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Always-On Dev Environment vs Ephemeral Workspaces

Always-on dev environments keep state across time; ephemeral workspaces reset and force rework.

Published: 2026-01-04 · Last updated: 2026-01-04

An always-on dev environment keeps state across time. Ephemeral workspaces reset and force you to rebuild context every time you come back.

The core difference

  • Always-on: the session keeps running, output continues, and you resume later.
  • Ephemeral: the session ends, output disappears, and you start over.

Why ephemeral resets are expensive

  • you repeat setup steps,
  • you rerun long tasks,
  • you lose confidence in what actually finished.

The continuity-first choice

If your work spans hours or days, an always-on environment is the only model that keeps momentum intact.