Thrive Companies · Claude how-to · v1

Sync your Claude Workspace between computers

Keep one working folder identical on your office and home computers with Syncthing, so whatever Claude Desktop builds on one machine is waiting for you on the other. Free, no cloud account, about 30 minutes.

Written for Thrive team members using Claude Desktop on two or more computers Date October 28, 2026 Questions Joel Lilly
Steps
  1. What this does and does not do
  2. Ground rules
  3. Install Syncthing on each computer
  4. Lock down the control panel
  5. Create the Claude Workspace folder
  6. Pair your computers
  7. Share the folder
  8. Ignore junk files
  9. Point Claude Desktop at the folder
  10. Test it
  11. Day to day
  12. When it does not work

1What this does and does not do

Same files everywhereA memo, model or analysis Claude saves on your office computer appears in the same folder at home, and the reverse.
Direct, privateFiles travel encrypted between your own computers. Nothing is stored on a third-party cloud.
Works anywhereOffice network, home Wi-Fi, hotel. No VPN needed.

The one thing to understand

Syncthing is not a cloud drive. It copies files directly from one computer to the other, so both computers have to be awake and online at the same time for anything to move. Close the office laptop at 5:00, open the home one at 7:00, and the evening's files are not there yet. They arrive the next time both machines are on together.

Two ways to live with that: leave one computer (usually the office desktop) on and awake all the time, or open both for a minute and let them catch up before you switch. The status shows Up to Date when it is safe to walk away.

It also does not replace Egnyte or OneDrive. See the ground rules.

2Ground rules

3Install Syncthing on each computer

Do this on every computer that will share the folder. Get it only from syncthing.net/downloads.

Mac

  1. Under macOS, download the Syncthing app (the menu bar app, a .dmg).
  2. Drag it to Applications and open it. Approve the "downloaded from the internet" prompt.
  3. A Syncthing icon appears in the menu bar and a browser tab opens at http://127.0.0.1:8384. That tab is the Syncthing control panel. You can always reopen it from the menu bar icon, Open Dashboard.
  4. From the menu bar icon, turn on Start at Login.

Windows

  1. Under Windows, download the Syncthing Windows Setup installer.
  2. Run it and choose to start Syncthing automatically when you log in.
  3. When it finishes, open http://127.0.0.1:8384 in your browser for the control panel.

Mac and Windows can sync with each other

Mixing is fine. The steps after this are identical on both, because everything happens in the browser control panel.

4Lock down the control panel

On first launch the control panel shows a red banner asking you to set a password. Do it on each computer:

  1. Click Actions (top right), then Settings, then the GUI tab.
  2. Set a GUI Authentication User and Password. Use your password manager.
  3. While you are in Settings, on the General tab, change Device Name to something you will recognize, such as Jane office desktop or Jane home laptop.
  4. If asked about anonymous usage reporting, either answer is fine.
  5. Save.

5Create the Claude Workspace folder

On your main computer only (the one that already has your Claude files, or your office computer if neither does), create one plain folder:

ComputerFolder
Mac/Users/yourname/Claude Workspace (your home folder, next to Documents and Downloads)
WindowsC:\Users\yourname\Claude Workspace

Inside it, a Projects subfolder with one folder per deal or task keeps things findable, for example Projects/WestBend, Projects/Quarry Trails. Move in any Claude files you already have.

Do not create it on the second computer. Syncthing creates it there for you in step 7. Creating it by hand on both is how people end up with a folder nested inside itself.

6Pair your computers

Each computer has a Device ID, a long code of letters and numbers. Pairing means telling each computer the other's ID.

  1. On the main computer: Actions, then Show ID. Copy the ID.
  2. On the second computer: under Remote Devices (lower right), click Add Remote Device. Paste the main computer's ID, give it a name, and Save.
  3. Within a minute, the main computer shows a banner: "Device ... wants to connect." Check that the name and ID are your second computer, then click Add Device and Save.
  4. Both sides now list each other under Remote Devices. It reads Connected once they find each other, which can take a minute or two the first time.

Getting the ID across

Email it to yourself, or use Show ID and scan the QR code with your phone. The ID is not a secret on its own; a device still has to be accepted on the other side.

7Share the folder

On the main computer:

  1. Click Add Folder.
  2. General tab:
    • Folder Label: Claude Workspace
    • Folder ID: change it to claude-workspace
    • Folder Path: the full path from step 5, exactly. Check it does not end in Claude Workspace/Claude Workspace.
  3. Sharing tab: tick your second computer.
  4. File Versioning tab: choose Trash Can File Versioning and keep versions for 30 days. This is your undo if something gets deleted or overwritten on the other machine.
  5. Save.

On the second computer:

  1. A banner appears: "... wants to share folder Claude Workspace." Click Add.
  2. Set Folder Path to the same location for that computer, for example /Users/yourname/Claude Workspace or C:\Users\yourname\Claude Workspace. Do not pick an existing folder that already has files in it.
  3. On the Advanced tab, set Folder Type to Receive Only for now.
  4. Turn on Trash Can File Versioning here too, then Save.

The first copy runs. Wait until the folder on the second computer reads Up to Date, then go back to Edit, Advanced, and change Folder Type to Send & Receive. From then on, changes flow both ways.

Why Receive Only first

If the second computer starts in Send & Receive and something about its folder is off, it can send deletions back to your main copy. Receive Only for the first copy means the main computer's files can only be read, never changed, until you have seen the result.

8Ignore junk files

On the main computer, click the folder, then Edit, then Ignore Patterns. Paste this and Save:

(?d).DS_Store
(?d)Thumbs.db
(?d)desktop.ini
~$*
.~lock.*
*.tmp
node_modules
.venv
__pycache__
.git

Ignore patterns do not travel to the other computer. Paste the same list on the second one too.

The last line keeps Git repos out of the sync. If you set up a Claude home repo (see Your Own Claude Setup), GitHub already syncs it between computers. Do not let Syncthing sync it as well.

9Point Claude Desktop at the folder

On each computer:

  1. In Claude Desktop, start a new task in Cowork or Code, leave the chip on This computer, click the folder chip, choose Open folder..., and pick Claude Workspace (or a project folder inside it).
  2. Tell Claude where files belong. Pasting this into your project instructions or CLAUDE.md works: 
    Save every document you create under Claude Workspace/Projects/<project name>/.
When a document is final, remind me to file it in the project's Egnyte folder.

10Test it

The test that proves it works

  1. On the main computer, create Claude Workspace/sync-test.txt with one line of text.
  2. Within a minute it appears on the second computer.
  3. Edit it on the second computer and save. The change shows on the main computer.
  4. Delete it on either side. It disappears on both, and a copy lands in the hidden .stversions folder (your undo).
  5. Both control panels show the folder as Up to Date and the other computer as Connected.

If all five pass, you are done.

11Day to day

12When it does not work

You seeDo this
Other computer shows DisconnectedIt is asleep, offline, or Syncthing is not running on it. Open the lid or launch Syncthing. Files catch up on their own once both are on.
Stuck on Syncing at a percentageUsually a large first copy. Leave both machines on. If it is stuck on one file, click the folder, then Out of Sync Items, to see which one and why.
Failed Items or "permission denied"The file is open in another app or the folder is read-only. Close the file. On a Mac, check that Syncthing has Full Disk Access if the folder sits somewhere unusual.
A folder nested inside itself, Claude Workspace/Claude WorkspaceStop. Pause the folder on both computers (click it, then Pause) and ask for help before deleting anything. Deleting the wrong copy deletes it everywhere.
Files disappearedCheck .stversions first. Then check whether someone set the folder to Send & Receive on a computer with an empty folder.
The Syncthing app on a Mac says "unavailable" after a macOS updateDownload the current Syncthing app from syncthing.net again and replace the old one. Your settings and pairing are kept.
Version 1, October 28, 2026. Based on a Syncthing setup that has synced a Claude Workspace across four Macs since June 2026. Click paths match Syncthing 2.x and will drift as it changes. The Windows steps follow the same control panel but have not been tested at Thrive. Send corrections to Joel.