Multi-Device Workflow

This guide walks through the full devsync workflow: from initial setup on your first machine, to syncing your config to a second device, to the day-to-day routine of keeping everything in sync.

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First Machine: Initial Setup

1. Install devsync and initialize

   npm install -g @tinyrack/devsync
   devsync init

   Press Enter when prompted for an age key — a new key pair is generated automatically. Note the private key printed during init and store it securely.

2. Track your files

   devsync track ~/.gitconfig
   devsync track ~/.zshrc
   devsync track ~/.config/nvim
   devsync track ~/.ssh/config --mode secret

   Assign machine-specific files to a profile if needed:

   devsync track ~/.config/work-tool --profile work
   devsync profile use work

3. Preview what will be pushed

   devsync status

   Or do a dry run:

   devsync push --dry-run

4. Push to the sync repository

   devsync push

5. Publish to a remote Git repository

   devsync cd
   git remote add origin https://github.com/yourname/dotfiles.git
   git add .
   git commit -m "Initial sync"
   git push -u origin main
   exit

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Second Machine: Connecting to an Existing Repository

1. Install devsync

   npm install -g @tinyrack/devsync

2. Initialize with the existing repository and your age private key

   devsync init https://github.com/yourname/dotfiles.git --key AGE-SECRET-KEY-1...

   This clones the repository into ~/.config/devsync/sync/ and registers your age key.

3. Set the active profile (if applicable)

   devsync profile use work

4. Preview what will be applied

   devsync pull --dry-run

5. Apply the config

   devsync pull

   All tracked files are written to their local paths. Secret files are decrypted automatically.

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Day-to-Day Workflow

After the initial setup, the typical daily workflow is:

Making a change on one machine

# 1. Edit your config normally
vim ~/.zshrc

# 2. Preview what changed
devsync status

# 3. Push to the sync repository
devsync push

# 4. Commit and push to git
devsync cd
git add .
git commit -m "Update zsh aliases"
git push
exit

Picking up changes on another machine

# 1. Pull from git
devsync cd
git pull
exit

# 2. Preview what would be applied
devsync pull --dry-run

# 3. Apply
devsync pull

Note

Devsync does not automatically run git pull or git push — you manage git history yourself. This keeps devsync simple and avoids merge conflicts inside the tool.

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Resolving Conflicts

Because devsync does not auto-commit, conflicts are standard git merge conflicts. If two machines both modified the same tracked file and both pushed:

devsync cd
git pull
# → CONFLICT in .gitconfig (or whichever file)
# Resolve the conflict manually
git add .
git commit -m "Merge: resolve .gitconfig conflict"
exit

# Then pull to apply the resolved state locally
devsync pull

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Validating Your Setup

If something seems off, use the doctor command to check your configuration, age key, and tracked paths:

devsync doctor

This reports any issues such as a missing age key, unreachable tracked paths, or a broken manifest.