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Configuration Sync Planning

Executive Summary

This document outlines the design for template-based configuration synchronization between local development environments and CloudWorkstation instances, enabling researchers to maintain consistent tool configurations across environments.

Problem Statement

Researchers spend significant time reconfiguring familiar tools (RStudio, Jupyter, VS Code, etc.) on each new CloudWorkstation instance. This reduces productivity and creates barriers to cloud adoption. Configuration sync should be:

  • Template-Based: Configurations stored as shareable templates
  • Application-Aware: Smart sync for different application types
  • Incremental: Only sync changed configurations
  • Secure: Handle sensitive credentials appropriately
  • Cross-Platform: Work across macOS, Linux, and Windows

Architecture Overview

1. Template-Based Configuration System

Configuration Templates Structure: 

# config-templates/rstudio/data-science.yml
name: "RStudio Data Science Setup"
category: "rstudio"
version: "1.0.0"
author: "researcher@university.edu"
description: "Optimized RStudio configuration for data science workflows"

applications:
  rstudio:
    preferences:
      - source: "~/.config/rstudio/rstudio-prefs.json"
        target: "~/.config/rstudio/rstudio-prefs.json"
        merge_strategy: "replace"

    packages:
      cran:
        - tidyverse
        - ggplot2
        - dplyr
        - shiny
      bioconductor:
        - Biobase
        - limma
      github:
        - "hadley/devtools"

    themes:
      - source: "~/.config/rstudio/themes/"
        target: "~/.config/rstudio/themes/"
        merge_strategy: "merge"

  git:
    config:
      user.name: "{{ user_input:git_name }}"
      user.email: "{{ user_input:git_email }}"
    ssh_keys: "reference_only"  # Don't copy, just reference

environment:
  variables:
    R_LIBS_USER: "/opt/R/library"
    RSTUDIO_PANDOC: "/usr/lib/rstudio/bin/pandoc"

security:
  exclude_patterns:
    - "*.key"
    - "*.pem"
    - "*password*"
    - "*secret*"
  sensitive_prompts:
    - "git_name"
    - "git_email"

2. Configuration Capture System

Local Configuration Scanning: 

# Capture current local configuration
cws config capture rstudio-config --applications rstudio,git
# Creates: config-templates/local/rstudio-config.yml

# Share configuration template
cws config publish rstudio-config --repository community
# Uploads to: community/rstudio/rstudio-config.yml

# Browse available configurations
cws config browse --application rstudio

Smart Configuration Detection: 

// pkg/config/scanner.go
type ConfigurationScanner struct {
    applications map[string]ApplicationScanner
}

type ApplicationScanner interface {
    Name() string
    DetectInstallation() bool
    ScanConfiguration() (*ApplicationConfig, error)
    GetConfigPaths() []ConfigPath
    GetPackages() ([]Package, error)
    GetThemes() ([]Theme, error)
}

type RStudioScanner struct{}

func (r *RStudioScanner) ScanConfiguration() (*ApplicationConfig, error) {
    config := &ApplicationConfig{
        Application: "rstudio",
        Version:     r.getVersion(),
    }

    // Scan preferences
    if prefs, err := r.scanPreferences(); err == nil {
        config.Preferences = prefs
    }

    // Scan installed packages
    if packages, err := r.scanPackages(); err == nil {
        config.Packages = packages
    }

    return config, nil
}

3. Template-Based Sync Engine

Sync Command Architecture: 

# Apply configuration template to instance
cws config apply rstudio-config my-instance
cws config apply rstudio-config my-instance --dry-run
cws config apply rstudio-config my-instance --interactive

# Apply from different sources
cws config apply community/rstudio/data-science my-instance
cws config apply ./local-config.yml my-instance
cws config apply github:university/rstudio-configs/bioinformatics my-instance

Template Processing Engine: 

// pkg/config/sync.go
type ConfigSyncEngine struct {
    templateResolver *TemplateResolver
    applicationSyncs map[string]ApplicationSync
}

type ApplicationSync interface {
    Apply(template *ConfigTemplate, instance string) error
    Validate(template *ConfigTemplate) error
    Preview(template *ConfigTemplate) (*SyncPreview, error)
}

type RStudioSync struct {
    sshClient SSHClientInterface
}

func (r *RStudioSync) Apply(template *ConfigTemplate, instance string) error {
    // 1. Install required packages
    if err := r.installPackages(template.Applications.RStudio.Packages); err != nil {
        return err
    }

    // 2. Apply preferences
    if err := r.applyPreferences(template.Applications.RStudio.Preferences); err != nil {
        return err
    }

    // 3. Copy themes and extensions
    if err := r.applyThemes(template.Applications.RStudio.Themes); err != nil {
        return err
    }

    return nil
}

4. Repository System

Configuration Repository Structure: 

config-templates/
├── community/           # Community-contributed configs
│   ├── rstudio/
│   │   ├── data-science.yml
│   │   ├── bioinformatics.yml
│   │   └── econometrics.yml
│   ├── jupyter/
│   │   ├── ml-research.yml
│   │   └── python-data.yml
│   └── vscode/
│       ├── python-dev.yml
│       └── r-analysis.yml
├── institutional/       # Institution-specific configs
│   └── university-edu/
│       ├── rstudio-standard.yml
│       └── jupyter-classroom.yml
└── personal/           # User's personal configs
    └── my-rstudio-setup.yml

Template Sharing Commands: 

# Create template repository
cws config repo init my-lab-configs
cws config repo add-remote origin git@github.com:mylab/cws-configs.git

# Publish configuration
cws config publish my-rstudio-setup --repo my-lab-configs
cws config publish my-rstudio-setup --repo community --public

# Install from repository
cws config install community/rstudio/data-science
cws config install github:mylab/cws-configs/rstudio-setup
cws config install https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mylab/configs/main/rstudio.yml

5. Application-Specific Implementations

RStudio Configuration Sync: 

# config-templates/rstudio/comprehensive.yml
applications:
  rstudio:
    preferences:
      editor_theme: "Textmate (default)"
      font_size: 12
      soft_wrap: true
      syntax_highlight: true
      show_line_numbers: true

    packages:
      install_method: "renv"  # or "packrat", "direct"
      renv_lockfile: "./renv.lock"

    projects:
      default_settings:
        use_packrat: false
        restore_last_project: true

    keybindings:
      - source: "~/.config/rstudio/keybindings/editor_bindings.json"
        target: "~/.config/rstudio/keybindings/"

Jupyter Configuration Sync: 

# config-templates/jupyter/ml-research.yml
applications:
  jupyter:
    extensions:
      lab:
        - "@jupyterlab/git"
        - "@jupyterlab/variableinspector"
        - "jupyterlab-plotly"
      notebook:
        - "jupyter_contrib_nbextensions"

    kernels:
      python:
        - name: "ml-env"
          conda_env: "ml-research"
        - name: "data-analysis"
          conda_env: "data-env"

    configuration:
      - source: "~/.jupyter/jupyter_lab_config.py"
        target: "~/.jupyter/"
      - source: "~/.jupyter/custom/custom.css"
        target: "~/.jupyter/custom/"

6. Security and Privacy Model

Sensitive Data Handling: 

// pkg/config/security.go
type SecurityManager struct {
    encryptionKey []byte
    excludePatterns []string
}

func (s *SecurityManager) FilterSensitive(config *ApplicationConfig) *ApplicationConfig {
    filtered := &ApplicationConfig{}

    for _, file := range config.Files {
        if s.isSensitive(file.Path) {
            // Replace with template variable
            filtered.Templates = append(filtered.Templates, TemplateVar{
                Name: s.generateVarName(file.Path),
                Description: fmt.Sprintf("Value from %s", file.Path),
                Type: "secret",
            })
        } else {
            filtered.Files = append(filtered.Files, file)
        }
    }

    return filtered
}

User Prompts for Sensitive Data: 

🔒 Configuration contains sensitive information
The following values need to be provided:

Git Configuration:
  User Name: [Your Full Name]
  User Email: [your.email@university.edu]

RStudio Server:
  Default CRAN Mirror: [https://cloud.r-project.org/]

Continue with configuration? [y/N]: y

7. Implementation Phases

Phase 1: Core Sync Framework (v0.5.3) - Basic template schema and validation - RStudio configuration sync (preferences, packages) - Local configuration capture - SSH-based file synchronization

Phase 2: Template Repository (v0.5.4) - Template sharing and discovery - Community repository integration - Git-based template storage - Template versioning and updates

Phase 3: Multi-Application Support (v0.5.5) - Jupyter configuration sync - VS Code settings and extensions - Git configuration management - Vim/Neovim configuration sync

Phase 4: Advanced Features (v0.5.6) - Incremental sync optimization - Conflict resolution strategies - Configuration drift detection - Automated sync on instance launch

User Experience Flow

Initial Setup:

# Capture local RStudio configuration
cws config capture rstudio-setup
✅ Scanned RStudio preferences
✅ Found 45 installed packages
✅ Detected custom themes: 2 files
📝 Configuration saved as: config-templates/personal/rstudio-setup.yml

# Launch instance with configuration
cws launch python-ml my-research --config rstudio-setup
🚀 Launching instance...
⚙️  Applying configuration template: rstudio-setup
   📦 Installing 45 R packages...
   🎨 Applying themes and preferences...
   ⚙️  Configuring keybindings...
✅ Instance ready with synchronized configuration

Daily Workflow:

# Quick sync to existing instance
cws config sync rstudio-setup my-research
⚙️  Checking for configuration changes...
📦 New packages detected: 3 packages
🔄 Syncing updates...
✅ Configuration synchronized

# Share configuration with team
cws config publish rstudio-setup --repo lab-configs --description "Updated with new bioinformatics packages"

Success Metrics

Technical Success: - Configuration sync success rate >95% - Sync operation completion time <5 minutes - Template validation accuracy >99% - Zero data loss during sync operations

User Adoption: - 70% of users using config sync within 3 months - Average time to configure new instance reduced by 80% - Community template contributions >50 templates - Positive user feedback on ease of use

Cost Optimization

Sync Efficiency: - Incremental sync reduces data transfer costs - Template-based approach reduces storage overhead - Parallel sync operations reduce time costs - Smart package management reduces compute time

Template Sharing Benefits: - Reduced duplicated configuration effort - Institutional standardization reduces support costs - Community contributions accelerate ecosystem growth - Version control reduces configuration errors

This template-based approach provides a scalable, secure, and user-friendly system for maintaining consistent development environments across local and cloud resources.