Sync CLI reference

Every treehouse command and flag, the files and environment variables the CLI reads, and the safety rules it follows while syncing.

The treehouse CLI keeps a local folder and a workspace in step, in both directions. For a walkthrough, see sync with the CLI; this page is the reference.

Install

terminal

curl -fsSL https://dl.trytree.house/install.sh | sh

Platform	Prebuilt binary
macOS, Apple Silicon	Yes
Linux, arm64	Yes
macOS, Intel	Not yet
Linux, x64	Paused for now

The script downloads the binary for your platform, checks it against the published SHA-256 checksums, and installs it to ~/.local/bin/treehouse. Set TREEHOUSE_BIN_DIR to install somewhere else. On an unsupported platform it stops with a message and installs nothing.

Commands

Command	What it does
`treehouse login [folder]`	Connect a folder to a workspace through the browser, then start syncing it. `link` is an alias.
`treehouse sync [folder]`	Reconcile the folder with its workspace once and exit. Running `treehouse` with no command does the same for the current folder.
`treehouse sync [folder] --watch`	Keep syncing in the foreground until stopped: watches the folder and polls the change feed.
`treehouse start`	Start the background daemon, which syncs every linked folder, and turn on autostart at login.
`treehouse stop`	Stop the daemon and turn off autostart.
`treehouse restart`	Stop and start the daemon, for example after an update.
`treehouse status`	Show each linked folder's state and whether an update is available.
`treehouse logs [name]`	Print the end of a log. `name` is `daemon` (the sync daemon, the default), `app` or `updater` (the desktop app's own logs).
`treehouse pause [folder]`	Pause syncing a folder, keeping it linked.
`treehouse resume [folder]`	Resume a paused folder.
`treehouse unlink [folder]`	Stop syncing a folder and remove it from the daemon's list.
`treehouse relocate <folder> <new-path>`	Move a synced folder to a new location, keeping its connection and sync state.
`treehouse update [--check]`	Download, verify and install the latest version, then restart the daemon. `--check` only reports.
`treehouse version`	Print the installed version. `--version` and `-v` work too.
`treehouse help`	List commands. `treehouse <command> --help` describes one.

[folder] defaults to the current directory.

Flags

Command	Flag	Effect
`login`	`--api-base <url>`	API to connect to. Default `https://api.trytree.house`, or `TREEHOUSE_API_BASE`.
`login`	`--force`	Replace an existing `.treehouse/config.json` in the folder
`login`	`--no-open`	Print the approval link instead of opening a browser
`login`	`--no-start`	Connect without starting to sync
`sync`	`--watch`	Keep syncing instead of exiting after one pass
`logs`	`-f`, `--follow`	Keep printing new lines
`logs`	`-n`, `--lines <n>`	Lines to print. Default 100.
`logs`	`--path`	Print the log folder instead, for attaching to a bug report
`update`	`--check`	Report whether an update is available without installing it

treehouse login uses the device authorisation flow. It prints a link and a code, opens your browser, and waits while you sign in, pick a workspace and approve. It then saves a workspace-scoped key in the folder and starts syncing. The code is valid for 10 minutes. With --no-open you can approve from any device, which is how you connect a headless server.

unlink

unlink stops syncing but leaves your files and .treehouse/config.json where they are, and doesn't revoke the key. Revoke it from API keys in the web app if you're done with it.

Files the CLI keeps

In each synced folder

File	Contents
`.treehouse/config.json`	`{ apiBase, apiKey, workspaceId, keyId }`, written with mode `0600`
`.treehouse/index.json`	What was last synced, used to tell local edits from remote ones
`.treehouse/cursor.json`	The folder's position in the change feed
`.treehouse/state.json`	The folder's last reported sync state

The .treehouse folder is never synced.

Per user

Location	macOS	Linux
App directory	`~/Library/Application Support/Treehouse`	`$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/treehouse` (default `~/.config/treehouse`)
Logs	`~/Library/Logs/Treehouse`	`$XDG_STATE_HOME/treehouse` (default `~/.local/state/treehouse`)

The app directory holds links.json (the list of synced folders), the daemon's process id and control socket, and the daemon binary the autostart service runs. TREEHOUSE_HOME replaces both locations, with logs in $TREEHOUSE_HOME/logs.

Autostart uses a launchd agent on macOS and a systemd --user unit on Linux (or an XDG autostart entry where systemd --user isn't available).

Environment variables

Variable	Effect
`TREEHOUSE_API_BASE`	API URL. Overrides `apiBase` in the folder's config, and is the default for `login`.
`TREEHOUSE_API_KEY`	API key. Overrides `apiKey` in the folder's config.
`TREEHOUSE_WORKSPACE_ID`	Workspace id. Overrides `workspaceId` in the folder's config.
`TREEHOUSE_HOME`	Use this directory for all per-user state and logs
`TREEHOUSE_MAX_FILE_BYTES`	Skip local files larger than this many bytes, with a warning. Default 104857600 (100 MB).
`TREEHOUSE_DL_BASE`	Download host for `update` and the install script. Default `https://dl.trytree.house`.
`TREEHOUSE_BIN_DIR`	Where the install script puts the binary. Default `~/.local/bin`.
`XDG_CONFIG_HOME`, `XDG_STATE_HOME`	Linux app and log directory bases

With TREEHOUSE_API_BASE, TREEHOUSE_API_KEY and TREEHOUSE_WORKSPACE_ID all set, treehouse sync works in a folder that has no config file, without login.

What isn't synced

The CLI has a fixed ignore list. There is no ignore file.

Pattern	Why
`.treehouse/`	The CLI's own state
`.swp`, `~`, `.#`, `.tmp`, `4913`	Editor swap, backup and temporary files
`.DS_Store`	macOS folder metadata
`node_modules/`, `vendor/`, `Pods/`	Dependencies
`.git/`, `.hg/`, `.svn/`	Version control internals
`.venv/`, `venv/`, `__pycache__/`	Python environments and caches
`.next/`, `.nuxt/`, `.output/`, `.turbo/`, `.cache/`, `dist/`, `build/`, `target/`, `.gradle/`	Build output and caches

Folder patterns match a folder with exactly that name at any depth, so a folder called build-notes still syncs. Files over the size limit are skipped and reported once.

Conflicts and safety

The CLI follows the same versions and conflicts rules as every other client. It adds some guards of its own:

Both sides changed. Your local edit is uploaded against the version it was based on. If the workspace moved on, your bytes are kept as a conflicted copy, which then syncs back to the folder. treehouse sync lists these as conflict(s) — both versions kept.
Mass delete guard. During a full sync, if the workspace comes back empty, or 25 or more local files would be deleted in one pass, the CLI keeps the local files and uploads them again instead. This protects you from a reset or a folder pointed at the wrong workspace.
Missing folder. If the synced folder (its .treehouse/config.json) disappears, for example mid-move in Finder, the CLI stops propagating deletes rather than deleting the team's files.
Key revoked. If the key stops working (401 or 403), the folder shows sign in in treehouse status and the daemon retries every 30 seconds. Run treehouse login --force in the folder to reconnect.
Access removed. When someone makes a file or folder private and you lose access, the CLI deletes your local copy of it.
One file failing doesn't stop the rest. A one-shot treehouse sync reports the failures and exits with status 1.

With the desktop app

The desktop app and the CLI share one background daemon and one list of synced folders. Folders connected in either show up in treehouse status, and treehouse pause, resume and relocate work on folders the app connected. See how sync works.

Running an agent on a server

The CLI is the simplest way to give an agent on a server, a VM or a CI runner a real folder to work in:

Install the CLI on the server.
Run treehouse login ~/workspace --no-open, and approve the printed link from your own browser.
Point the agent at ~/workspace. Everything it writes syncs to the workspace, and everything your team writes appears in the folder.

If you prefer not to use the browser flow, create a key in the web app and set TREEHOUSE_API_BASE, TREEHOUSE_API_KEY and TREEHOUSE_WORKSPACE_ID, then run treehouse sync ~/workspace --watch under your process manager. Changes are attributed to the key's actor type, so choose Agent (MCP) under Used by if you want the agent's edits labelled as an agent's.

Sync a folder with the CLI
Install the treehouse command-line tool to sync a folder on Windows, Linux, a server or any machine where the desktop app doesn't run.
How sync works
What the sync engine does in the background, which files it skips, and how it protects your work when things go wrong.
Change feed
Read every change to a workspace in order with a cursor, so a script or agent can react to new and edited files.

Last updated 29 September 2026

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