Push a Thread to Your Durable Machine¶

A conversation you started on your laptop stops when the laptop sleeps. Push to durable machine moves it to the computer that stays on (your Mac mini, desktop or Cloud DevSpace) and continues it there: the same conversation, the same files, still visible from every Openbase app.

Your durable machine is the always-on computer your laptop syncs with: today, the Openbase Sync hub this computer is paired with.

Before you push¶

This computer and the durable machine are paired with Openbase Sync, and Thread sync is enabled (the ~/.openbase/thread-sync folder is synced; pairing from the Sync page sets this up).
The thread's working folder is inside a synced folder, such as ~/Projects. The durable machine uses the same home-relative path: ~/Projects/app here is ~/Projects/app there.
The durable machine is on, connected to Openbase VPN, signed in to the same Openbase account, and runs the same backend as the thread (Codex or Claude Code).
The thread is idle: no turn running, no queued prompts, no approval waiting, and it is not the voice dispatcher or the thread on a live call. Openbase never interrupts a running turn to push it; wait for the turn to finish, or stop it yourself first.

Push from the app¶

Open the thread in the desktop app or the web console, open the thread's ⋯ menu, and choose Push to mini (your durable machine's name). If the thread cannot move right now, the menu item says why. You can add a message for the agent to continue with; it is sent on the durable machine as the first turn there.

When the push finishes, the app follows the thread to the durable machine: new turns, the terminal tab and approvals all run there.

Push from the terminal¶

openbase-coder threads push <thread-id>                 # to your durable machine
openbase-coder threads push <thread-id> -m "keep going" # and continue there
openbase-coder threads push <thread-id> --wait          # wait for a running turn
openbase-coder threads push <thread-id> --list          # where it can go, and why not
openbase-coder threads push <thread-id> --to mini       # pick a durable machine

The thread id is shown in the thread's ⋯ menu (Copy thread ID).

What happens¶

The thread pauses here: new turns are refused while the push runs.
Openbase writes the thread's transcript into the thread-sync folder and waits until Openbase Sync confirms the durable machine has both the transcript and the latest files of the thread's folder.
The durable machine imports the transcript and the thread continues there under the same thread id. With a message, its first turn starts.
The copy on this computer becomes read-only and shows "Moved to mini". It still mirrors the conversation through thread sync, so you can read it here, but new turns go to the durable machine.

In the thread list, the thread now appears as living on the durable machine.

When something goes wrong¶

Every push is safe to retry: a retry never creates a second thread or sends your message twice.

Message	What to do
A turn is running	Wait for it to finish (or use `--wait`), then push.
Not in a synced folder	Add the folder (or a parent) under Settings → Sync.
Not reachable over Openbase VPN	Wake the durable machine and check its VPN, then retry.
Files are still syncing	Retry in a moment; a large change takes time to arrive.
Codex / Claude Code is not set up on mini	Set up that backend on the durable machine.
The push did not finish	The thread stays paused until the push is confirmed: retry it, or run `openbase-coder threads push <id> --cancel` to ask the durable machine and make the thread usable here again if it never arrived.
Both computers changed this thread	Resolve it under Threads → Sync conflicts on the durable machine, then push again.

Bringing a thread back¶

A moved thread's copy here stays read-only. To use it on this computer again, run openbase-coder threads push <id> --release. Only do this if the thread is no longer running on the durable machine, or the conversation will continue in two places.

Limits¶

Only threads that run through Openbase are paused. A session you resumed directly with plain codex or claude in a terminal is not stopped by the push; close it first (Openbase refuses to export a Codex thread that a terminal still has open).
Pushes go to the durable machine you sync with. Pushing a thread from the durable machine back to a laptop is not supported.