diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index d401a07..8676020 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -1,17 +1,26 @@
 module github.com/oolong-sh/oolong
 
-go 1.22.7
+go 1.23.2
 
 require github.com/yuin/gopher-lua v1.1.1
 
 require (
-	github.com/aaaton/golem/v4 v4.0.0
+	github.com/aaaton/golem/v4 v4.0.1
 	github.com/aaaton/golem/v4/dicts/en v1.0.1
 )
 
-require github.com/BurntSushi/toml v1.4.0
+require (
+	github.com/BurntSushi/toml v1.4.0
+	github.com/oolong-sh/sync v0.0.0-20241128232107-4aff73e779a0
+)
+
+require (
+	github.com/kr/fs v0.1.0 // indirect
+	github.com/pkg/sftp v1.13.7 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/crypto v0.29.0 // indirect
+)
 
 require (
 	github.com/fsnotify/fsnotify v1.8.0
-	golang.org/x/sys v0.13.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/sys v0.27.0 // indirect
 )
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 7dc255a..052a8dd 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -1,12 +1,75 @@
 github.com/BurntSushi/toml v1.4.0 h1:kuoIxZQy2WRRk1pttg9asf+WVv6tWQuBNVmK8+nqPr0=
 github.com/BurntSushi/toml v1.4.0/go.mod h1:ukJfTF/6rtPPRCnwkur4qwRxa8vTRFBF0uk2lLoLwho=
-github.com/aaaton/golem/v4 v4.0.0 h1:YHieBS+5Fqir298nJ7fk3EvMcKM/+T5gpMRt4TIAiZ8=
 github.com/aaaton/golem/v4 v4.0.0/go.mod h1:OfK/S5v9Exsx1yO21WorREuIVV+Y5K2hygP0A9oJCCI=
+github.com/aaaton/golem/v4 v4.0.1 h1:jvnnTmzdfZC8cUGIo6obIcnmB3stTaf5Uw64OMx3C84=
+github.com/aaaton/golem/v4 v4.0.1/go.mod h1:OfK/S5v9Exsx1yO21WorREuIVV+Y5K2hygP0A9oJCCI=
 github.com/aaaton/golem/v4/dicts/en v1.0.1 h1:/BsOsh8JTgTkuevwM9axPnAi9CD4rK7TWHNdW/6V3Uo=
 github.com/aaaton/golem/v4/dicts/en v1.0.1/go.mod h1:1YKRrQNng+KbS+peA7sj3TIa8eqR6T2UqdJ+Tc9xeoA=
+github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.0/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
+github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 h1:vj9j/u1bqnvCEfJOwUhtlOARqs3+rkHYY13jYWTU97c=
+github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
 github.com/fsnotify/fsnotify v1.8.0 h1:dAwr6QBTBZIkG8roQaJjGof0pp0EeF+tNV7YBP3F/8M=
 github.com/fsnotify/fsnotify v1.8.0/go.mod h1:8jBTzvmWwFyi3Pb8djgCCO5IBqzKJ/Jwo8TRcHyHii0=
+github.com/kr/fs v0.1.0 h1:Jskdu9ieNAYnjxsi0LbQp1ulIKZV1LAFgK1tWhpZgl8=
+github.com/kr/fs v0.1.0/go.mod h1:FFnZGqtBN9Gxj7eW1uZ42v5BccTP0vu6NEaFoC2HwRg=
+github.com/oolong-sh/sync v0.0.0-20241128232107-4aff73e779a0 h1:xQq7hGer2MRvHjLK4L+bLPFyCnwyFiiy/1F5Ap2LS30=
+github.com/oolong-sh/sync v0.0.0-20241128232107-4aff73e779a0/go.mod h1:R+SR70YgYzJHvs81TcrFk6q2zcSFI9DoTo7d3yBPWHM=
+github.com/pkg/sftp v1.13.7 h1:uv+I3nNJvlKZIQGSr8JVQLNHFU9YhhNpvC14Y6KgmSM=
+github.com/pkg/sftp v1.13.7/go.mod h1:KMKI0t3T6hfA+lTR/ssZdunHo+uwq7ghoN09/FSu3DY=
+github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0 h1:4DBwDE0NGyQoBHbLQYPwSUPoCMWR5BEzIk/f1lZbAQM=
+github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0/go.mod h1:iKH77koFhYxTK1pcRnkKkqfTogsbg7gZNVY4sRDYZ/4=
+github.com/stretchr/objx v0.1.0/go.mod h1:HFkY916IF+rwdDfMAkV7OtwuqBVzrE8GR6GFx+wExME=
+github.com/stretchr/objx v0.4.0/go.mod h1:YvHI0jy2hoMjB+UWwv71VJQ9isScKT/TqJzVSSt89Yw=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.7.1/go.mod h1:6Fq8oRcR53rry900zMqJjRRixrwX3KX962/h/Wwjteg=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.0 h1:pSgiaMZlXftHpm5L7V1+rVB+AZJydKsMxsQBIJw4PKk=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.0/go.mod h1:yNjHg4UonilssWZ8iaSj1OCr/vHnekPRkoO+kdMU+MU=
+github.com/yuin/goldmark v1.4.13/go.mod h1:6yULJ656Px+3vBD8DxQVa3kxgyrAnzto9xy5taEt/CY=
 github.com/yuin/gopher-lua v1.1.1 h1:kYKnWBjvbNP4XLT3+bPEwAXJx262OhaHDWDVOPjL46M=
 github.com/yuin/gopher-lua v1.1.1/go.mod h1:GBR0iDaNXjAgGg9zfCvksxSRnQx76gclCIb7kdAd1Pw=
-golang.org/x/sys v0.13.0 h1:Af8nKPmuFypiUBjVoU9V20FiaFXOcuZI21p0ycVYYGE=
-golang.org/x/sys v0.13.0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
+golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20190308221718-c2843e01d9a2/go.mod h1:djNgcEr1/C05ACkg1iLfiJU5Ep61QUkGW8qpdssI0+w=
+golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20210921155107-089bfa567519/go.mod h1:GvvjBRRGRdwPK5ydBHafDWAxML/pGHZbMvKqRZ5+Abc=
+golang.org/x/crypto v0.17.0/go.mod h1:gCAAfMLgwOJRpTjQ2zCCt2OcSfYMTeZVSRtQlPC7Nq4=
+golang.org/x/crypto v0.29.0 h1:L5SG1JTTXupVV3n6sUqMTeWbjAyfPwoda2DLX8J8FrQ=
+golang.org/x/crypto v0.29.0/go.mod h1:+F4F4N5hv6v38hfeYwTdx20oUvLLc+QfrE9Ax9HtgRg=
+golang.org/x/mod v0.6.0-dev.0.20220419223038-86c51ed26bb4/go.mod h1:jJ57K6gSWd91VN4djpZkiMVwK6gcyfeH4XE8wZrZaV4=
+golang.org/x/mod v0.8.0/go.mod h1:iBbtSCu2XBx23ZKBPSOrRkjjQPZFPuis4dIYUhu/chs=
+golang.org/x/net v0.0.0-20190620200207-3b0461eec859/go.mod h1:z5CRVTTTmAJ677TzLLGU+0bjPO0LkuOLi4/5GtJWs/s=
+golang.org/x/net v0.0.0-20210226172049-e18ecbb05110/go.mod h1:m0MpNAwzfU5UDzcl9v0D8zg8gWTRqZa9RBIspLL5mdg=
+golang.org/x/net v0.0.0-20220722155237-a158d28d115b/go.mod h1:XRhObCWvk6IyKnWLug+ECip1KBveYUHfp+8e9klMJ9c=
+golang.org/x/net v0.6.0/go.mod h1:2Tu9+aMcznHK/AK1HMvgo6xiTLG5rD5rZLDS+rp2Bjs=
+golang.org/x/net v0.10.0/go.mod h1:0qNGK6F8kojg2nk9dLZ2mShWaEBan6FAoqfSigmmuDg=
+golang.org/x/sync v0.0.0-20190423024810-112230192c58/go.mod h1:RxMgew5VJxzue5/jJTE5uejpjVlOe/izrB70Jof72aM=
+golang.org/x/sync v0.0.0-20220722155255-886fb9371eb4/go.mod h1:RxMgew5VJxzue5/jJTE5uejpjVlOe/izrB70Jof72aM=
+golang.org/x/sync v0.1.0/go.mod h1:RxMgew5VJxzue5/jJTE5uejpjVlOe/izrB70Jof72aM=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20190215142949-d0b11bdaac8a/go.mod h1:STP8DvDyc/dI5b8T5hshtkjS+E42TnysNCUPdjciGhY=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20201119102817-f84b799fce68/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20210615035016-665e8c7367d1/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220520151302-bc2c85ada10a/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220722155257-8c9f86f7a55f/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.5.0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.8.0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.15.0/go.mod h1:/VUhepiaJMQUp4+oa/7Zr1D23ma6VTLIYjOOTFZPUcA=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.27.0 h1:wBqf8DvsY9Y/2P8gAfPDEYNuS30J4lPHJxXSb/nJZ+s=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.27.0/go.mod h1:/VUhepiaJMQUp4+oa/7Zr1D23ma6VTLIYjOOTFZPUcA=
+golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20201126162022-7de9c90e9dd1/go.mod h1:bj7SfCRtBDWHUb9snDiAeCFNEtKQo2Wmx5Cou7ajbmo=
+golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20210927222741-03fcf44c2211/go.mod h1:jbD1KX2456YbFQfuXm/mYQcufACuNUgVhRMnK/tPxf8=
+golang.org/x/term v0.5.0/go.mod h1:jMB1sMXY+tzblOD4FWmEbocvup2/aLOaQEp7JmGp78k=
+golang.org/x/term v0.8.0/go.mod h1:xPskH00ivmX89bAKVGSKKtLOWNx2+17Eiy94tnKShWo=
+golang.org/x/term v0.15.0/go.mod h1:BDl952bC7+uMoWR75FIrCDx79TPU9oHkTZ9yRbYOrX0=
+golang.org/x/term v0.26.0 h1:WEQa6V3Gja/BhNxg540hBip/kkaYtRg3cxg4oXSw4AU=
+golang.org/x/term v0.26.0/go.mod h1:Si5m1o57C5nBNQo5z1iq+XDijt21BDBDp2bK0QI8e3E=
+golang.org/x/text v0.3.0/go.mod h1:NqM8EUOU14njkJ3fqMW+pc6Ldnwhi/IjpwHt7yyuwOQ=
+golang.org/x/text v0.3.3/go.mod h1:5Zoc/QRtKVWzQhOtBMvqHzDpF6irO9z98xDceosuGiQ=
+golang.org/x/text v0.3.7/go.mod h1:u+2+/6zg+i71rQMx5EYifcz6MCKuco9NR6JIITiCfzQ=
+golang.org/x/text v0.7.0/go.mod h1:mrYo+phRRbMaCq/xk9113O4dZlRixOauAjOtrjsXDZ8=
+golang.org/x/text v0.9.0/go.mod h1:e1OnstbJyHTd6l/uOt8jFFHp6TRDWZR/bV3emEE/zU8=
+golang.org/x/text v0.14.0/go.mod h1:18ZOQIKpY8NJVqYksKHtTdi31H5itFRjB5/qKTNYzSU=
+golang.org/x/tools v0.0.0-20180917221912-90fa682c2a6e/go.mod h1:n7NCudcB/nEzxVGmLbDWY5pfWTLqBcC2KZ6jyYvM4mQ=
+golang.org/x/tools v0.0.0-20191119224855-298f0cb1881e/go.mod h1:b+2E5dAYhXwXZwtnZ6UAqBI28+e2cm9otk0dWdXHAEo=
+golang.org/x/tools v0.1.12/go.mod h1:hNGJHUnrk76NpqgfD5Aqm5Crs+Hm0VOH/i9J2+nxYbc=
+golang.org/x/tools v0.6.0/go.mod h1:Xwgl3UAJ/d3gWutnCtw505GrjyAbvKui8lOU390QaIU=
+golang.org/x/xerrors v0.0.0-20190717185122-a985d3407aa7/go.mod h1:I/5z698sn9Ka8TeJc9MKroUUfqBBauWjQqLJ2OPfmY0=
+gopkg.in/check.v1 v0.0.0-20161208181325-20d25e280405/go.mod h1:Co6ibVJAznAaIkqp8huTwlJQCZ016jof/cbN4VW5Yz0=
+gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.0-20200313102051-9f266ea9e77c/go.mod h1:K4uyk7z7BCEPqu6E+C64Yfv1cQ7kz7rIZviUmN+EgEM=
+gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 h1:fxVm/GzAzEWqLHuvctI91KS9hhNmmWOoWu0XTYJS7CA=
+gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1/go.mod h1:K4uyk7z7BCEPqu6E+C64Yfv1cQ7kz7rIZviUmN+EgEM=
diff --git a/internal/api/api_utils.go b/internal/api/api_utils.go
index 513219f..3eadf94 100644
--- a/internal/api/api_utils.go
+++ b/internal/api/api_utils.go
@@ -16,27 +16,25 @@ func checkOrigin(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) error {
 	origin := r.Header.Get("Origin")
 
 	// check if the origin is whitelisted
-	if !slices.Contains(allowedOrigins, origin) {
-		http.Error(w, "Request origin not in allow list", http.StatusForbidden)
-		return fmt.Errorf("Requesting client not in allow list. Origin: %s\n", origin)
+	if origin != "" {
+		if !slices.Contains(allowedOrigins, origin) {
+			http.Error(w, "Request origin not in allow list", http.StatusForbidden)
+			return fmt.Errorf("Requesting client not in allow list. Origin: %s\n", origin)
+		}
+		w.Header().Set("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", origin)
 	}
 
-	w.Header().Set("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", origin)
-
 	return nil
 }
 
 // exists returns whether the given file or directory exists
 func exists(path string) (bool, error) {
 	_, err := os.Stat(path)
-
 	if err == nil {
 		return true, nil
 	}
-
 	if os.IsNotExist(err) {
 		return false, nil
 	}
-
 	return false, err
 }
diff --git a/internal/api/endpoints.go b/internal/api/endpoints.go
index c1cde42..aedd3e1 100644
--- a/internal/api/endpoints.go
+++ b/internal/api/endpoints.go
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ import (
 func SpawnServer() {
 	mux := http.NewServeMux()
 
+	// TODO: add some sort of JWT system for better security
+
 	// graph endpoints
 	mux.HandleFunc("GET /graph", handleGetGraph)
 
@@ -19,10 +21,6 @@ func SpawnServer() {
 	mux.HandleFunc("PUT /note", handleUpdateNote)
 	mux.HandleFunc("DELETE /note", handleDeleteNote)
 
-	// keyword endpoints?
-
-	// plugin endpoints? (probably not these outside of official ones)
-
 	// start server
 	log.Println("Starting server on :11975...")
 	if err := http.ListenAndServe(":11975", mux); err != nil {
diff --git a/internal/api/graph_handlers.go b/internal/api/graph_handlers.go
index f49eaa1..3d6cf2f 100644
--- a/internal/api/graph_handlers.go
+++ b/internal/api/graph_handlers.go
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ func handleGetGraph(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	if err := checkOrigin(w, r); err != nil {
 		log.Println(err)
 		http.Error(w, fmt.Sprintln(err), 500)
+		return
 	}
 
 	// get snapshot of current state
@@ -29,7 +30,6 @@ func handleGetGraph(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	notes := notes.DocumentsToNotes(s.Documents)
 
 	// serialize graph data
-	// TODO: pass in thresholds (with request? or with config?)
 	data, err := graph.SerializeGraph(kw, notes)
 	if err != nil {
 		http.Error(w, "Error serializing graph data", 500)
diff --git a/internal/api/note_handlers.go b/internal/api/note_handlers.go
index 8ac8c52..ed275c0 100644
--- a/internal/api/note_handlers.go
+++ b/internal/api/note_handlers.go
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ func handleGetNotes(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	if err := checkOrigin(w, r); err != nil {
 		log.Println(err)
 		http.Error(w, fmt.Sprintln(err), 500)
+		return
 	}
 
 	s := state.State()
@@ -44,6 +45,7 @@ func handleGetNote(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	if err := checkOrigin(w, r); err != nil {
 		log.Println(err)
 		http.Error(w, fmt.Sprintln(err), 500)
+		return
 	}
 
 	path := r.URL.Query().Get("path")
@@ -77,6 +79,7 @@ func handleCreateNote(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	if err := checkOrigin(w, r); err != nil {
 		log.Println(err)
 		http.Error(w, fmt.Sprintln(err), 500)
+		return
 	}
 
 	// parse request body
@@ -121,6 +124,7 @@ func handleUpdateNote(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	if err := checkOrigin(w, r); err != nil {
 		log.Println(err)
 		http.Error(w, fmt.Sprintln(err), 500)
+		return
 	}
 
 	// parse request body
@@ -146,6 +150,7 @@ func handleDeleteNote(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	if err := checkOrigin(w, r); err != nil {
 		log.Println(err)
 		http.Error(w, fmt.Sprintln(err), 500)
+		return
 	}
 
 	path := r.URL.Query().Get("path")
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index 227bc6a..84bc371 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -2,14 +2,15 @@ package config
 
 import (
 	"os"
-	"os/user"
-	"path/filepath"
 
 	"github.com/BurntSushi/toml"
+	"github.com/oolong-sh/sync"
 )
 
 var cfg OolongConfig
 
+type OolongSyncConfig sync.SyncConfig
+
 type OolongConfig struct {
 	NotesDirPaths     []string `toml:"note_directories"`
 	NGramRange        []int    `toml:"ngram_range"`
@@ -19,6 +20,7 @@ type OolongConfig struct {
 
 	PluginsConfig OolongPluginConfig `toml:"plugins"`
 	GraphConfig   OolongGraphConfig  `toml:"graph"`
+	SyncConfig    OolongSyncConfig   `toml:"sync"`
 }
 
 type OolongPluginConfig struct {
@@ -40,12 +42,12 @@ func PluginPaths() []string               { return cfg.PluginsConfig.PluginPaths
 func IgnoredDirectories() []string        { return cfg.IgnoreDirectories }
 func StopWords() []string                 { return cfg.StopWords }
 func WeightThresholds() OolongGraphConfig { return cfg.GraphConfig }
+func SyncConfig() OolongSyncConfig        { return cfg.SyncConfig }
 
 // TODO: file watcher for config file, reload on change
 
-func Setup(configPath string) error {
-	var err error
-	configPath, err = expand(configPath)
+func Setup() error {
+	configPath, err := findConfigPath()
 	if err != nil {
 		panic(err)
 	}
@@ -72,15 +74,3 @@ func Setup(configPath string) error {
 
 	return nil
 }
-
-func expand(path string) (string, error) {
-	if len(path) == 0 || path[0] != '~' {
-		return path, nil
-	}
-
-	usr, err := user.Current()
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-	return filepath.Join(usr.HomeDir, path[1:]), nil
-}
diff --git a/internal/config/config_utils.go b/internal/config/config_utils.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e854935
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/config/config_utils.go
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+package config
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"os/user"
+	"path/filepath"
+)
+
+func findConfigPath() (string, error) {
+	var err error
+
+	// read config file location from env var, fall back to ~/.config/oolong.toml
+	configPath := os.Getenv("OOLONG_CONFIG_PATH")
+	if configPath == "" {
+		configPath, err = checkDefaultLocations()
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", err
+		}
+	}
+	fmt.Println(configPath)
+
+	configPath, err = expand(configPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	return configPath, nil
+}
+
+func checkDefaultLocations() (string, error) {
+	configPaths := []string{
+		"~/.config/oolong.toml",
+		"~/.config/oolong/oolong.toml",
+		"~/oolong.toml",
+		"~/.oolong.toml",
+		"/etc/oolong/oolong.toml",
+		"./oolong.toml",
+	}
+
+	for _, p := range configPaths {
+		configPath, err := expand(p)
+		if err != nil {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		if _, err := os.Stat(configPath); err == nil {
+			return configPath, nil
+		}
+	}
+
+	return "", fmt.Errorf("No fallback config file found.")
+}
+
+func expand(path string) (string, error) {
+	if len(path) == 0 || path[0] != '~' {
+		return path, nil
+	}
+
+	usr, err := user.Current()
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	return filepath.Join(usr.HomeDir, path[1:]), nil
+}
diff --git a/internal/daemon/sync.go b/internal/daemon/sync.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e31258c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/daemon/sync.go
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+package daemon
+
+import (
+	"log"
+
+	"github.com/oolong-sh/oolong/internal/config"
+	"github.com/oolong-sh/sync"
+)
+
+func Sync(files ...string) error {
+	syncConfig := config.SyncConfig()
+
+	// stop if synchronization is not enabled (no config/bad config)
+	if syncConfig.Host == "" {
+		log.Println("Synchronization not enabled.")
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	s, err := sync.NewClient(sync.SyncConfig(syncConfig))
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	if err := s.Update(files...); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	log.Println("Done syncing.")
+
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/internal/daemon/watcher.go b/internal/daemon/watcher.go
index 56888f1..8154eff 100644
--- a/internal/daemon/watcher.go
+++ b/internal/daemon/watcher.go
@@ -24,10 +24,17 @@ func runNotesDirsWatcher(dirs ...string) error {
 
 	dirIgnores := config.IgnoredDirectories()
 
+	files := []string{}
 	for _, dir := range dirs {
+		if _, err := os.Stat(dir); err != nil {
+			log.Printf("Error creating watcher on directory '%s': %v\n", dir, err)
+			continue
+		}
+
 		// TODO: add oolong ignore system to blacklist certain subdirs/files
 		if err = filepath.WalkDir(dir, func(path string, d fs.DirEntry, err error) error {
 			if !d.IsDir() {
+				files = append(files, path)
 				return nil
 			}
 
@@ -50,6 +57,13 @@ func runNotesDirsWatcher(dirs ...string) error {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// run initial server synchronization
+	go func(files []string) {
+		if err := Sync(files...); err != nil {
+			log.Printf("Failed to synchronize files %s: %v\n", files, err)
+		}
+	}(files)
+
 	// watcher handler
 	for {
 		select {
@@ -66,6 +80,12 @@ func runNotesDirsWatcher(dirs ...string) error {
 				// write event is sent on write start, wait 500ms for write to finish
 				time.Sleep(500)
 
+				go func(file string) {
+					if err := Sync(file); err != nil {
+						log.Printf("Failed to synchronize file %s: %v\n", file, err)
+					}
+				}(event.Name)
+
 				// re-read document
 				documents.ReadDocuments(event.Name)
 
@@ -77,10 +97,13 @@ func runNotesDirsWatcher(dirs ...string) error {
 				// - need to be careful with remove event as editors use it when writing files
 				// - state removal needs to also remove ngrams
 				// - should only trigger update on file deletions
+				// TODO: sync handling
 
 			case event.Has(fsnotify.Create):
 				log.Println("Created file/directory", event.Name)
 
+				// TODO: sync handling?
+
 				if info, err := os.Stat(event.Name); err == nil {
 					if info.IsDir() {
 						watcher.Add(event.Name)
diff --git a/internal/documents/corpus.go b/internal/documents/corpus.go
index 2f95447..5b9da8f 100644
--- a/internal/documents/corpus.go
+++ b/internal/documents/corpus.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"io/fs"
 	"log"
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"slices"
 	"sync"
@@ -41,6 +42,11 @@ func ReadNotesDirs() error {
 
 	docs := []*Document{}
 	for _, dir := range config.NotesDirPaths() {
+		if _, err := os.Stat(dir); err != nil {
+			log.Printf("Error reading directory '%s': %v\n", dir, err)
+			continue
+		}
+
 		// extract all note file paths from notes directory
 		paths := []string{}
 		// TODO: add oolong ignore system to blacklist certain subdirs/files
diff --git a/internal/linking/lexer/lexer_test.go b/internal/linking/lexer/lexer_test.go
index ca685ba..3daf85e 100644
--- a/internal/linking/lexer/lexer_test.go
+++ b/internal/linking/lexer/lexer_test.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package lexer_test
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
+	"os"
 	"slices"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
@@ -14,7 +15,10 @@ import (
 var cfg config.OolongConfig
 
 func init() {
-	if err := config.Setup("../../../examples/oolong.toml"); err != nil {
+	if err := os.Setenv("OOLONG_CONFIG_PATH", "../../../examples/oolong.toml"); err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+	if err := config.Setup(); err != nil {
 		panic(err)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/internal/state/state.go b/internal/state/state.go
index e7be7e5..52ea8c1 100644
--- a/internal/state/state.go
+++ b/internal/state/state.go
@@ -104,10 +104,9 @@ func (s *StateManager) updateState(docs []*documents.Document) {
 	// if err := os.WriteFile("./meaningful-ngrams.csv", b, 0666); err != nil {
 	// 	panic(err)
 	// }
-	// //  TODO: add threshold filtering params to these functions (use config)
 	// kw := keywords.NGramsToKeywordsMap(s.state.NGrams)
 	// notes := notes.DocumentsToNotes(s.state.Documents)
-	// dat, err := graph.SerializeGraph(kw, notes, 0.1, 80)
+	// dat, err := graph.SerializeGraph(kw, notes)
 	// if err != nil {
 	// 	panic(err)
 	// }
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 46deac0..f04dbc2 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ var daemonFlag = flag.Bool("no-daemon", false, "Run Oolong in no-daemon mode (no
 
 func main() {
 	// read in config
-	if err := config.Setup("~/.config/oolong.toml"); err != nil {
+	if err := config.Setup(); err != nil {
 		panic(err)
 	}