Troubleshooting

A good first step for almost anything is to see what treesync thinks is going on:

treesync status --verbose

Common issues

treesync: command not found

The binary isn’t on your PATH. Reopen your terminal, or re-run the installer from Installation. Verify with treesync version.

My folder isn’t syncing

1. Check treesync status — it shows whether the folder is up to date or mid-transfer.
2. If you’re driving sync manually, run treesync push.
3. Confirm you’re signed in: treesync login (a no-op if you already are).
4. Make sure the files aren’t excluded by an ignore rule (next item).

Some files aren’t showing up on the other device

They’re probably excluded or skipped as transient:

• Check for .treesyncignore / .syncignore at the folder root and inside subfolders — rules are nestable. See Configuration.
• Lock files, sockets, and similar transient files are always skipped by design.

I see a file named ... (conflict from ...)

That’s a sidecar conflict copy — both versions were kept so nothing was lost. Follow Conflicts to merge and clean it up.

The first sync is slow or uses a lot of bandwidth

The first push of a large folder uploads the most, because everything is new. After that only changed pieces move. To trim it, exclude heavy directories (build output, dependencies) — see Configuration.

node_modules / .venv break across machines

These can contain native binaries that don’t work across operating systems. If you sync the same folder across macOS and Linux, exclude them. See Configuration.

A sync seems stuck

Check treesync status --verbose for the current transfer. Transfers resume on their own after interruptions; if something still looks wrong, treesync logout then treesync login re-establishes the session without touching your files.

I lost a device

Run treesync logout to unlink the current device (local files stay put). If you’ve lost all your devices, use your recovery codes — see Security & privacy.

FAQ

Does treesync change my repos or run git for me? No. It mirrors your files — including each repo’s .git as plain files — and never runs git operations or rewrites history.

Can treesync (or its makers) read my files? No. Everything is end-to-end encrypted on your device. See Security & privacy.

Is it safe to sync secrets like .env? They’re encrypted like everything else. Be mindful that any device signed in to your account can decrypt them.

Will I lose data if two machines edit the same file? No. treesync keeps both versions as a sidecar conflict copy.

Do I add each repo separately? No — add the one parent folder that holds all your repos. New repos placed inside it are picked up automatically.

Which platforms are supported? macOS and Linux today; Windows later. See Installation.

Still need help?

Email support@treesync.dev with the output of treesync status --verbose and your treesync version.