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Getting started

This guide takes you from zero to your first synced edit. It takes about five minutes.

What you’ll need

On the free plan, your computer does the real work — so it needs to be on and connected while you sync from your phone.

Step 1 — Install the app and sign in

  1. Install GitNomad from Google Play.
  2. Open it and tap Continue with GitHub or Continue with Google.
  3. Approve the sign-in in the browser sheet that opens. You’ll land on your home screen, which will be empty until you connect a computer.

Every repo you sync is tied to your account, so signing in is required.

Step 2 — Install the VS Code extension

  1. On your computer, open VS Code.
  2. Go to the Extensions panel and search for GitNomad Desktop (or install it from the Marketplace).
  3. Once installed, you’ll see a GitNomad icon in the activity bar (the strip of icons on the left). Click it to open the GitNomad panel.

Step 3 — Link your computer to your account

The extension needs to know it belongs to you. You prove that with a short code from the app.

  1. On your phone: go to Profile → Link desktop. You’ll see a 6-digit code.
  2. In VS Code’s GitNomad panel, click Link to my account and enter that code.
  3. The panel will switch to a connected state. Done — your computer is now bound to your account.

The code is single-use and expires after a few minutes. If it runs out, just tap New code on the phone.

More detail and fixes: Linking your desktop.

Step 4 — Choose which repos to share

By default, GitNomad exposes the git project(s) open in your VS Code window. To add a specific folder, use Add a repo in the GitNomad panel and pick a folder that’s a git repository.

Within a few seconds, those repos appear in the app on the Repos tab.

Step 5 — Make your first sync

  1. On the phone, tap a repo, then tap a file to open it.
  2. Change something and tap Save (and Push if prompted).
  3. Look at the file in VS Code on your computer — your edit is there, as a commit.

Now try the other direction: edit and save the same file in VS Code. Within a few seconds the phone shows your change (even before you commit — see live drafts).

What next?