If you use Claude Code on multiple machines, you've probably recreated the same skills, agents, and settings more than once. There's a better way: version control your ~/.claude directory and sync it everywhere.

The Idea

Your ~/.claude folder contains all your global configuration—custom skills, agents, templates, and settings. By turning it into a git repository, you can push changes from any machine and pull them to all the others.

What to Track vs Ignore

Not everything should be synced. Here's the breakdown:

Track (shared across machines):

Ignore (machine-specific):

Quick Setup

On Your Main Machine

cd ~/.claude
git init
Create .gitignore for sensitive files
cat > .gitignore << 'EOF'
.credentials.json
.vibe9-token
settings.local.json
cache/
debug/
downloads/
file-history/
ide/
plans/
projects/
shell-snapshots/
statsig/
telemetry/
todos/
plugins/cache/
plugins/install-counts-cache.json
plugins/marketplaces/
EOF

git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit: global Claude Code settings"
git remote add origin https://github.com/YOU/claude-settings.git
git push -u origin main

On a New Machine

# Run claude once first to generate credentials
claude
Exit with Ctrl+C
Backup and clone
mv ~/.claude ~/.claude-backup
git clone https://github.com/YOU/claude-settings.git ~/.claude
Restore machine-specific files
cp ~/.claude-backup/.credentials.json ~/.claude/
cp ~/.claude-backup/settings.local.json ~/.claude/  # if exists
Restart Claude Code

Daily Workflow

Sync is simple:

cd ~/.claude
git pull                    # Get latest from other machines
git add . && git commit -m "Update settings"
git push                    # Share your changes

Or create a sync script to do it all at once.

What About settings.local.json?

Use settings.local.json for machine-specific permissions that shouldn't sync—like paths that differ between Windows and Mac, or permissions you only want on certain machines.

The shared settings.json handles everything else.

Pro Tips

TL;DR: git init your ~/.claude folder, ignore credentials and cache, push/pull like any other repo. Your skills, agents, and templates will follow you everywhere.