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Multiple Knowledge Bases
Multiple Knowledge Bases

You can create multiple knowledge bases to control where your information is stored and who can access it.

Soren Bjornstad avatar
Written by Soren Bjornstad
Updated over a month ago

When you create a RemNote account, you start out with one synced knowledge base which contains all of your documents, Rems, flashcards, and settings. For many users, this single knowledge base (KB) is sufficient, but in some cases you may want to create additional KBs:

  • If you need to keep some data completely separate from other data (for instance, so that sensitive information you handle at your workplace doesn’t get mixed in with your personal data).

  • If you want to prevent some data from syncing to RemNote’s servers (using a local KB – see below for details).

  • If you want to collaborate on a small subset of your notes with other users.

  • If you have a lot of old notes that you rarely use but don’t want to permanently delete, and want to get them out of your way.

In general, you should create as many knowledge bases as you need, but as few as you can get away with. Since you can’t point references or portals at something in another KB or search across multiple KBs at once, life is easier if you keep things in the same KB except when there's a good reason not to.

Switching KBs

The name of the current KB is shown in the far upper-left corner of RemNote. The default KB has the same name as your RemNote username.

The upper-left corner of RemNote showing a KB name of “sobjornstad"

To switch KBs, click on the name of the current KB and select the KB you want to switch to. If you’ve never used the new KB on your current device before, RemNote may need a few minutes to download its contents; afterwards, switching will take no more than a couple of seconds.

If you only have one knowledge base, you will not see this part of the menu. See Creating a new KB, below, to create another one.

The knowledge base switcher.

Creating a new KB

You can create a new KB by clicking the + button next to Settings > Knowledge Base Settings.

You can choose between two types of KBs, synced and local.

  • A synced knowledge base works just like the default one: it will be accessible on any device where you’re logged into RemNote, and any changes you make on one device will immediately sync to the others.

  • A local knowledge base stores the KB entirely on your computer’s hard drive. It will never sync to any other devices or pass through RemNote’s servers. This type of KB can be useful if you have very sensitive information that can’t be stored off-device, or you want to archive a lot of data and avoid downloading it onto your other devices. (Read more about privacy.)

There are a couple of limitations as to when you can use each type of KB:

  • Local KBs can only be created (and used) on the desktop app.

  • You can create up to two synced KBs on the free plan; the Pro plan has no limit. There's no limit on how many local KBs you can have, regardless of your plan.

Collaborating on a KB

With a Pro account, you can invite other users to edit a knowledge base with you in the knowledge base’s settings (choose the Settings option underneath the KB switcher and look at the very bottom of the left pane for a settings page for each KB). Visit the Collaboration and Shared Knowledge Bases article for more information.

Moving content between KBs

You can move content between your KBs by cutting and pasting Rems or by exporting a document and importing it into the other KB. See Moving Content Between Knowledge Bases for step-by-step instructions.

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