Files, sync and settings for one computer

Revue keeps everything that's yours (settings, accounts, drafts, favourites) in one config folder. Copy or sync that folder and another computer gets the same Revue. What only makes sense on one computer (sign-in tokens, downloads, caches) lives in other folders that never sync.

The three folders#

To find them from the app: Settings → Storage → Settings files shows the paths of settings.json (in the config folder) and settings.local.json (in the data folder), each with Open. Settings → Storage → Cache shows the cache folder with Open folder.

What's in each file#

Config folder#

Favourites (starred pull requests, repositories and Jira projects) and ignored repositories are in settings.json.

Data folder#

Cache folder#

Where sign-in tokens are kept#

Tokens never go in the config folder, so syncing it never copies them. Each computer signs in on its own. That's on purpose: some services (Atlassian, Forgejo, Slack) give single-use refresh tokens, and two computers sharing one would keep signing each other out.

By default tokens are in sign-ins.json, readable only by you. Settings → Storage → Where tokens are kept moves them into the system's credential store instead:

The switch is always for this computer only. Turned off, the tokens go back to the file and the store's entry is deleted. If the store can't be used, Revue says The system's credential store can't be used here: sign-ins stay where they were.

Sync between computers#

Sync the config folder with any file sync tool (Syncthing, a cloud drive's folder sync, rsync), or keep it in a dotfiles repository. Revue notices when a synced file changes and reads it again, without a restart.

What follows you: settings, accounts (you sign in again once on each computer), drafts and viewed files, favourites, ignored repositories, open and pinned tabs, imported themes, Slack message formats and attachments.

What never syncs, and why:

• Tokens: each computer signs in on its own (see above).
• Settings switched to This computer: they're in the data folder, by design.
• Clone folders and the token store switch: always per computer.
• Downloads and caches: big, and found or downloaded again on their own.

Guide: Sync Revue between two computers#

1. On the first computer, open Settings → Storage → Settings files and note the Shared file's folder: that's the config folder.
2. Quit Revue on the second computer if it's running.
3. Set up your sync tool to sync that folder to the same place on the second computer (~/.config/revue, or %USERPROFILE%\.config\revue on Windows).
4. Wait for the first sync to finish, then start Revue on the second computer.
5. Your accounts are listed, but they have no tokens on this computer yet. Sign in to each again: use Sign in again on the notice that says a sign-in has expired or was revoked, or the account's card in Settings → Accounts.
6. In Settings → Storage → Where repositories are cloned, choose where this computer clones repositories.
7. Under REPOSITORIES in the Settings sidebar, click Detect clones for all to find this computer's clones.
8. For anything that should differ between the computers (fonts, text size, apps, theme), click the card's Shared switch so it reads This computer.

Settings for one computer#

Some settings belong to one computer: a laptop wants a bigger text size, a desktop another editor. Cards with a Shared / This computer switch in their title can be kept on this computer only (the list is in the Settings reference).

• This computer: the card's settings are saved in settings.local.json. Other computers keep their own value.
• Shared again: this computer's value goes to settings.json and so to the other computers.

Settings → Storage → Settings files lists which settings this computer holds for itself (Holds …), or says Nothing yet.

You can also add any setting to settings.local.json by hand, even one without a switch.

How settings.local.json is merged#

Example settings.local.json:

{
  "text_size": 125,
  "editor_command": "helix",
  "local_repos": { "acme/api": "/home/me/src/api" }
}

Export and import settings#

Settings → Storage → Settings files has Export settings… and Import settings…. Use them to keep a copy of your settings or to set up a computer without syncing.

• Export settings… saves a file (named revue-settings.json, in your Documents folder by default). It holds every setting you set, and the files attached to Slack message formats.
• Import settings… asks Replace your settings with the file's? first. Replace applies the file at once; settings it doesn't have go back to their defaults.

Never in the file, and kept as they are by an import: sign-ins, open tabs and recent items, this computer's caches, the token store switch, clone folders, local clones, the custom editor, the Slack app's path, and language servers set to a custom program.

{
  "revue": "settings",
  "version": "0.23.1",
  "settings": { "split": true, "text_size": 110, "...": "..." },
  "files": { "slack-attachments/approved/party.gif": "<base64>" }
}

Back up Revue#

1. Quit Revue, so no file is half-written.
2. Copy the config folder somewhere safe.
3. Optionally copy settings.local.json from the data folder too, for this computer's own settings.

To restore, put the folder back and start Revue. Tokens aren't in the backup: on another computer, or after deleting the data folder, sign in again.

Moved from older versions#

Revue moves its files from older layouts by itself, once:

• Before 0.8.1, settings, sign-ins and pull request files were in the data folder. They move to the config folder, unless it already has them (from another computer, say).
• Open tabs, recent items and the list's filters were in settings.json until 0.17. They move to state.json, and detected language servers to settings-cache.json.
• Tokens that older versions kept inside the tokens/ files move out of them to this computer's token file or credential store. A single GitHub token from before Revue had several accounts (a token file) becomes an account in tokens/github.json.
• Source checkouts in the old src/ cache folder are deleted; they download again into sources/.

Reset Revue#

Start with the smallest reset that fixes your problem:

Guide: Reset Revue completely#

1. Quit Revue.
2. Delete (or rename, to keep a backup) the config folder. This removes settings, accounts, drafts and themes, and, if you sync it, on your other computers too.
3. Delete the data folder and the cache folder.
4. On Windows, delete %LOCALAPPDATA%\revue too.
5. If tokens were in the system's credential store, turn Where tokens are kept off first (before step 1), or delete the store's entry by hand (see Where sign-in tokens are kept).
6. Start Revue: it opens as on first install.