File Sync

Push files to a remote workspace, let agents process them, then pull results back. Sync is incremental — only changed files are transferred.

## How it works

Each sync session targets a **workspace** on the remote device — a directory under Tai Link's data root (default `/data/volumes`). Yao manages workspaces automatically when agents need file access.

The sync protocol runs over gRPC in two directions:

- **Push** — Yao sends a file manifest, Tai Link diffs it against local state, requests only the missing or changed files, and writes them to disk.
- **Pull** — Tai Link scans the workspace, compares against the manifest Yao provides, and streams back any files that are new or modified.

Files are compressed in transit and split into 256 KB chunks to keep memory usage low, even for large projects.

## Workspaces

Open a device in the Tai Link panel and click **Workspaces** to see all active workspaces.

![Tai Link — Workspace file browser](https://assets.yaoagents.com/en/tai/04-tai-workspace-files-en-$__THEME.png)

Each workspace card shows:

- Workspace ID (usually matches the agent session)
- File count and total size
- Last sync timestamp

Click a workspace to browse its files, preview documents, or download individual items.

![Tai Link — File preview](https://assets.yaoagents.com/en/tai/04-tai-workspace-file-preview-en-$__THEME.png)

## Exclude patterns

Some files should never be synced — `node_modules`, `.git`, build artifacts. Configure excludes in `config.yml`:

```yaml
sync:
  exclude:
    - "node_modules"
    - ".git"
    - "__pycache__"
    - "*.pyc"
```

Excludes apply to all workspaces on that device.

## Manual sync

Agents handle sync automatically. You rarely need to trigger it yourself, but if you do:

- **Push** happens whenever an agent starts a new task that requires files on the remote device.
- **Pull** happens when the agent retrieves results (reports, built artifacts, exported data).

The sync status is visible in the workspace detail — "Syncing…" or "Up to date".

![Tai Link — File sync progress](https://assets.yaoagents.com/en/tai/04-tai-workspace-file-sync-en-$__THEME.png)

## What's next

- [Remote desktop](/docs/en-us/tai-link/remote-desktop) — watch and control the remote screen
- [Security & privacy](/docs/en-us/tai-link/security-and-privacy) — how data stays on your devices