AI Synchronization: Challenges and Solutions for Multiple Devices

The Challenges of Context Sharing in AI

In recent months, I have led numerous sessions on Claude Code, and one question frequently arises: how can we effectively share context and skills in artificial intelligence across different devices? This issue is particularly pressing for those overseeing AI integration in their companies. They have established sophisticated workflows based on rich context but struggle to share them with their colleagues.

Personally, I have faced this challenge. Although I primarily work solo, I have a full-time assistant. Therefore, I need to convey context and workflows to her. Additionally, I use multiple devices: a Mac Mini for daily work, a MacBook Air for travel, and an iPhone. I want my setups to be accessible across all these devices.

Today, I will present my setup. We will explore where I store my data, how I share various elements with my devices and my team, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each solution. We will discuss four synchronization services: git/GitHub, Obsidian Sync, Dropbox, and iCloud. I will explain what has worked for me, including my specific configuration, so you can share your context files and skills seamlessly.

A Skill Missing at the Wrong Time

In this series, you have learned that the more context and skills an AI model receives, the better it performs. However, sharing these resources across various devices and with colleagues can be challenging. I encountered this issue during an interview with Claire Vo for How I AI. Staying in an AirBnB, I only had my laptop. I needed to demonstrate my /today command and the setup of my context files, but the latest version was not on my device.

Fortunately, I was able to remotely access my Mac Mini to retrieve the necessary file, thus avoiding a crisis. This experience made me realize the importance of better synchronizing my contexts and skills across all my devices. I also wanted to share these elements with my assistant, which prompted me to develop an effective strategy for both of us.

Exploring Synchronization Tools: Successes and Failures

I already had several solutions for sharing files, using Dropbox, iCloud, and GitHub. I tried each of them to synchronize my files, but I encountered issues.

• Problems with absolute file paths: With Dropbox, I found that full file paths were problematic. Context files contain many cross-references, and Claude often uses the full path, such as /Users/ttorres/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox. This worked for me because I had the same username on my devices, but not for my phone or my assistant.

• Default skills in a user directory: Skills are stored by default in ~/.claude/skills, which is problematic because most synchronization services do not share the ~/ folder. iCloud is an exception, but it only works between Apple devices, excluding Windows and Android.

One solution is to create a claude folder in Dropbox and establish a symbolic link to ~/.claude. This allows for backing up skills and settings in Dropbox, but requires setting up a symbolic link on each device for Claude to access the files. However, Dropbox had other limitations.

• Obsidian synchronization on iOS: I was using the Obsidian file browser with my notes and did not want to give up this feature. I tried storing my Obsidian vaults in Dropbox, which worked on my Mac Mini and MacBook Air, but not on the iOS app of Obsidian.

Faced with these frustrations, I considered using GitHub, as some product teams do to share context files.

The Git/GitHub Option

GitHub is a cloud storage platform for git repositories, which are shared folders of files. Engineers use it to collaborate on the same source code. Each engineer clones a local copy of the repository, works on it, and then pushes changes to the GitHub repository. Others can then pull these changes to update their local copy.

Git is a powerful tool for file synchronization and version control. It handles context and skills files well, and Claude performs better with relative links in a git repository. This resolved my personal issues, but not those of my assistant.

Git is complex to learn and requires keeping a local copy up to date. There is no automatic synchronization, and I did not want to impose the learning of an IDE on my assistant. Therefore, this solution was too complicated.

Obsidian Sync: A Suitable Solution

After sharing my difficulties with my husband, he suggested Obsidian Sync, which he was already using to synchronize his notes.

Obsidian is a markdown reader where files are stored locally in a folder accessible via Finder or File Explorer. There is no proprietary format, and files can be read with any text editor. Claude can read them using bash commands.

Obsidian Sync is less complex than git, with limited conflict management, but it is user-friendly. There are no commands to learn. You open Obsidian, edit a note, and it automatically syncs to the cloud.

I can access my Obsidian vaults on all three of my devices and share a vault with my assistant, allowing both of us to create and access notes. Living in Oregon, with my assistant in the Philippines, we have little overlap in our schedules, so there are few conflicts. Thus, Obsidian Sync is sufficient for us, avoiding the complexity of git.

Obsidian uses its own notation to link notes, functioning across all devices and allowing Claude to follow these links, without the file path issues encountered with Dropbox.

My Setup: A Tailored Solution

After many trials, I found a solution that works for my devices and for my assistant, who uses a Windows desktop and a MacBook.

I will detail our storage, how we make changes, and how each device is configured. We will also address questions for choosing the right tool.

Obsidian Sync has proven to be the ideal compromise for my needs. Here’s how I set it up.