Sync Settings Pro

Sync Settings Effortlessly synchronize and manage your editor's settings, extensions, profiles, and more across all your devices.
Works with VS Code, Theia, and compatible editors.

☑️ Quick Start

Step-by-step example

• Open repository settings:

  # Open Command Palette and select:
  Sync Settings: Open the repository settings
  

• Upload your settings:

  # Upload user settings to your repository:
  Sync Settings: Upload (user → repository)
  

• Download settings on another device:

  # Download repository settings to your user setup:
  Sync Settings: Download (repository → user)
  

⚙️ Configuration Overview

Sync Settings uses a settings.yml file for initial configuration:

hostname: "my-laptop"       # Optional: device name
profile: main               # Required: profile name
repository:
  type: git                 # Required: file, git, rsync, or webdav
  url: "https://github.com/username/repo.git"   # Example for Git

Example: Rsync Repository

repository:
  type: rsync
  host: "my.server.com"
  path: "/backup/vscode-settings"

Example: WebDAV Repository

repository:
  type: webdav
  url: "https://webdav.server.com/remote.php/webdav/vscode-settings"
  username: "yourUser"
  password: "yourPassword"

Repository Types

Type	Description
file	Store config locally
git	Use local/remote Git repo (GitHub, GitLab)
rsync	Sync via rsync/SSH to remote dir
webdav	Use a WebDAV server

• Git docs: github.com
• Open VSX: open-vsx.org
• VS Marketplace: marketplace.visualstudio.com
• WebDAV: webdav.org

🔗 Resource Sync

You control what to sync in your settings.json:

{
  "syncSettings.resources": [
    "extensions",
    "keybindings",
    "settings",
    "snippets",
    "tasks",
    "uiState"
  ],
  "syncSettings.ignoredExtensions": [
    "theme-vintage",
    "company.plugin"
  ],
  "syncSettings.ignoredSettings": [
    "editor.fontFamily",
    "workbench.colorTheme"
  ],
  "syncSettings.keybindingsPerPlatform": true
}

Example: Only Sync Extensions & Settings

"syncSettings.resources": [ "extensions", "settings" ]

📄 External Files

You can also sync your custom files. Add them in settings.json:

"syncSettings.additionalFiles": [
  "~globalStorage/my-app-data.json",
  "~/.bash_aliases",
  "~/Documents/my_note.md",
  "~editorStorage/plugin.backup"
]

Supported path prefixes:

Prefix	Maps to...
~/	Home directory
~editorStorage/	Extensions folder
~globalStorage/	User global state location

⚠️ Syncing settings.yml is not required and will result in an error!

Example: Only Sync a Project File

"syncSettings.additionalFiles": [
  "~/src/project/settings.local.json"
]

💾 Extensions Management

If your profile's data/extensions folder contains a .vsix file, it will take priority for extension installation.

Reveal the extensions directory:

Sync Settings: Reveal the profile in the file explorer

Example folder structure:

data
└── extensions
    ├── ms-python.python-2024.5.123456789.vsix
    └── ms-vscode.cpptools-1.17.4.vsix

🗂 Profiles & Inheritance

Profiles store separate setups for different use-cases.
You can create or switch any time.

Creating a new profile

Sync Settings: Create a new profile

Switching profiles

Sync Settings: Switch to profile

Example: Profile Inheritance

Profiles can inherit (extend) resources from another:

profile: dev
extends:
  - base
  - work

💡 Essential Commands

• Open repository settings
• Upload/download settings
• Review configuration differences
• List missing extensions
• Manage profiles (create, delete, switch)
• Reveal profile in explorer
• Remove all local user settings and extensions (⚠️ destructive!)

Show all commands: Command Palette

Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
Type: Sync Settings

🛠 Advanced Features

JSONC Conditional Attributes

Enable settings for specific platforms or editor versions:

{
  // #if(os="mac")
  "editor.fontWeight": "300",
  // #elif(os="windows")
  "editor.fontWeight": "400",
  // #else
  "editor.fontWeight": "500"
  // #endif
}

Hooks – Run Shell Scripts

Add hooks to run scripts before/after sync in settings.yml:

hooks:
  beforeUpload: "sh ./pre-upload.sh"
  afterDownload: "npm run local-setup"

Crons – Automate Tasks

Schedule tasks using cron syntax in settings.json:

"syncSettings.crons": {
  "review":   "0 * * * *",    // Every hour
  "download": "0 9 * * *",    // 9:00 AM daily
  "upload":   "0 17 * * *"    // 5:00 PM daily
}

Remote Mode

Note: Remote sync only supports extensions.
This is useful for Codespaces/WSL/Remote SSH.

Eclipse Theia Support

Partial support: settings, keybindings, tasks, and additional files.
Extensions sync is not available in Theia.

❤️ Support & Contribute

Thank you for using Sync Settings!