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Back up Claude Code in layers: preserve project instructions and settings with the project, keep user-level configuration in a separate protected backup, document organization-managed settings and integrations, and test restoration in a clean location. A file copy can help recreate your workflow, but it does not guarantee recovery of credentials, provider access, machine dependencies, or every session’s runtime context.
Decide what you need to recover
“Claude Code infrastructure” can mean several different things. A new-machine migration, recovery from accidental edits, and preservation of project guidance have different scopes. Choose the outcome first, then inventory the relevant state instead of assuming one folder contains everything.
- Project context: instructions, settings, and project files shared with a team or kept in a repository.
- User context: personal instructions and configuration that apply across projects.
- Integrations: MCP configuration, gateway or proxy details, and any associated certificates or environment configuration.
- Organization policy: centrally managed settings deployed by an administrator.
- Session continuity: the ability to continue or resume a conversation, which is different from rebuilding the machine or its dependencies.
Anthropic documents claude -c (or --continue) for continuing the most recent conversation and claude -r (or --resume) for resuming by session ID in its CLI reference. Those commands describe supported continuation workflows; they do not establish that copying a transcript or configuration recreates all runtime context or external dependencies.
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Inventory the files and settings by scope
Project instructions and settings
Anthropic’s memory documentation describes shared project memory in ./CLAUDE.md. Preserve this file with the project when appropriate. If it imports other instruction files, include those referenced files too; backing up only the top-level file will not preserve instructions stored elsewhere.
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Keep project files in the team’s normal version-control workflow when they are suitable for sharing. Review ignored and local-only files separately before adding them to a repository or general archive: they may contain private data, machine-specific configuration, or secrets.
User instructions and configuration
The same Anthropic memory documentation identifies ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md as user memory. Treat user-level files as distinct from project-shared files: they may be necessary to reproduce your personal workflow, but may not belong in the team repository. Inventory imported instructions and any other user configuration your setup depends on.
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MCP configuration
Anthropic’s MCP documentation describes user, project, and local configuration scopes. Record which scope each server uses and preserve the corresponding configuration. Before sharing a project configuration or storing it in a broadly accessible archive, check that it does not expose secrets or private endpoints.
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Organization-managed settings
Managed policy is separate from personal and project configuration. Anthropic’s identity and access management documentation describes managed settings and says user or project settings cannot override managed policy. Because the available page is localized and its platform-specific details may change, ask your administrator how the current policy is deployed rather than relying on an old path or assuming a personal backup includes it.
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Gateway, proxy, and network details
If your setup depends on a gateway or corporate proxy, record the operational details needed to rebuild connectivity—such as the approved endpoint, relevant environment configuration, and certificate locations—in a protected runbook. Anthropic documents LLM gateway configuration and corporate proxy configuration. Keep secrets out of an unprotected runbook or backup; Anthropic’s gateway page also cautions that it does not endorse, maintain, or audit LiteLLM’s security or functionality.
Protect credentials and sensitive data
Anthropic’s setup documentation says Claude Code securely stores credentials and lists multiple authentication options. The documented material here does not establish a universal credential export-and-import procedure. Do not copy credential databases or raw tokens into source control, cloud sync, or a general backup unless current official credential instructions explicitly support that method. Plan to authenticate again through your organization’s or provider’s approved flow when needed.
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Apply the same care to configuration and session material: inspect what you are storing, limit access to the backup, and use storage whose security and restore controls suit the sensitivity of the contents. Off-site storage can help if a device is lost, but it also creates another place where private project data may be exposed.
Choose backup methods that match the recovery goal
| Method | Useful for | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Version control | Project-shared instructions and files that belong in the team’s normal development workflow. | Review ignored and local-only files; do not commit credentials or other secrets. |
| Separate local copy, such as an external backup drive | An additional copy for recovery when the primary working copy is damaged or changed. | A local copy can be lost or damaged with the device or in the same incident; it is not a tested restore by itself. |
| Off-site backup | Recovery after device loss or a local incident. | Check access controls, encryption, version history, retention, exclusions, and the restore process before storing sensitive material. |
| Sync service | Conveniently keeping selected files available across locations or devices. | Sync can propagate deletions or unwanted changes and may expose transcripts or configuration. Check the service’s security and version recovery rather than treating sync alone as a complete backup. |
No single interval, retention period, storage capacity, or restore-time target is established for every Claude Code setup. Set them according to how often your setup changes and how much work you can afford to lose. Keep project-shared and personal material in appropriately separate locations, and do not let convenience override protection of secrets.
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Make and verify a recovery copy
- Write down the recovery goal. Specify whether you are preparing for a new machine, accidental edits, project-context loss, or session continuity.
- Inventory each scope. List project and user instructions, imported files, relevant settings, MCP scope, and any gateway or proxy dependencies. Mark organization-managed policy for administrator follow-up.
- Review what will be copied. Keep appropriate shared project files in version control. Check local-only files and exclude secrets from repositories and unprotected archives.
- Make a separate protected copy. Choose local or off-site storage based on the risks you need to cover, and restrict access to sensitive contents.
- Restore somewhere safe. Use a clean or separate environment so the test does not overwrite your working setup.
- Check the actual workflow. Confirm that the expected instructions and settings are present, integrations can be configured, authentication can be completed through the approved process, and the desired CLI continuation workflow works.
- Record gaps. Note what required administrator action, reauthentication, or a machine-specific dependency, then update your recovery notes.
A backup is not verified merely because copying completed. A restore check tells you whether the files and workflow you care about can actually be recovered, and reveals which parts must be provisioned or authenticated separately.
Understand what session recovery does—and does not—mean
Use the documented CLI continuation and resume options when your goal is to continue or resume a supported conversation. Do not equate that with a full environment recovery: the CLI reference establishes the commands, not that a copied transcript, configuration, or session identifier restores every dependency or all runtime context. The available official documentation does not establish a transcript filesystem path or retention period here, so avoid building a backup plan around an assumed path or duration.
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