The classic cross-platform vanishing act.

Ah, the classic cross-platform vanishing act. This usually happens because of how Joplin handles file paths under the hood when you drag-and-drop, combined with how your rclone mount is treating those files. When you drag a picture into Joplin, it copies that image into its local resources folder and creates a markdown link to it. If your Linux machine can’t see it, it’s almost always due to one of three common culprits. Here is how to track down the issue and fix it:

1. Check Your Joplin Sync Settings (The Most Likely Culprit)

If you are using Joplin on both machines, you shouldn’t be syncing the raw Joplin profile folder via rclone. Joplin uses a live SQLite database. If both Windows and Linux try to read/write to the same active database folder over a network mount, it will cause database corruption, missing attachments, and lockups.

• How it should work: You should use Joplin’s built-in synchronization feature.
• The Fix: 1. In Joplin, go to Tools > Options > Sync. 2. Set the Synchronisation target to File system. 3. Point that sync directory to your rclone mounted NAS folder (e.g., X:\JoplinSync on Windows and ~/nas_docs/JoplinSync on Linux). 4. Do this on both machines. Joplin will then safely export/import your notes and pictures into a shared format that both OS architectures can read perfectly.

2. The Case-Sensitivity Trap

Windows is case-insensitive (MyImage.jpg and myimage.jpg are the same thing). Linux is strictly case-sensitive. If Joplin on Windows created a resource link using lowercase letters, but the actual file on the NAS was uploaded with an uppercase extension (like .JPG), Windows will display it flawlessly, but Linux will look for the lowercase version, panic, and show a broken link icon.

• The Fix: Ensure your rclone mount settings aren’t altering filenames. If you suspect this is the issue, looking at the note’s markdown source code (Ctrl + G in Joplin) will show you the exact filename it’s looking for.

3. The rclone Cache Lag

Because you are using a network mount, Windows might have “saved” the image to the folder, but rclone hasn’t actually pushed it up to the NAS yet, meaning Linux is looking for a file that doesn’t exist on the server.

• The Fix: Make sure your Windows mount command includes --vfs-cache-max-age 10s (or a similarly low number) so it forces the Windows machine to upload new data to the NAS almost immediately.

Summary Checklist to Fix It Fast:

1. Are you using Joplin’s built-in Sync settings pointing to the NAS, rather than opening the exact same database file on both PCs?
2. If you look at the NAS directly via a web browser or phone app, is the picture actually sitting in the folder? (If no, it’s a Windows upload caching issue).
3. If you look at the note in Markdown mode on Linux, does the file extension (.png vs .PNG) match the actual file on the NAS?