Linking & sync

Link directories to projects and environments, control the sync loop, and understand how files get written.

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Linking & sync

Link a directory#

Open the Envpilot tool window#

View → Tool Windows → Envpilot (it docks to the right).

Pick organization, project, environment#

Development, staging, or production.

Link the folder#

Variables land in the target file and secret files are materialized at their recorded paths.

Tools → Envpilot → Pull Now syncs on demand. Show Status reports connection and sync state.

What sync does#

The loop runs every syncIntervalSeconds (default 300, clamped to 60–3600) while autoSync is on.
A live connection pushes changes the moment they land server-side, and pulls when you return to the IDE. The interval loop is the fallback, not the source of fresh values.
Timer, realtime pushes, IDE activation, and manual pulls are single-flight. One write at a time, never interleaved files.
autoUnsyncOnClose (on by default) removes the synced .env files when the project closes, so a laptop left open is not a .env archive.

Secret files#

Secret files are written with their own recorded permissions. A keystore gets 0600/0400, not a .env's bits.

The fetch completes and decrypts fully before any write starts. Incomplete or undecryptable data aborts the pull loudly instead of half-writing a file.

Settings#

Settings → Tools → Envpilot:

Setting	Default	What it does
`autoSync`	on	Run the sync loop
`syncIntervalSeconds`	300	Permission-check loop, clamped 60–3600
`targetFile`	`.env.local`	The file variables are written to
`autoUnsyncOnClose`	on	Delete synced `.env` files when the project closes
`conflictResolution`	`merge`	What happens when the target file already exists
`idlePauseMinutes`	0	Pause the loop after N idle minutes; 0 never pauses
`serverUrl`	baked	Override the Envpilot API base URL

Limits#

One project and one environment per linked directory. Link different directories to different environments; each syncs independently.
The interval loop is a permission check, not a value poll. Values arrive over the live connection.
Sync writes what your role can read. Nothing indicates that other variables exist.

Next#

Linking & sync

Link directories to projects and environments, control the sync loop, and understand how files get written.

open in claude open in chatgpt open in cursor

Linking & sync

Link a directory#

Open the Envpilot tool window#

View → Tool Windows → Envpilot (it docks to the right).

Pick organization, project, environment#

Development, staging, or production.

Link the folder#

Variables land in the target file and secret files are materialized at their recorded paths.

Tools → Envpilot → Pull Now syncs on demand. Show Status reports connection and sync state.

What sync does#

The loop runs every syncIntervalSeconds (default 300, clamped to 60–3600) while autoSync is on.
A live connection pushes changes the moment they land server-side, and pulls when you return to the IDE. The interval loop is the fallback, not the source of fresh values.
Timer, realtime pushes, IDE activation, and manual pulls are single-flight. One write at a time, never interleaved files.
autoUnsyncOnClose (on by default) removes the synced .env files when the project closes, so a laptop left open is not a .env archive.

Secret files#

Secret files are written with their own recorded permissions. A keystore gets 0600/0400, not a .env's bits.

The fetch completes and decrypts fully before any write starts. Incomplete or undecryptable data aborts the pull loudly instead of half-writing a file.

Settings#

Settings → Tools → Envpilot:

Setting	Default	What it does
`autoSync`	on	Run the sync loop
`syncIntervalSeconds`	300	Permission-check loop, clamped 60–3600
`targetFile`	`.env.local`	The file variables are written to
`autoUnsyncOnClose`	on	Delete synced `.env` files when the project closes
`conflictResolution`	`merge`	What happens when the target file already exists
`idlePauseMinutes`	0	Pause the loop after N idle minutes; 0 never pauses
`serverUrl`	baked	Override the Envpilot API base URL

Limits#

One project and one environment per linked directory. Link different directories to different environments; each syncs independently.
The interval loop is a permission check, not a value poll. Values arrive over the live connection.
Sync writes what your role can read. Nothing indicates that other variables exist.