Sync vscode settings between computers with git

27 Oct 2020

If your favourite IDE/TextEditor is vscode/vscodium and if you have multiple devices then you may want to have same settings and extensions for vscode in all your devices. There are 1 or 2 ways you can do that but we will try the easiest and the most reliable one.

there is an extension for syncing/uploading/downloading your vscode settings extensions via a github repository called Syncify. I personally have been using this extension for almost a year.

To use Git, you must first configure it by providing your name and email. To do this, run the following in your terminal, replacing the placeholders with the corresponding values.

git config --global user.name "<Your Name>"
git config --global user.email "<Your Email>"

Installation

Using Extension Panel

1. Open the extensions panel: Ctrl+Shift+X (⌘ on Mac)
2. Type syncify
3. Click Install

Using Command Palette

1. Open the command palette: Ctrl+P (⌘ on Mac)
2. Type ext install arnohovhannisyan.syncify
3. Press Enter to install

The extension provides us with two types of syncing repo sync nad file sync, here we don’t need file sync so we will leave it for now. the repo sync method allows us to sync the settings and extensions by creating a private github repo.

Setup

Automatic Setup using OAuth

This method requires Syncify to ask for full control over your public and private repositories, however, this is a limitation of the APIs provided by GitHub, GitLab, and BitBucket. If you are worried about security, feel free to manually set up Syncify using SSH.

Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and run Syncify: Upload. Click the login button for your preferred provider (GitHub, GitLab, or BitBucket). Authorize Syncify to access your repositories.

If this is your first time using this extension:

Choose the name of your new settings repository by entering it in the first text box. Click Create to create it and click Close to return to VSCode.

If you have already uploaded our settings before:

Click the List Repositories button to get a list of your repositories Click the Use This button next to the repository you would like to register.

Finally, open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and run Syncify: Upload if you just created a repository, or Syncify: Download if you’ve already uploaded your settings before.

Manual Configuration

The URL to the repository can also be the path to a local git repository.

Using the GUI

Run Syncify: Open Settings in the command palette Enter the URL of your desired repository into the File Syncer -> File Export Path field

Manually

Run Syncify: Open Settings in the command palette Click Open file in editor Set the value of the repo.url property to the URL of your desired repository

Example snippet from settings file:

{
    "repo": {
        "url": "git@github.com:arnohovhannisyan/code-settings"
    }
}

Profiles

Creating New Profile

Using the GUI

1. Run Syncify: Open Settings in the command palette
2. Scroll down to the Repo Syncer -> Profiles section
3. Click the + button to create a new profile
4. Fill in the branch and name fields

Switching the Current Profile

Run Syncify: Switch profile in the command palette Select the profile you want to switch to

After switching the current profile using the command, Syncify will prompt you to download the new settings.

Example Configuration

{
    "syncer": "repo",
    "repo": {
        "url": "...",
        "profiles": [
            {
                "branch": "master",
                "name": "main"
            },
            {
                "branch": "react",
                "name": "react-tools"
            }
        ],
        "currentProfile": "react-tools"
    }
}

Manually

Run Syncify: Open Settings in the command palette Click Open file in editor Add a new object to the repo.profiles array with the following format

{
    "branch": "[BRANCH]",
    "name": "[NAME]"
}

[BRANCH] is the Git branch that will be used to store your settings, while [NAME] is the name of the profile.

Switching the Current Profile

Run Syncify: Switch profile in the command palette Select the profile you want to switch to

After switching the current profile using the command, Syncify will prompt you to download the new settings.

Example Configuration

{
    "syncer": "repo",
    "repo": {
        "url": "...",
        "profiles": [
            {
                "branch": "master",
                "name": "main"
            },
            {
                "branch": "react",
                "name": "react-tools"
            }
        ],
        "currentProfile": "react-tools"
    }
}

Final Notes

The Syncify is the best and reliable way I have tried to sync my settings and extensions for vscode. And this also works for the open source alternative of the vscode, vscodium.

References

Documentation: https://arnohovhannisyan.space/vscode-syncify/
Github: https://github.com/arnohovhannisyan/vscode-syncify
Spectrum: https://spectrum.chat/vscode-syncify
Discord: https://discord.gg/DwFKj57