How do you handle working with MacMini at home and MacBook on the road? Need advice about choosing my new Mac

DEVONthink
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Greetings,

I currently own a MacBook Air M1 with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD. While it has served me gloriously, the 256GB of storage is no longer sufficient, even though I already use an external hard drive for my “Archive” database. I now need more local storage, ideally 1TB.

I’m debating between two options:

  1. Upgrading to a MacBook Air M3 with 1TB storage to completely replace my current MacBook.

  2. Buying a Mac Mini M4 with 1TB storage for home use while keeping my current MacBook Air for travel.

My dilemma stems from the convenience of always having all my files with me, regardless of where I am. With the hybrid solution (Mac Mini + old MacBook), I fear there will be times when I’ll need a file that’s stored on the Mac Mini while I’m away, especially during longer trips (1–2 months). On the other hand, the hybrid option offers a more powerful machine for home use and is cost-effective compared to buying a new MacBook.

For those of you who use a hybrid setup (main machine at home and a secondary one on the go), how do you manage files and ensure everything is accessible when needed? Do you use any specific workflows, cloud solutions, or syncing strategies to address this issue?

I know this decision depends on individual needs and preferences, but I’d appreciate hearing your experiences and thoughts to help broaden my perspective.

Thanks in advance for your input!

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My mobile device is an iPad
Devonthink auto-syncs data between my devices (Bonjour and iCloud)
(I don’t sync the archive data)

Storage can be expanded on the Mac Mini via an external drive
I use a 4TB HDD

iPad storage is currently adequate, but will be increased with my next purchase

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I carry a ChronoSync (not Time Machine) data backup of my entire Mac mini on a SanDisk Extreme SSD. If I need something from the mini, I just open the relevant database on the SSD from DT on the MacBook. Indexed files are no problem; DT is smart enough to find the original file on the SSD. Obviously if I want to make changes, I’ll need to make a copy and sync it back to the original database on the mini, but I tend to keep documents I’m working on right now in a separate synced database anyway. ChronoSync backups are ridiculously fast; it took 39 minutes to do a fresh backup of a near-full 1TB drive the other day, and incremental backups take only a few minutes (and can run to a scheduler).

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ChronoSync is nice. I keep a lot of things sync’d that way, but I also use DT sync stores on my little USB stick.

If I want to keep something available on the road it will be in one of two categories.

Things not in DT get synced by ChronoSync. Things in DT get synced by DT sync stores.

That way, if DT is open there’s no danger of ChronoSync grabbing an incomplete copy.

Also, I have DT set to resolve conflicts by creating duplicates. In eight years or so of using sync stores, that’s never happened - but if it did, I wouldn’t lose mismatched updates.

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I am certainly no ChronoSync expert but happened to test something in it this morning :slight_smile:
In the backup task’s options, you can use the Freeze file system option to use a snapshot (which we would always recommend using and using as a criterion for choosing a backup app)…

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Good point. I still wouldn’t want to depend on the filesystem reflecting a valid DT database. It may, but it would be OK if Devonthink maintained information in memory not committed to the filesystem. That wouldn’t be a Devonthink weakness.

There’s also the situation of opening documents in external apps. Third party utilities could be doing anything.

On a related note, I heard in a programming podcast this week there are really only two things to master to write perfect code. Perfect. And it’s just two things:

  1. Master input validation.
  2. Perform rigorous output verification.
  3. Never allow off-by-one bugs.

That’s it. Just those two things.

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I think that list is mis-numbered. Should be: {0, 1, 2}. Two things. :smiley:

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Thank you all for your thoughtful advice and sharing your setups!

After considering your input and reflecting on my own needs, I’ve decided to go with a MacBook Air (1TB) as my primary machine. While the Mac mini + MacBook combo offers flexibility, having a single device works better for me to avoid the hassle of syncing files or managing duplicates across machines.

Like some of you, I often find myself needing my files readily accessible, even when I don’t have reliable Internet. Solutions like Chronosync are great, but I prefer to have everything local and available at all times without plugging and unplugging HDs everytime I need a file.

At home, I already have the MacBook Air connected to a 32” monitor, paired with a hub and some external SSDs for additional storage. This setup offers both portability and a desktop-like experience when needed: with 1TB I’d remove the external SSDs at all.
All is backed up by Time Machine and Arq.

I’ve also decided to max out the RAM for better performance and future-proofing. While it’s a bit of an upfront investment, I believe it will be worth it in the long run for my workflow.

Thanks again for all your insights—they’ve been incredibly helpful in guiding my decision!

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FYI the M4 MacBook Air is coming very soon. Of course, it does not mean the M3 is a bad machine.

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Hi, I had exactly the same problem, multiplied by the fact that I am living in two countries, having two IT setup and travelling a lot.

I decided to use the MacBook Air (1Tb at purchase, no additional SSD) as the place to be my headquarters and wherever I am I can sync local Mac minis, iMacs, iPhones and iPads. As iCloud is not fully reliable and remote sync cannot be done through bonjour I found no other suitable alternative. I have to do the MacBook backup of course regularly

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I used to have the problem where I was working between three computers (Mac Mini at home, Macbook, and work mac).

What I did was put my database on an portable 1tb SSD, and made sure I opened all my DT dbs on any terminal with that SSD connected. That way, I was always working on the same DB anywhere, no matter the terminal, and without the need to sync. It was so simple.

Then I left that workspace and reduced the usage to two (Mac Mini + Macbook).
I got rid of the SSD and decided to sync databases and other applications instead.
This was OK for a while, but sometimes I would open a program (not DT) before syncing it, and forget which version of a document I was working on. Not too problematic, but sometimes I made some silly mistakes.

Now I just use my Macbook. I still have my Mac Mini, but I only use it for media. When I am at home, I plug my Macbook to the same monitor that the Mac Mini is connected to, and work from that. Its enough for me - I don’t do heavy processing work, so the Macbook M1 is sufficient for my needs.

My only gripe is that when I bought the Macbook it had basic specs. At the moment, the 256gb ssd and 8gb ram is enough, but I might like to upgrade soon.

Overall, I don’t really see any problem with my usage, but it is pretty flexible to go back a previous style if needed.

I always think getting the best specs you can for new Macbooks etc is the best way to “futureproof” your work needs (not the computer software itself), even though I didn’t do that with my Macbook.

My suggestion would be to max out the SSD on your Macbook and just use that as your central workstation (home and away). If you ever need to expand, it only takes a few minutes to relocate your DBs to an external drive and redirect your paths etc to the new location.

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If it’s not too late, I recently got an M4 Pro Mini for my desktop (to replace a 2017 27" iMac) and also have a 2020 MacBook Pro (Intel) for the road which still works great. I use Dropbox to keep files in sync, which works great. For DevonThink, I use DT’s built-in Dropbox-based sync (my DT databases are kept outside of the Dropbox folder). I like the redundancy of two different machines in case something happens to the laptop while on the road (you never know).