Glossary

Workspace sync, defined term by term

Short, answer-first definitions for the ideas behind developer workspace sync: what each term means, why it matters, and how Bowline relates. For how these work under the hood, each entry links to the docs.

Concepts, in plain language

Ten concepts that come up when you keep one real ~/Code in sync across machines and coding agents. Pick a term for the full definition.

Agent lease
An agent lease is a scoped, time-bounded, audited grant that lets a coding agent hold and work in a project workspace. It defines the task, what the agent may read and write, its resource budget, its environment, and when access expires, so an agent operates with clear limits instead of open-ended access.
Coding agent workspace
A coding agent workspace is the full working environment a coding agent needs to do real work: the project source, config, environment variables and secrets, Git state, and uncommitted edits. Unlike a bare repository checkout, it includes the local, untracked state that makes a project actually runnable.
Conflict record
A conflict record is an explicit entry created when the same work diverges on two machines in a way that cannot be merged safely. Instead of last-writer-wins overwriting one side, both versions are kept and set aside for you to resolve, so offline divergence never silently loses work.
Device trust
Device trust is the explicit, revocable approval that lets a specific machine or agent host decrypt and work with your workspace. It is separate from account sign-in: proving who you are does not by itself release decryption keys. A new device earns access from an already-approved device, and you can revoke it anytime.
Dotfiles vs workspace sync
Dotfiles sync your personal shell, editor, and tool configuration across machines; workspace sync moves the project itself: source, environment variables, Git state, and uncommitted work. Dotfiles managers like chezmoi or GNU Stow set up your account. Workspace sync makes a specific project ready to run, which dotfiles never touch.
Env sync
Env sync carries a project's environment variables (the .env files and secrets a project needs to run) to every machine and agent host alongside its code. Instead of copying .env files by hand or re-entering keys, the same environment rematerializes wherever you open the project, so commands run identically everywhere.
Ephemeral dev environment
An ephemeral dev environment is a short-lived machine, container, or agent host created for a task and discarded afterward. It starts with nothing: no source, no environment variables, no authenticated tools. The challenge is making it project-ready in seconds so work is not lost when the host disappears.
Opaque Git state
Opaque Git state is a repository's .git directory moved between machines as raw encrypted bytes, without any tool interpreting, wrapping, or rewriting Git. Branches, history, stashes, and the index all travel intact, so the repository behaves identically on the next machine while Git itself remains the only thing that reads or writes it.
Recovery key
A recovery key is generated, word-based material you store yourself that can restore access to your encrypted workspace when no approved device is available. The service never holds it in plaintext, so it cannot reset it for you. It is the fallback path when every trusted device is lost at once.
Workspace sync
Workspace sync keeps one developer workspace (source, config, environment variables, Git state, and uncommitted work) consistent across every machine and agent host. It goes beyond file sync by understanding code: dependency folders regenerate locally instead of copying, lockfiles stay intact, and divergent edits are recorded rather than silently overwritten.

These are top-of-funnel definitions. For the implementation detail (snapshots, overlays, encryption, and the exact commands), read the Bowline docs.

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Your ~/Code, on every machine and every agent.

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Workspace sync, defined term by term

Concepts, in plain language

Agent lease

Coding agent workspace

Conflict record

Device trust

Dotfiles vs workspace sync

Env sync

Ephemeral dev environment

Opaque Git state

Recovery key

Workspace sync

Your ~/Code, on every machine and every agent.