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, conflict detection, 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, or wondering if a file is out of sync.

⚡ 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.
• ⚠️ Conflict Detection – Automatically warns when uploading/downloading could overwrite changes on either side.
• 📂 Folder & File Sync – Manually upload/download files, entire directories, or the whole workspace.
• 🗑️ Remote Delete – Delete files or folders on the remote directly from the tree view.
• 🧩 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: Configure Workspace
• 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, Show Diff, or Delete
• 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 (Recommended)

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:

• prompt – ask each time (default)
• ui – always open the visual panel
• json – always open the JSON file directly

Option 2: Manual .vscode/livesync.json Setup

LiveSync stores its workspace configuration in .vscode/livesync.json. You can create or edit it manually:

{
  "hostname": "your.server.com",
  "port": 22,
  "username": "your-username",
  "password": "your-password",
  "privateKeyPath": "/path/to/private/key",
  "passphrase": "",
  "remotePath": "/remote/path/to/sync",

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

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

VS Code Extension Settings

These settings live in your VS Code user or workspace settings (not livesync.json):

🌳 Tree View Features

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

File Status Icons

Available Actions

• 📄 View Diffs – Click a file to see the local vs. remote difference
• ⬆ Upload / ⬇ Download – Right-click files or folders to sync manually
• ⬆⬆ Upload Workspace / ⬇⬇ Download Workspace – Bulk sync the entire workspace
• 🗑️ Delete – Remove a file or folder from the remote
• 🔄 Refresh Differences – Re-scan the current project to update the diff view
• 📁 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

🗂️ Multi-Workspace Support

LiveSync supports multi-root workspaces — VS Code workspaces with more than one folder open at the same time.

When you have multiple folders, a Workspace Picker panel appears in the sidebar. Each folder:

• Has its own independent .vscode/livesync.json (separate server, separate remote path, separate sync rules)
• Shows a status icon: ✅ connected, ⚠️ config error, 🚫 no config

Click a folder in the Workspace Picker to make it active — the diff tree updates to show that folder's files. Your selection is remembered between sessions.

The Refresh All button in the Tree View toolbar refreshes every configured workspace at once.

⚠️ Conflict Detection

When an action could overwrite changes, LiveSync warns you before proceeding. A dialog appears with the conflict details and options:

• Proceed – Go ahead with the operation
• Show Diff – Open a side-by-side diff first (when applicable)
• Ignore – Skip this check and proceed silently
• Cancel – Abort the operation

Conflicts are detected for all operations: save, create, delete, move, open, upload, and download. For example:

• Uploading a file when the remote was modified since your last sync
• Downloading a file when your local copy was modified since your last sync
• Creating a file when it already exists on the remote

The dialog times out after 15 seconds and automatically cancels to avoid blocking the queue indefinitely.

💡 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: run LiveSync: Show Logs from the Command Palette
• Use LiveSync: Refresh Remote Index to manually force a fresh scan of the remote server

📣 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 GPL-3 License.
See LICENSE for details.