Accounts and sync
Use Margin as a guest with everything saved on your device, or sign in to sync your work across devices.
You never need an account to read notes or use the tools. An account adds one thing: your work follows you between devices.
Guest mode#
Without signing in, Margin keeps everything you create in your browser's local storage on the device you are using. While you are signed out, the bottom of the sidebar shows a Sign in to sync button.
Guest data is private to that browser and is not sent anywhere (see Privacy and data). It also means:
- a different browser, a private window or another device starts empty
- clearing your browser's site data for Margin deletes your guest data
- nothing is backed up
Signing in#
Choose Sign in to sync at the bottom of the sidebar, or go to /sign-in. There are no passwords. Pick one of:
- Continue with Google.
- Your email address. Margin emails you a six-digit code; type it in and you're in. If there's no account for that email yet, the same steps create one.
Accounts are handled by Clerk. Signing in with Google or an email code leads to the same account when they share a verified email address. Once you are signed in, the sidebar shows your avatar and Synced to your account. Choose it for Settings or Sign out. Settings shows your account and sign-in methods, how much you have saved, and lets you export or delete it.
When you sign in on a device, Margin copies everything from that browser's guest storage into your account, then clears the guest copy. Items already in your account are left as they are, so signing in on a second device merges rather than overwrites.
Onboarding#
The first time you sign in, Margin asks a few quick questions, one per screen:
- Whether you're a student or a teacher.
- Students: which year you're in (Year 12, Year 13, a gap year or resits, or something else). Teachers: your school and the subjects you teach, both optional.
- Which courses you're taking (or teaching). Tapping a subject adds the courses your year usually takes, and you can adjust from there.
Your answers are saved as you go, so if you leave halfway you pick up where you stopped. Margin then opens on your courses: the home page shows Your courses first, the sidebar opens on them and only shows their tabs, and ⌘K lists them and ranks their notes first.
To change your answers later, open Settings (from your avatar, the … menu at the bottom of the sidebar, or ⌘K) and choose Change courses, or use Edit next to Your courses on the home page or Change courses in ⌘K.
What syncs#
| Data | Syncs when signed in |
|---|---|
| Cheat sheet items, labels and order | Yes |
| Flashcard decks, cards and their review schedule | Yes |
| Review history (every rating you give) | Yes |
| Notes marked as studied and confidence ratings | Yes |
| Study activity (notes opened and studied), used for the Progress charts | Yes |
| Exam dates and planner tasks | Yes |
| My notes | Yes |
| Your role, year and courses (onboarding) | Yes |
| Open tabs, split panes and sidebar width | No, per device |
| Sidebar course choice and expanded units | No, per device |
| Grapher expressions in an open graph tab | No, per device |
| Theme and recently opened notes | No, per device |
Workspace layout stays on the device on purpose: the tabs you want open on a laptop are rarely the ones you want on a phone.
How sync works#
Changes are optimistic. When you add a card or tick off a task, the change appears immediately and is saved to your account in the background, so the app never waits on the network. Each saved row belongs to your account alone and is checked against the same schema the app uses before it is stored.
When you open Margin on another device, it fetches your latest data and refreshes it in the background while you work. If the same item is edited on two devices at once, the most recent save wins.
Signing out#
Signing out returns that browser to guest mode. Your synced data stays in your account and comes back when you sign in again. Because your guest data was moved into your account when you first signed in, guest mode starts empty after you sign out.
When accounts are not available#
Accounts are optional for anyone running their own copy of Margin. If the server has no sign-in keys configured, the sign-in button is replaced by the label Guest · saved on this device and everything works in guest mode, including the onboarding questions at /onboarding, whose answers are then kept in the browser. See Configuration.