Hosted workspace signup

If you don't want to install spl on a machine you maintain, syncropel.com runs a Syncropel workspace for you. A hosted workspace is the same Syncropel as a self-hosted one: the same program, the same features, the same way of storing your work. You can move freely between hosted and self-hosted at any time: spl export takes all of your data with you, and the same program runs on both ends.

One hosted workspace is free, with no card. More hosted workspaces are $25 per month each, with a 30-day free trial; see Pricing.

This page covers the signup flow you'll see at syncropel.com, what each step does, and how to connect the command line afterwards. Once your workspace is running, Your hosted workspace explains how your work is saved, what sleeping means, and what happens if you delete it.

Before you start

You need:

• An email address that can receive verification mail (or a social login).
• A choice of workspace label: a subdomain under syncropel.app, e.g. alice.syncropel.app. Lowercase letters, digits, and -. 3 to 32 characters. The label is yours for the lifetime of your account.

You do not need: Docker, or a domain you control.

The flow

1. Sign in

Visit syncropel.com and sign in. Account creation is email-verified, with optional social login. Your account is the identity that owns every workspace you create: sign in from any device and your workspaces follow you.

2. Pick a label

The signup page asks for a label. If you pick alice, your workspace lives at alice.syncropel.app.

Reserved labels (api, docs, www, app, admin, etc.) are rejected with an inline error. Pick something specific to you or your project.

3. Watch the setup steps

Submitting the form starts setting up your workspace and shows progress live. The signup page shows each step as it finishes:

When every step is done, the page says your workspace is ready. The whole setup usually takes about two minutes. If any step fails, the page shows a clear error and gives you a way to retry.

4. Land in your workspace

When setup finishes you land in Syncropel Studio, already connected to your new workspace, with no keys to copy. Your browser session carries your identity, and the workspace recognizes you as its owner. The ready screen also offers a way to connect the command line if you work from a terminal (see below).

The bare <label>.syncropel.app address is your workspace's public landing page: an identity card, not where you work day to day.

Your workspaces, from any device

syncropel.com/account/workspaces lists every workspace your account owns, with its status, a way to connect, and actions like delete. Sign in on a new device and the same list is there; one click connects Studio to any of them.

Want another workspace for a separate project? Create another. Your first hosted workspace is free; each one after that is $25 per month, with a 30-day free trial.

What you can do once you're in

The same things anyone using Syncropel can do, with the same command line and SDKs as a self-hosted workspace:

• Use Syncropel Studio for threads, tasks, search and your assistant. <label>.syncropel.app itself is the workspace's public landing page (you can customize it); Studio at syncropel.com is where you actually work.
• Use the command line or SDKs instead if you prefer to work in code; see the next section.
• Connect more devices with spl pair --device <label> --url https://<label>.syncropel.app, or without the command line at all: on any thread press keep this access, and paste the key it shows into + add a connection on the other device (see Keeping your access).
• Export everything at any time with spl export; see Portability.

You don't look after the workspace yourself: it restarts if it crashes, and secure connections are handled for you. You can check that your workspace is up by opening <label>.syncropel.app/health in a browser.

Connect your command line to the hosted workspace

The spl command line talks to a workspace on your own machine by default. To make it talk to your hosted workspace instead, you tell it two things: where the workspace lives (SPL_SERVE_URL) and which key to use (spl token save).

One-time setup

# 1. Install the CLI (skip if already installed)
curl -sSf https://get.syncropic.com/spl | sh           # Linux / WSL. Windows: irm https://get.syncropic.com/spl.ps1 | iex

# 2. Point the CLI at your hosted workspace
export SPL_SERVE_URL=https://<label>.syncropel.app

# 3. Connect this machine. Studio's Connect button (or the ready screen's
#    CLI option) gives you a device key; save it:
spl token save <token>

spl token save stores the key in a file only you can read. After that, every spl command uses it automatically.

To keep the address across new terminal windows, add the export to your shell's startup file (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, etc.):

echo 'export SPL_SERVE_URL=https://<label>.syncropel.app' >> ~/.bashrc

Check that it works

spl status
spl thread list
spl task add "First task on hosted" --priority normal --domain meta
spl task list

spl status prints which address it is using and whether your key is accepted. spl thread list and spl task list should show your workspace's threads and tasks (empty if you haven't added anything yet).

If you get a 401, connect this machine again and save the new key (spl token save <token>), and check that SPL_SERVE_URL points at the right <label>.syncropel.app. If you get connection errors, open <label>.syncropel.app/health in a browser: the workspace may be waking up after a quiet period, so give it a few seconds.

A separate key for each device (recommended)

Create a separate key for each device so you can switch one off without affecting the others:

spl pair --device "$(hostname)-cli" --url https://<label>.syncropel.app --scopes admin

spl pair prints a one-click link, a QR code, and plain text: pick whichever fits. For the command line on the same machine, the simplest path is to copy the printed key and run spl token save <new-token>. If the laptop is ever lost, you can switch off just that key.

--scopes admin gives the key full control of the workspace: it can read and change everything, including creating and switching off other keys. Without it, a key named like this one can read and add records but cannot manage keys or settings.

See Service accounts and tokens for the longer version, including narrowing what a key can do and replacing keys.

Hosted vs. self-hosted: which to pick

Both are the same Syncropel. Pick by where you want the data and who keeps it running.

Hosted is the path of least friction; self-hosted is the path of zero dependence on syncropel.com. Both are first-class.

When setup fails

Most setup failures fall into one of two buckets:

• Label taken. Someone reserved that label first. Pick another.
• Took too long. Your workspace took longer than expected to start. The page suggests waiting 30 to 60 seconds and retrying: the workspace may already be running.

For both, the signup page shows a clear error, with no logs to dig through. If retrying doesn't help, the details on the page contain everything support needs.

What's next

• Your hosted workspace: how your work is saved, sleeping, and deleting.
• Connecting a browser or phone: get a second device onto the same workspace.
• First run: the same first-day walkthrough applies to any workspace, hosted or self-hosted.
• Your first task: a five-minute walkthrough to create and complete a task.
• Security model: keys, service accounts, and what is stored where.