Workspaces and Sync

Workspaces and Sync

A Workspace (a.k.a. Virtual SD card) is a local folder that mirrors the layout of a real BearTracker 885 SD card. You can edit a workspace while the card is detached, then reconcile changes in either direction when the card comes back.

Why

• Edit offline. Car scanner stays in the car; you edit at your desk.
• Safer experiments. Trash a workspace, not a card.
• Update cycles. Run Uniden's updater against the card, then pull the new firmware tables into your workspace without losing the edits you made while disconnected.

Creating a workspace

1. Insert the card and Load it.
2. Workspaces → New workspace from card...
3. Pick a local folder. Scanner Manager copies the BCDx36HP tree and writes a small manifest so it can later detect drift.

You can then close the card, eject it, and keep working. The status bar shows you're editing a workspace, not a card.

Pushing changes to the card

1. Insert the card and Load it.
2. Workspaces → Push workspace → card...
3. Review the file-level diff.
4. Apply.

Each HPD file changed is backed by the standard MetaStore event log on the card, so individual edits remain revertable after a push.

Pulling changes from the card

Use this after Uniden's Sentinel/Update Manager has touched the card, or after a second machine has edited the card directly.

1. Workspaces → Pull card → workspace...
2. Scanner Manager identifies three buckets:
   • Card-only changes (new systems/groups/entries the card has that the workspace doesn't).
   • Workspace-only changes (your offline edits).
   • Conflicts (both sides edited the same entity).
3. For each conflict, pick workspace, card, or merge.
4. The workspace's event log is re-played on top of the pulled file so your customizations (renames, service-type overrides, deletions) stick.

Conflict resolution

Conflict rules follow the same logic as the reconciliation replay used by the RadioReference update pipeline:

• Deleted entries from the workspace stay deleted unless you ask otherwise.
• Service-type overrides from the workspace win.
• Renames follow frequency/TGID identity; if the identity still matches, your name is kept.

See Architecture for the full replay order.

Limitations (alpha)

• The diff UI is functional but spartan - large diffs require scrolling. A tree-style diff view is on the 0.9.x roadmap.
• Workspaces are single-machine; there's no sync service.