FAQ

Does anything need to be installed on the remote?

No. You need an ssh server and a POSIX shell. devsync uploads a static agent binary (about 3 MB) to ~/.devsync/bin/ the first time, and again only when you upgrade devsync.

Is it two-way sync?

No, on purpose. Your machine is the source of truth. Two-way sync means conflicts on every save; devsync only brings back what commands generate, and never overwrites your edits.

Why are my .gitignore’d files synced?

Because they’re usually what the code needs to run (.env, local configs, data). Set sync.use_gitignore = true or list exclusions in .devsyncignore. See Syncing files.

Is my .env safe?

devsync copies it over your own ssh connection to a machine you already log into, and keeps its permissions. If a secret must never leave your machine, exclude it.

Does it keep a connection open?

No. Every operation is a short ssh session. With ssh.multiplex = true, OpenSSH may keep one idle TCP connection for control_persist_secs so the next session starts faster, but nothing depends on it.

Can several machines use the same remote project?

Yes. Each pushes its own tree. Jobs started from one machine are visible to the others through devsync jobs --remote and devsync logs <id>.

Can I use it with Docker or a VM on my machine?

Yes. With remote.host = "local", the agent runs on this machine against remote.path, which is useful for a shared folder mounted into a VM or container. Any host reachable over ssh (including containers running sshd) works as a normal remote.

What about Windows?

The client and agent are Unix-only for now. WSL2 works as a client.

How big a project can it handle?

Scanning uses a hash cache, so after the first sync only changed files are read. Uploads are pipelined and compressed. Repositories with hundreds of thousands of files work; exclude build outputs and data you don’t need on the remote to keep scans fast.

How do I stop a runaway remote command?

devsync kill <id> (or Ctrl-C during devsync exec). It sends SIGTERM to the command’s whole process group, then SIGKILL after 3 seconds.