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Getting started

By the end of this page your Claude Code configuration is backed up and keeps itself backed up. Takes about two minutes.

Install

Nothing to install permanently — uvx runs the latest release directly. If you prefer a persistent install, use uv tool or pipx:

$ uvx claude-code-sync --help

$ uv tool install claude-code-sync
$ claude-sync --help

$ pipx install claude-code-sync
$ claude-sync --help

Note

A persistent install (uv tool / pipx) is recommended if you enable the auto-backup hook: the hook then calls a stable binary path instead of resolving the package on every session end.

Or let Claude Code set it up

Prefer not to run the steps yourself? Paste this prompt into a Claude Code session and it will clone the project, install it, and walk you through init, asking you about each choice along the way:

Clone the repo from https://github.com/shawonashraf/claude-code-sync which contains a sync tool for claude code and set it up on my computer. Ask questions about any choices you may have to make, such as directories, symlinks etc.

The rest of this page describes what it will ask, so you know what to answer.

Set up your first backup

Run init and answer its questions:

$ claude-sync init

The wizard walks you through four decisions:

  1. Where do backups go? Any directory works. Two setups make sense: a git repository (best: every backup is a commit, and you can push it to GitHub for off-machine safety) or a cloud-synced folder like Google Drive or Dropbox (the storage handles versioning).
  2. Treat it as git? If the destination is already a git repo, claude-sync auto-commits each backup. If it's a plain folder, the wizard offers to git init it for you.
  3. Install the session-end hook? Say yes for hands-off operation — every time a Claude Code session ends, a quiet backup runs and syncs any changes.
  4. First backup runs. You'll see exactly which env vars were redacted from settings.json before anything was written.

Scripting it? Skip all prompts with defaults (git mode on, hook on):

$ claude-sync init ~/claude-backup --yes

Verify

$ claude-sync status
Destination:      /Users/you/claude-backup (git)
Last backup:      2026-08-14T12:49:04Z
Local changes:    none (in sync)
Session-end hook: installed
Redacted env vars (re-supply after restore): ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN

That's the whole setup. Install a new skill, tweak your settings, end your Claude Code session — the backup repo gets a new commit by itself.

Optional: push backups off this machine

If your destination already has a remote when you run init (or you restore from a git URL), auto-push is on by default: every backup commit is pushed immediately. Adding a remote later takes two steps:

  1. Give the repo a remote and an upstream once: git -C ~/claude-backup push -u origin main
  2. Run claude-sync config --auto-push.

A failed push never fails a backup — the commit stays safe locally and a warning tells you it will retry on the next backup.

Next: what backup and restore actually do →