Watch Sync
A Visual Studio Code extension that monitors local directory changes and automatically syncs them to a remote server via SSH/rsync.
Features
- Real-time file monitoring using
inotifywait for instant change detection
- Efficient sync via
rsync - only transfers changed files
- Multiple profiles - configure different sync targets for different projects
- Auto-start - automatically start syncing when VS Code opens
- Status bar integration - view current sync status at a glance
- Secure authentication - supports SSH key and password authentication
- Credential storage - passwords stored securely in OS keychain via VS Code SecretStorage
Requirements
This extension requires a Linux environment with the following packages installed:
rsync - for file synchronizationinotify-tools - for file system monitoring
Installation
Ubuntu/Debian:
sudo apt install rsync inotify-tools
Fedora/RHEL:
sudo dnf install rsync inotify-tools
Arch Linux:
sudo pacman -S rsync inotify-tools
Installation
From VSIX
Build the extension:
npm install
npm run vsix
Install in VS Code:
code --install-extension watch-sync-0.0.1.vsix
From Source
git clone <repository-url>
cd watch-sync
npm install
npm run package
Then press F5 in VS Code to launch the extension in debug mode.
Configuration
Add sync profiles to your VS Code settings (settings.json):
{
"watchSync.profiles": [
{
"alias": "my-server",
"remoteUser": "username",
"remoteHost": "192.168.1.100",
"remoteDir": "/home/username/project",
"localDir": "${workspaceFolder}",
"sshPort": 22,
"exclude": [".git", "node_modules", "dist"]
}
],
"watchSync.autoStartProfile": "my-server"
}
Profile Options
| Option |
Type |
Required |
Default |
Description |
alias |
string |
Yes |
- |
Unique name for this profile |
remoteUser |
string |
Yes |
- |
SSH username |
remoteHost |
string |
Yes |
- |
Remote server hostname or IP |
remoteDir |
string |
Yes |
- |
Remote directory path |
localDir |
string |
No |
${workspaceFolder} |
Local directory to sync |
sshPort |
number |
No |
22 |
SSH port |
exclude |
string[] |
No |
[".git", "node_modules"] |
Patterns to exclude from sync |
direction |
string |
No |
localToRemote |
Sync direction (currently only localToRemote) |
conflictPolicy |
string |
No |
localWins |
Conflict resolution policy (currently only localWins) |
Variables
${workspaceFolder} - Current workspace folder path
Usage
Commands
Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and run:
| Command |
Description |
Watch Sync: Start |
Start file watching and syncing |
Watch Sync: Stop |
Stop file watching |
Status Bar
The status bar shows the current sync status:
- Idle - Not syncing
- Watching - Monitoring for file changes
- Syncing - Transferring files
- Error - Sync error occurred
Click the status bar item to start/stop syncing.
SSH Authentication
The extension supports two authentication methods:
- SSH Key (recommended) - Uses keys from
~/.ssh/ (id_rsa, id_ed25519, id_ecdsa)
- Password - Enter when prompted, optionally save to OS keychain
Extension Settings
This extension contributes the following settings:
| Setting |
Description |
watchSync.profiles |
Array of sync profile configurations |
watchSync.autoStartProfile |
Profile alias to auto-start on VS Code launch |
Known Issues
- Only supports Linux environments (requires
inotifywait)
- Sync direction is currently limited to local-to-remote only
Development
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Watch mode (development)
npm run watch
# Lint
npm run lint
# Run tests
npm run test
# Production build
npm run package
# Create VSIX package
npm run vsix
Architecture
The extension follows clean architecture principles:
src/
├── core/ # Shared types, utilities, logger
├── domain/ # Business logic (entities, services)
├── infrastructure/ # External integrations (SSH, rsync, file watcher)
├── application/ # Orchestration and state management
└── presentation/ # UI (commands, status bar, wizard)
License
MIT
