LiveSync

LiveSync is a Visual Studio Code extension that lets you instantly sync your local workspace with a remote folder over SSH/SFTP — with real-time difference tracking, customizable sync events, and an intuitive visual interface.

It’s perfect for developers working with remote servers or any SSH-accessible machine.
No more manual uploads, terminal back-and-forth, wondering if a file is out of sync or not notice when someone else changed a file on the VM.

⚡ Features at a Glance

• 🟢 Live Difference View – Visualize what’s changed between local and remote at a glance.
• 🔁 Two-Way Sync Options – Choose whether to sync on file create, save, delete, move, etc.
• ⚙️ Flexible Event Rules – Set each event to trigger check, upload, download, or do nothing.
• 📂 Folder & File Sync – Manually upload/download files or entire directories.
• 🧩 Ignore Patterns – Use glob-style rules to exclude node_modules, .git, etc.
• 🖱️ Context Menu Integration – Sync directly from the file explorer via right-click.
• 🌲 Tree/List Views – Choose how to visualize and act on changed files.
• 🎛️ Visual Configuration Panel – Set up without touching JSON files (but you still can).
• 🎨 Multi-Workspace - Independent configs per workspace folder

🚀 Quick Start

1. Install the Extension

• Open VS Code
• Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
• Search for LiveSync
• Click Install

2. Set Up Your Connection

• Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
• Run: LiveSync: Open Configuration Panel
• Fill in your SSH/SFTP info
• Click Test Connection → then Save

📸 Example:

3. Start Syncing

• Open the LiveSync Tree View in the sidebar
• Right-click a file or folder → Upload, Download, or Show Diff
• Toggle between tree/list view, hide unchanged files, or refresh diffs

📸 Example:

⚙️ Configuration Options

LiveSync is configured per workspace folder, either through a visual interface or a dedicated JSON file.

Option 1: Use the Configuration Command

The configuration panel is the easiest way to get started — no need to edit files manually.

How to access it:

• Open the Command Palette → LiveSync: Configure Workspace
• Or click the LiveSync icon in the status bar (bottom-left corner)

📸 Example:

If you are working in a multi-root workspace, LiveSync will first ask you to select the workspace folder you want to configure.

After that, LiveSync will open either:

• the visual configuration panel (webview), or
• the raw configuration file (.vscode/livesync.json)

This behavior is controlled by the VS Code setting livesync.openMode, which lets you:

• always open the UI,
• always open the JSON file,
• or be prompted to choose each time.

Option 2: Manual .vscode/livesync.json Setup

If you prefer to create or edit the configuration manually, LiveSync stores its workspace configuration in:

.vscode/livesync.json

Example:

{
  "hostname": "your.server.com",
  "port": 2222,
  "username": "your-username",
  "password": "your-password",
  "privateKeyPath": "/path/to/private/key",
  "passphrase": "",
  "remotePath": "/remote/path/to/sync",

  "actionOnUpload": "check&upload",
  "actionOnDownload": "check&download",
  "actionOnSave": "check&save",
  "actionOnCreate": "check",
  "actionOnDelete": "check",
  "actionOnMove": "check&move",
  "actionOnOpen": "check&download",

  "ignoreList": [
    ".vscode",
    ".svn",
    ".git"
  ]
}

🌳 Tree View Features

LiveSync’s Tree View helps you visualize and manage file differences between local and remote folders.

Available Actions:

• 📄 View Diffs – Click a file to see the local vs. remote difference
• ⬆ Upload / ⬇ Download – Right-click files or folders to sync manually
• 🔄 Refresh Differences – Re-scan the current project to update changes
• 📁 Tree vs. List View – Choose how you browse files (hierarchical or flat)
• 👁 Hide/Show Unchanged Files – Clean up the view for faster triaging
• 📉 Collapse All – Quickly collapse the entire folder tree

💡 Tips & Troubleshooting

• Works best with stable SSH/SFTP connections (slow networks may cause delays)
• You can mix event-based and manual sync as needed
• If something isn’t syncing right, check the Output Panel for logs

📣 Contribute or Report Issues

Found a bug or have a feature idea?
Open an issue on GitHub: LiveSync Issues

📌 License

This extension is licensed under the GPT-3 License.
See LICENSE for details.