Syncbridge

You're 30 messages deep with Claude. The plan is solid. Now you need to build it in your editor. So you copy. You paste. You lose half the context. Your editor doesn't know what Claude knows. And next time you go back to Claude, it doesn't know what your editor did.

Syncbridge fixes this — automatically, for free, no CLI required.

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The Problem

Every developer using AI chat faces the same daily toil:

• AI gives a long response with 5 code blocks — you copy block 1, switch to your editor, paste, switch back, scroll to find block 2, copy, switch, paste, repeat
• You make a change in your editor — you want AI feedback — you copy the code, switch to browser, paste, ask the question
• Your chat gets too long — you start a new one — and re-explain your entire project from scratch
• You use ChatGPT for one thing and Claude for another — context never carries over
• You ask Claude for the plan and Cursor to build it — they never know what the other did
• You use Cursor — it can send terminal output to its own AI chat, but there's no way to send AI chat responses back to your terminal automatically
• You use Copilot or Windsurf — there's no bridge at all between their AI and your browser-based AI chats

This is the copy-paste tax. It compounds every single day.

Syncbridge eliminates it.

Built independently to solve a daily frustration. Turns out even well-funded teams with dedicated AI editors only solved half this problem. Syncbridge solves both directions — and works with every AI site, not just one editor's built-in chat.

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Who is this for

You don't need a CLI. You don't need a paid subscription. You just need a browser.

Who	Pain	What Syncbridge gives them
Developers using free AI chat	Copy-paste between browser and editor all day	Auto-copy + one-keystroke inject
Students and bootcamp learners	Re-explaining project context in every new chat	Context migration in one click
Freelancers	Losing context between client sessions	Persistent context across chats
Multi-model users	Switching between Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini manually	Alt+C on one, Alt+V on another
Claude Code / Cursor / Copilot CLI users	AI chat and CLI never in sync	Full bidirectional auto-sync
Cursor users	Terminal→AI exists in Cursor but AI→terminal is missing	Completes the missing direction + works with any browser AI
Copilot and Windsurf users	No terminal↔AI bridge at all in browser	Full bidirectional sync with any AI chat site
Content creators and technical writers	Copy-pasting AI drafts into editors all day	Auto-copy eliminates the switching
Cost-sensitive developers	Claude Code CLI too expensive	Chrome extension is completely free
VS Code power users	Always hunting for better AI workflow tools	Install in 30 seconds, works immediately

Free forever. No API key. No subscription. No CLI required.

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Quick Start

Path A — Chrome extension only (no CLI needed)

1. Clone or download this repo
2. Go to chrome://extensions → enable Developer mode → Load unpacked → select chrome-extension/ folder
3. Go to any supported AI site — ask something — response auto-copies to clipboard
4. Press Alt+V on any other AI site to inject it

That's it. No VS Code extension needed. No CLI. No setup.

Chrome Web Store version coming soon.

Path B — Full sync (Chrome + VS Code + CLI)

1. Install VS Code extension: search "Syncbridge" in Extensions panel
2. Load Chrome extension (same as Path A step 2)
3. Press Ctrl+Shift+A (Mac: Cmd+Shift+A) → select your project folder
4. Press Ctrl+Shift+E (Mac: Cmd+Shift+E) → deploy file watcher hook
5. Press Ctrl+Shift+S (Mac: Cmd+Shift+S) → open Syncbridge panel
6. Run claude (or your CLI) from your project folder in terminal

You're ready. Ask your AI something — Syncbridge handles the rest.

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What it does

Syncbridge works in two independent layers — use one or both:

Chrome extension only — works for everyone, no CLI needed:

• Auto-copies AI response to clipboard when it finishes
• Alt+C to manually copy, Alt+V to inject into any AI input
• Switch context between Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Mistral, Perplexity, Copilot with one keystroke
• Green toast confirms copy even when widget is hidden

VS Code extension + Chrome extension — full bidirectional sync:

• AI response auto-copied → one keystroke sends to your CLI instructions file
• CLI runs tasks → VS Code panel shows every action live
• Context migration rebuilds your session for a fresh chat

Supported AI chat interfaces (Chrome extension):

• Claude.ai
• ChatGPT
• Google Gemini
• Perplexity
• Grok (x.ai)
• Mistral
• Microsoft Copilot

Supported coding CLIs (VS Code extension):

• Claude Code (full auto-sync with hooks)
• Cursor
• GitHub Copilot CLI
• Windsurf
• Aider
• Custom (user-defined file names)

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Screenshots

The Problem — Manual copy-paste between AI and CLI

The Solution — Syncbridge auto-copies AI responses

Two Modes — Floating widget and hidden mode with toast notification

Hidden Mode — Green toast confirms auto-copy when widget is hidden

Live CLI State — VS Code panel updates in real time as CLI runs

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How it works

AI → CLI — Ask your AI something. Chrome extension auto-copies the response when it finishes. Press Ctrl+Shift+X (Mac: Cmd+Shift+X) in VS Code to write it to your instructions file. Run /sync in Claude Code CLI to execute.

CLI → AI — Claude Code CLI runs tasks and the hook auto-updates claude-state.md after every file write and bash command. The VS Code panel shows these updates live. Copy the state and paste into any AI chat to resume with full context.

Context migration — When your chat gets long, click ⟳ Regenerate in the Syncbridge panel. It merges your last instructions and last 10 CLI actions into a structured migration prompt. Paste into a new chat — the AI picks up exactly where you left off.

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Architecture

• VS Code extension — sidebar panel, file watcher, status bar, clipboard bridge, project hook deployment
• Chrome extension — floating widget UI, site adapters for each AI platform, auto-copy on response complete
• MCP server — optional Claude Code CLI integration via MCP tools

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Installation

VS Code Extension

From Marketplace: Search "Syncbridge" in the Extensions panel and click Install.

From .vsix file:

code --install-extension syncbridge-0.1.0.vsix

Chrome Extension

Developer mode (available now):

1. Download or clone this repo
2. Go to chrome://extensions
3. Enable Developer mode
4. Click Load unpacked → select chrome-extension/ folder

Chrome Web Store: Under review — available soon.

MCP Server (Claude Code CLI)

claude mcp add syncbridge npx syncbridge-mcp

Available MCP tools:

• update_state — push CLI state to Syncbridge
• read_instructions — pull latest AI instructions
• get_context — get full merged context
• clear_state — reset state for a new session

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VS Code Extension

Commands

Command	Description
Syncbridge: Open Panel	Open the sync panel in column two
Syncbridge: Send Clipboard to CLI	Write clipboard content to instructions file
Syncbridge: Set Active Project	Set the active project folder
Syncbridge: Setup Project	Deploy file watcher hook to current project

Panel UI

Opens in VS Code's second column. Displays live contents of all three control files with:

• Copy button per file
• ⟳ Regenerate context.md — rebuilds migration prompt from current state
• ⚠ Clear all control files — resets all three files

The panel auto-refreshes whenever the state file changes on disk.

Status Bar

Shows last CLI action in the status bar. Click to open Claude.ai usage page. Updates automatically when claude-state.md changes — no manual reload needed.

activeCli Setting

Syncbridge adapts control file names based on which CLI you use.

Go to VS Code Settings → search "syncbridge" → set Active CLI:

Setting	Instructions file	State file	Context file
claudecode (default)	claude-ai.md	claude-state.md	claude-context.md
cursor	cursor-ai.md	cursor-state.md	cursor-context.md
copilot	copilot-ai.md	copilot-state.md	copilot-context.md
windsurf	windsurf-ai.md	windsurf-state.md	windsurf-context.md
aider	aider-ai.md	aider-state.md	aider-context.md
custom	user-defined	user-defined	user-defined

Non-Claude Code CLIs show an amber banner in the panel — state file must be updated manually for those CLIs.

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Chrome Extension

Features

• Slim right-edge floating widget — hover to expand, click tab to pin open
• Draggable vertically along the right edge
• X button on hover removes widget from page — runs silently in background
• Toolbar popup to show/hide floating widget from Chrome extensions bar
• Auto-copies AI response to clipboard when response finishes (one copy per response)
• Green toast notification confirms auto-copy — visible even when widget is hidden
• Site adapters with per-site selectors for reading output and injecting input

Supported Sites

Claude.ai · ChatGPT · Google Gemini · Perplexity · Grok · Mistral · Microsoft Copilot

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut (Windows/Linux)	Shortcut (Mac)	Where	Action
Ctrl+Shift+S	Cmd+Shift+S	VS Code	Open Syncbridge panel
Ctrl+Shift+X	Cmd+Shift+X	VS Code	Send clipboard to instructions file
Ctrl+Shift+A	Cmd+Shift+A	VS Code	Set active project
Ctrl+Shift+E	Cmd+Shift+E	VS Code	Setup current project (deploy hook)
Alt+C	Option+C	Chrome	Copy AI response to clipboard
Alt+V	Option+V	Chrome	Inject clipboard into AI input

To remap VS Code shortcuts:

• Edit contributes.keybindings in package.json, recompile and reinstall
• Or use VS Code built-in editor: Ctrl+K Ctrl+S (Mac: Cmd+K Cmd+S)

To remap Chrome shortcuts: Edit the keydown listener in chrome-extension/src/bot.js then reload at chrome://extensions.

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Control Files

All three files are created automatically in the workspace root on first activation. File names adapt based on your activeCli setting (see above).

File (claudecode default)	Direction	Purpose
claude-ai.md	AI → CLI	Instructions from chat; /sync reads and executes
claude-state.md	CLI → AI	Auto-updated by hook after every file write and bash command
claude-context.md	Shared	Migration prompt; rebuilt by ⟳ Regenerate button

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Context Migration

Use when your chat gets too long or context drifts.

Steps:

1. Click ⟳ Regenerate context.md in the Syncbridge panel
2. Merges last instructions + last 10 CLI actions into a structured prompt
3. Copy claude-context.md contents
4. Paste into a new chat — AI resumes exactly where you left off

When to use:

• Chat responses are drifting or losing accuracy
• Starting a new day on the same project
• Switching between AI models mid-session

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File Watcher Hook

The hook is configured in .claude/settings.json and fires automatically after every file write and bash command by Claude Code CLI.

Deploy to a project: Press Ctrl+Shift+E (Mac: Cmd+Shift+E) in VS Code.

To copy manually to another project:

cp .claude/settings.json <project>/.claude/

Hook captures:

✓ HH:MM:SS wrote <file_path>
✓ HH:MM:SS ran: <command>

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Multi-Folder Workspace

When workspace has multiple root folders, active root resolves in this order:

1. Folder containing the currently open file
2. Folder set via Ctrl+Shift+A (Mac: Cmd+Shift+A)
3. First folder in workspace list as fallback

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Roadmap

• Auto-detect installed CLIs on first run
• Chrome Web Store public release
• Onboarding walkthrough for first-time users
• Additional AI platform adapters
• Improved context migration with token awareness

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Requirements

• VS Code 1.100.0 or higher
• Node.js v18+
• At least one supported CLI (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot CLI, Windsurf, or Aider)
• Chrome or Chromium-based browser for the Chrome extension

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Extension Test Runner

Tests live in src/test/extension.test.ts — 7 deterministic tests covering control file creation, write stability, append ordering, context regeneration, and extension activation.

To run: click the beaker icon (Testing) in VS Code sidebar → press ▷ Run All Tests.

All tests must pass before packaging.

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Development

Built using VS Code Extension API + Claude Code CLI with a deterministic SEP-based workflow.

Repository: https://github.com/rehmansherazi/syncbridge

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Known Limitations

• Chrome extension site adapters use fallback selector chains — resilient to minor DOM changes but major site redesigns may require an update
• File watcher hook requires manual setup per project via Ctrl+Shift+E (Mac: Cmd+Shift+E)
• Auto-sync hook only available for Claude Code CLI — other CLIs require manual state file updates
• CLI sync requires the CLI to be running from the project directory that has the hook deployed

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Privacy

Syncbridge does not collect, transmit, or store any user data on external servers.

• Clipboard access is used only to read AI responses and write context locally to your project files
• Storage permission saves only widget visibility state in your browser locally
• No analytics, no tracking, no telemetry
• No data leaves your machine
• All processing happens locally between your browser, VS Code, and terminal

For questions: mrsherazi@hotmail.com