices inside Holy Resource.

Connecting Devices (What You Actually Do)

Most teams should not type “tokens” or long settings.

Server Sync (Internet)

Your administrator provides a connection code (often as a QR code) for your church/organization.

1. Go to Settings → General → Database.
2. Choose Server sync (internet) as the sync mode.
3. Open Settings → General → Sync.
4. Under Connect this device, choose one:
   • Scan QR code
   • Paste connection code

Holy Resource will fill in the server details automatically and store the credentials encrypted on your device.

Server sync sequence

Step-by-step explanation:

1. The setup starts when an administrator gives each device a connection code or QR code for the church’s sync server.
2. Each device imports that code and learns the server details and token it needs in order to connect.
3. After import, each device stores those sync credentials in encrypted form on the device itself. That means the setup is remembered locally and does not need to be retyped every time.
4. Later, one of the devices saves a normal record change. Just like every other part of Holy Resource, that save happens locally first.
5. After the local save, the device adds that change to the sync queue. The queue is the list of changes waiting to be shared with other devices.
6. If Automatic Sync is on and the server is reachable, the device pushes the queued changes to the sync server right away.
7. The sync server then lets other devices know that new branch data is available. Those devices do not directly modify the first device. Instead, they pull the new synced data from the server and apply it locally.
8. If the device is offline or Automatic Sync is off, the change stays safely queued on that device until someone runs sync later or the connection comes back.
9. Once the later sync succeeds, the same overall pattern still happens: queued changes go up to the server, other devices are notified, and those devices pull and apply the new data locally.

In plain language, server sync is still local-first. The sync server is the shared meeting point that helps devices exchange branch-scoped changes across the internet, but every device still writes to its own local database first and can keep working even when the connection is temporarily unavailable.

LAN Sync (Same Wi‑Fi / Ethernet)

LAN sync uses a one‑time pairing step, so you only sync with devices you trust.

1. Go to Settings → General and choose LAN sync (same network) as the sync mode.
2. Open Settings → General → Sync.
3. In LAN Sync, press Start.
4. Pair devices using Pair and verify the safety code on both devices.
5. Turn on Automatic Sync if you want trusted devices on that network to exchange queued changes in real time.

For the full walk‑through, see the LAN Sync guide.

Conflict Resolution

If two devices edit the same item before they’ve had a chance to sync, a conflict can happen.

When this happens, Holy Resource will:

• Keep both versions
• Show a conflict count in Settings → General → Sync
• Let an authorized user review and resolve the conflict

Recommended team practices:

• Sync regularly on shared devices.
• Avoid parallel editing of the exact same records during high-traffic events.
• Train admins to review post-sync anomalies quickly.

You typically choose which version to keep (for example: “use this device” vs “use the other device”).

During import/recovery workflows, Holy Resource also supports conflict policy choices:

• Abort (stop on conflict)
• Skip (keep existing, import what is safe)
• Overwrite (replace conflicting records where supported)

Privacy in Sync

• Sensitive fields are encrypted on your device before syncing.
• Sync credentials are stored encrypted on-device.
• Sync is branch‑scoped. Sync applies to the branch you’re working in.
• Access revocations fail closed. Once a synced permission or branch-access change reaches a device, Holy Resource reapplies access rules and clears unauthorized local module data.

If Sync Target is set to local-only, pending sync operations are not sent until sync is re-enabled.

Note: Sync is not a replacement for backups. Backups are still recommended for disaster recovery.

For a deeper look at how we protect your data, see the Security Model.