---
title: The sync client — the instibrain command on your machine
description: The sync client owns the files, the keys and the sync mechanics on your machine, and it stops rather than overwrite when two devices disagree about a page.
url: https://instibrain.ai/device
updated: 2026-11-04
site: https://instibrain.ai/llms.txt
---

# The sync client keeps your folder and the brain in step.

It owns the files, the keys, and the sync. Pages land as plain markdown, and nothing is overwritten.

Request access  →  Connect Claude Code

this machine  real output

```
$ instibrain status
device   9f3c1a84-62b7-4de0-9a15-7c4e2f08d331
root     /home/you/instibrain/spaces/acme
cursor   2026-09-13T09:41:22.174382Z
tracked  7 live, 2 tombstones
on disk  7
```
no key ever reaches our server

day one

## Day one starts from your folder.

No import, no new editor. Your files stay where they are.

-  step 1   Install

One line, in a terminal.
Mac, Linux, Windows
-  step 2   Link your folder

A code from Devices. Every file becomes a page.
nothing moves
-  step 3   Seal the rest

A second folder. Its pages leave encrypted.
your key only
-  step 4   Your phone too

The AI on your phone reads the open spaces.
it holds no key

the first day  ~/acme-brain

```
$ curl -fsSL https://instibrain.ai/install.sh | bash

$ instibrain link K7QM-2XPA ~/acme-brain
pulled 0  pushed 214  adopted 214
linked ~/acme-brain to Acme; it syncs now and on every change

$ instibrain link R4TN-8WJC ~/acme-finance
pulled 0  pushed 31  adopted 31
laid out the sealed space from its template on this computer
linked ~/acme-finance to Finance; it syncs now and on every change
```

one thing to know first

An AI reading a file sees plaintext, sealed pages included. Our server cannot; your AI can.

the cycle

## Each burst of saves runs one cycle: survey, pull, adopt, push.

A clash stops the cycle, and nothing is overwritten. It refuses a path through a symbolic link, outside the folder, or naming another page in other letters. The brain tells an old client which version to install, and raises that floor only once every linked computer runs it.

-  1survey Read the disk

What changed since the last cycle.

-  2pull Take the brain's changes

What others wrote lands as files.

-  3adopt New files become pages

Each gets its id.

-  4push Send yours

A clash comes back as 409 and stops here.

then wait for your next save, or the brain's next change

~/instibrain/spaces/acme  ·  two devices, one conflicting edit

```
$ tail -n 0 -f ~/Library/Logs/instibrain-computer.log
# a save on this device
pulled 0  pushed 1  adopted 0
# the other laptop had already pushed the same page
pulled 0  pushed 0  adopted 0  conflicts 1
conflict: pricing/floors.md — server copy written beside it, then 'instibrain resolve pricing/floors.md'

# merge the two files by hand, or let your AI do it, then
$ instibrain resolve pricing/floors.md
resolved pricing/floors.md
```

The server copy lands beside yours. No cycle pushes over an open conflict.

the commands

## Most days you type none.

The watch syncs every burst of saves and takes the brain's changes as they come. The rest link, check, and keep your keys.

Runs by itself
- `watch` A cycle per burst of saves
- `service install` The watch, from login on
- `update` The newest client, daily once setup turns it on    most days, all that runs

Links
- `link` A code links a folder
- `link --all` Every space you read
- `link --space` One more space, no code
- `spaces` What you read, and your role
- `setup` Status line, daily update, defaults, each asked first

Works
- `mcp` Your AI on this computer, working as you
- `open` Claude or Codex, from a menu
- `window` A session in its own window
- `specialists` The specialists you read
- `specialist adopt` A folder becomes a specialist
- `tool` Runs the approved version

Checks
- `status` What it tracks
- `check` Dead links, orphan pages
- `guard --scan` What the guard would stop
- `resolve` Pushes a merged file
- `move` A page to another space, after a review

Keys
- `approve` Admits a new computer
- `key pending` Computers waiting for you
- `key public` Safe to paste anywhere
- `key members` Each fingerprint, beside its name
- `key pin` Trust a chain once
- `key backup` Your keys, under a passphrase
- `key restore` Rebuilds an empty computer
why a chain, not a list

Each admission is a signed entry, verified from the first before a key is taken. The threat model has the detail.

a teammate's day one

## Their AI arrives knowing the company.

Install, link, connect. Get started walks each step. Leaving is one step: the grant goes, and a sealed space gets a new key. Pulled copies stay.

One line

The installer links every space they read.
instibrain link --all
Every space, as files

A folder of plain markdown each.
~/instibrain/spaces/
Their AI

Knows the company before it writes a line.
Claude Code, Codex

## Your pages stay plain files on every computer you link.

The protocol is on How it works; the keys are on the security page.

Request access  →  Connect Claude Code
next  Linked computers

Each machine's keys, folder, and status.
next  The brain

What a brain holds: page, space, sharing.
next  How it works

The record, the merge rule, the HTTP contract.

---

instibrain is made by WebWork AI, Inc. Everyone uses the same models · the difference is what yours knows.