GuideNovember 3, 20266 min read

The Backend Developer's Config Sync Checklist

Database clients, Docker, cloud CLIs, SSH configs, and API testing tools. Everything a backend developer needs to sync, in one checklist.

Backend Configs Are Scattered Everywhere

Backend development is configuration-heavy in ways that frontend work is not. You have database connection strings, Docker daemon settings, cloud provider credentials, SSH configs for multiple servers, API testing tool preferences, and editor configurations tuned for server-side languages. These files live in a dozen different directories across your home folder, and many of them contain secrets.

The challenge is not just volume. It is that backend configs are often interdependent. Your SSH config references keys that need to exist. Your AWS CLI config references profiles that your application code expects. Your Docker config references registries that require auth tokens. Miss one piece and the whole chain breaks.

This checklist covers every configuration a backend developer should be syncing with ConfigSync.

Database Clients and Connection Config

Tools like pgcli, mycli, redis-cli, and mongosh all have configuration files that store connection history, formatting preferences, and sometimes saved credentials. These are easy to overlook but painful to lose.

Track database client configs

# Track database client configurations $ configsync add config ~/.pgclirc $ configsync add config ~/.myclirc $ configsync add config ~/.config/redis-cli $ configsync add config ~/.mongoshrc.js # Store connection strings as secrets $ configsync secret set POSTGRES_URL $ configsync secret set REDIS_URL

Connection strings should be stored as ConfigSync secrets rather than in plain config files. This keeps them encrypted and available across machines without risk of accidental exposure.

Docker Configuration

Docker's configuration includes daemon settings, registry authentication, build defaults, and Compose overrides. The Docker module captures the essentials automatically.

Enable Docker module

# Enable the Docker module $ configsync enable module docker # This captures: # ~/.docker/config.json (registry auth, credential helpers) # ~/.docker/daemon.json (daemon settings) # # Registry auth tokens are encrypted automatically

Docker's config.json often contains registry auth tokens for private registries like ECR, GCR, or GitHub Container Registry. ConfigSync encrypts these before sync.

Cloud CLI Credentials

AWS, GCP, and Azure CLIs each store credentials and configuration in their own directories. For most backend developers, AWS is the primary one, but many work across multiple clouds.

Enable cloud and SSH modules

# Enable AWS and SSH modules $ configsync enable module aws $ configsync enable module ssh # AWS module captures: # ~/.aws/config (profiles, regions, output format) # ~/.aws/credentials (access keys, encrypted) # For GCP and Azure, add manually: $ configsync add config ~/.config/gcloud/properties $ configsync add config ~/.azure/config

The AWS module encrypts your credentials file before upload. On pull, it restores the file with correct permissions (600) so other users on shared systems cannot read your access keys.

SSH for Server Access

Backend developers often have complex SSH configurations with multiple keys, bastion host proxying, and per-host settings. The SSH module handles all of this.

SSH module in action

$ configsync enable module ssh # Captures: # ~/.ssh/config # ~/.ssh/id_* (key pairs, encrypted) # ~/.ssh/known_hosts # Your SSH config might look like: Host bastion HostName bastion.example.com User deploy IdentityFile ~/.ssh/deploy_key Host app-* ProxyJump bastion User ubuntu IdentityFile ~/.ssh/deploy_key

API Testing Tools

Tools like HTTPie, curl (via .curlrc), Postman, and Insomnia all have configuration and saved requests that are part of your workflow.

Track API testing configs

# Track HTTPie config $ configsync add config ~/.config/httpie/config.json # Track curl defaults $ configsync add config ~/.curlrc # Track Insomnia export (if applicable) $ configsync add config ~/insomnia-export.json

Vim and Neovim for Server Editing

Even if VS Code is your primary editor, most backend developers use Vim or Neovim when editing files on remote servers. Your vimrc is muscle memory encoded as text.

Enable Vim module

# Enable the Vim module $ configsync enable module vim # Captures: # ~/.vimrc or ~/.config/nvim/init.lua # ~/.vim/autoload/ (plugin manager) # ~/.config/nvim/ (full Neovim config) # Also enable git for commit message templates $ configsync enable module git

The Complete Backend Push

Here is what a typical backend developer's module set looks like:

Module	What It Captures	Encrypted
ssh	Keys, config, known_hosts	Yes
docker	Registry auth, daemon settings	Yes
aws	Profiles, credentials	Yes
git	Config, aliases, commit template	No
vim	Vimrc, plugins, Neovim config	No
shell	Zshrc, bash_profile, aliases	No

Push everything

$ configsync push -m "Backend environment snapshot" Scanning modules: ssh, docker, aws, git, vim, shell, homebrew... Tracking configs: .pgclirc, .curlrc, httpie config Encrypting 8 secret files... Pushed snapshot (3.1 MB) in 6s.

One command, and your entire backend development environment is captured, encrypted, and ready to restore on any machine. No more spending the first day at a new job recreating your SSH config from memory.

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