Platform-Specific Paths

Some tools store their config in different locations depending on the platform. For example, Neovim’s config lives at ~/.config/nvim on Linux and macOS, but at %APPDATA%\Local\nvim on Windows. Devsync supports per-platform localPath variants to handle this.

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The Problem

When you run devsync track ~/.config/nvim on Linux, the entry records the Linux path. On Windows, you’d need a different path for the same logical entry. Without platform path support, you’d need two separate manifest entries — one per machine — and they’d conflict.

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Platform Keys

Devsync supports four platform keys in manifest.json:

Key	Platform
win	Windows
mac	macOS
linux	Linux
wsl	Windows Subsystem for Linux

Note that wsl is treated as a separate platform from linux. A file running under WSL uses the wsl key, not linux.

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The localPath Format

A single-platform entry uses a plain string:

{
  "localPath": ".config/nvim",
  "mode": "normal",
  "profiles": []
}

A multi-platform entry uses an object with a default key and optional platform overrides:

{
  "localPath": {
    "default": ".config/nvim",
    "win": "AppData/Local/nvim",
    "wsl": ".config/nvim"
  },
  "mode": "normal",
  "profiles": []
}

During push and pull, devsync picks the value matching the current platform, falling back to default if no specific key is present.

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Setting Up Platform-Specific Paths

devsync track records the path as it exists on the current platform. To add paths for other platforms, you edit manifest.json directly.

Step 1: Track on current machine

# On Linux/macOS
devsync track ~/.config/nvim

# On Windows
devsync track ~/AppData/Local/nvim

This creates an entry with a plain string localPath for the current platform.

Step 2: Edit manifest.json

Open manifest.json in the sync directory:

devsync cd
vim manifest.json

Change the plain string to an object:

{
  "localPath": {
    "default": ".config/nvim",
    "win": "AppData/Local/nvim"
  },
  "mode": "normal",
  "profiles": []
}

Save and exit.

Step 3: Push and commit

# Still inside devsync cd shell
git add manifest.json
git commit -m "Add Windows path for nvim config"
git push
exit

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Example: Common Cross-Platform Configs

Neovim

{
  "localPath": {
    "default": ".config/nvim",
    "win": "AppData/Local/nvim"
  },
  "mode": "normal",
  "profiles": []
}

VS Code settings

{
  "localPath": {
    "default": ".config/Code/User/settings.json",
    "mac": "Library/Application Support/Code/User/settings.json",
    "win": "AppData/Roaming/Code/User/settings.json"
  },
  "mode": "normal",
  "profiles": []
}

SSH config

{
  "localPath": ".ssh/config",
  "mode": "secret",
  "profiles": []
}

SSH config lives at ~/.ssh/config on all platforms, so no platform variant is needed here.

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WSL Notes

Note

WSL has its own wsl platform key, separate from linux. If you run devsync under WSL, it will use the wsl path if present, otherwise fall back to default.

If you also run devsync natively on Linux (not WSL), it uses the linux key (or default). You can have both:

{
  "localPath": {
    "default": ".config/nvim",
    "wsl": ".config/nvim",
    "linux": ".config/nvim",
    "win": "AppData/Local/nvim"
  }
}