Onboard New Developers in Minutes, Not Days
Stop wasting everyone's time on manual environment setup.
The Onboarding Problem
A new developer joins your team. What happens next?
- Install Homebrew, Node.js, Python, Docker, and a dozen CLI tools
- Clone 5-15 repos from different GitHub orgs
- Ask someone on Slack for the .env files (wait for reply...)
- Configure VS Code with the team's linting rules and extensions
- Set up SSH keys and git config with the right email
- Figure out which services need local setup
This takes 1-3 days. Every time. For every hire.
The Traditional Approach (and Why It Fails)
The wiki page: always outdated by the time someone reads it. Steps are missing, versions are wrong, screenshots are from last year.
The Slack thread: "Can someone send me the staging .env?" Secrets shared in plaintext over chat. Pinned messages from 6 months ago that may or may not still work.
The pair programming session: Another developer spends half a day walking through setup. Productive for neither person.
The ConfigSync Approach
Here is what onboarding looks like with ConfigSync:
Step 1: The team lead prepares a shared configuration:
# Track shared team configs
configsync add config ~/.gitconfig
configsync add module git
configsync add module vscode
# Add project with its secrets
configsync add project ~/git/company-app
# Scan and save installed packages
configsync scan
# Push everything
configsync push -m "team baseline"
Step 2: Create a bootstrap script for first-time setup:
#!/bin/bash
set -e
# Install Homebrew if missing
if ! command -v brew >/dev/null; then
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
fi
# Install packages from Brewfile
brew bundle --file=~/.Brewfile --no-upgrade
# Clone team repos
mkdir -p ~/git
cd ~/git
gh repo clone company/frontend || true
gh repo clone company/api || true
# Set up local databases
docker compose -f ~/git/api/docker-compose.yml up -d
echo "Bootstrap complete!"
Step 3: New developer runs one command:
curl -fsSL "configsync.dev/install?token=cs_xxx" | sh
That is it. ConfigSync installs, pulls the team config (encrypted), restores everything, and runs the bootstrap script. The new developer has:
- Git configured with the right company email and signing key
- VS Code with team extensions and linting rules
- SSH keys for accessing internal repos
- All project .env files (encrypted, never shared in plaintext)
- Homebrew with every required tool installed
- Team repos cloned and services running
Environment Safety
New developers automatically get the development environment tier. Production secrets are protected — accessing them requires explicit confirmation:
environments:
- name: development
tier: development
- name: production
tier: production
protect: true
Protected environments require typing the environment name to confirm push or pull. No accidental production access on day one.
Keeping Everyone in Sync
When the team updates shared configs — new linting rules, updated .env variables, a new required tool — everyone stays current:
# Team lead updates and pushes
configsync push -m "updated eslint config"
# Developers pull the latest
configsync pull
# Or use watch mode to stay current automatically
configsync watch
The ROI
Traditional onboarding: 2 days = 16 hours of the new developer's time, plus 4-8 hours of a senior developer helping.
With ConfigSync: 30 minutes, unassisted.
Ready to try ConfigSync?
Sync your entire dev environment across machines in minutes. Free forever for up to 3 devices.