By Teresa Torres · producttalk.org · @ttorres on X · LinkedIn
Teresa Torres describes the problem of sharing AI context files and Claude Code skills across multiple personal devices and with a colleague. She walks through why Dropbox, iCloud and git each fell short, mainly because machine-specific absolute file paths break cross-links and skills default to a user-directory location that most sync tools don't handle. She settles on Obsidian Sync as the best fit for her needs and a non-technical admin, and promises to detail her exact setup. The piece matters for anyone leading AI adoption who wants a durable, shareable context system. Note that the source text is cut off before the setup details.
01Key takeaways
- Avoid absolute file paths in context files, since they break across devices and for collaborators.
- Check whether your sync tool can handle your home-directory skills folder before committing to it.
- Choose a sync tool your least technical collaborator can use without learning git or an IDE.
- Plain markdown files with note-style linking keep context portable and readable by any editor or by Claude.
- Automatic background syncing reduces maintenance compared with manual pull and push workflows.
02Key sections
- The problem of sharing context
- Teams building rich AI context systems struggle to share them with colleagues and across devices. Torres faced this when she needed a command she only had on another machine.
- Why absolute file paths break
- Claude tends to write full, machine-specific file paths in links, which break on other devices and for colleagues. Relative paths are more portable but Claude did not use them reliably in Dropbox.
- Skills and sync limitations
- Skills live in a user directory that most syncing services don't share, so a symlink workaround is needed. iCloud only works across Apple devices, and Obsidian on iOS did not sync cleanly with Dropbox.
- Git versus Obsidian Sync
- Git handles context and skills well and gives relative links, but it is too complex for a non-technical collaborator. Obsidian Sync offers automatic background syncing, markdown files, and portable note links that Claude can follow.
- Her chosen setup
- Obsidian Sync was the sweet spot for her and her admin, who work across time zones and rarely edit the same files at once. The remaining setup details are presented as the next part of the article.
03From the post
“I've been hosting Claude Code office hours for the past few months and by far the most common questions I get are around sharing context and skills. I'm hearing from a lot of people who are leading AI adoption in their companies. They've developed robust workflows that”
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.