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Step 5 — Backup & cloud (detail)

Two parts: (a) install and authenticate the GitHub CLI, then (b) the full dual-cloud backup pattern — Dropbox + GitHub for code, Dropbox + Overleaf for text.

← Back to README

Important

Most of this is AI-doable. Once Codex or Claude is running, ask it to set your git identity, apply sensible defaults, and create/push repos — Claude Code's auto mode (once you enable it) runs lower-risk commands like these for you and pauses on anything risky. You only need to run the git/gh install and the interactive gh auth login (browser flow) yourself.

Contents

Install git and gh

Both AI tools assume you have git and the GitHub CLI (gh) installed and authenticated. gh auth login is the easiest path — it handles HTTPS tokens and SSH keys in one interactive flow, and gives Claude Code / Codex CLI a working gh for PR and issue commands out of the box.

Windows 
winget install -e --id Git.Git
winget install -e --id GitHub.cli

If you already installed Git for Windows as the Claude Code companion, the first command is a no-op.

Mac 
brew install git gh

Verify both are on your PATH:

git --version
gh --version

Configure

Two things: identity + defaults (AI can do these), then gh auth login (you must run yourself — browser flow).

Ask the AI:

"Set my git global identity to 'Your Name' you@example.com and apply sensible defaults: init.defaultBranch=main, pull.rebase=false, push.autoSetupRemote=true."

Or manually 
git config --global user.name  "Your Name"
git config --global user.email you@example.com
git config --global init.defaultBranch main
git config --global pull.rebase false
git config --global push.autoSetupRemote true

Then authenticate in your terminal (browser opens):

gh auth login

It asks four things:

  1. GitHub.com or GitHub Enterprise? → GitHub.com
  2. Preferred protocol for git operations? → SSH (gh will offer to generate and upload a key for you)
  3. Upload your SSH public key to your GitHub account? → Yes
  4. How would you like to authenticate? → Login with a web browser

Verify:

gh auth status                # should show "Logged in to github.com as <you>"
ssh -T git@github.com         # should say "Hi <you>! You've successfully authenticated..."
gh repo list                  # lists your repos — confirms API access

After this, git clone git@github.com:..., gh repo create, gh pr create, and AI-tool GitHub integrations all work without further setup.

Backup pattern

Recommended dual-cloud setup:

  • Code → Dropbox + GitHub. Dropbox = live working folder (instant sync across machines, instant recovery). GitHub = versioned backup (history, branches, sharing, code review).
  • Text → Dropbox + Overleaf. Dropbox = local edit space for AI. Overleaf = canonical render and what coauthors see.
                ┌─────────────────┐
                │   You + AI      │
                │   (local edits) │
                └────────┬────────┘
                         │
              ┌──────────┴──────────┐
        ┌─────▼─────┐         ┌─────▼─────┐
        │  Dropbox  │         │  Dropbox  │
        │  /Code/   │         │  /Apps/   │
        │           │         │  Overleaf │
        └─────┬─────┘         └─────┬─────┘
              │                     │
        ┌─────▼─────┐         ┌─────▼─────┐
        │  GitHub   │         │ Overleaf  │
        │ versioned │         │ canonical │
        └───────────┘         └───────────┘

No Dropbox subscription? OneDrive works as a drop-in substitute for the sync layer.

Tell your AI the folder convention. Add this to your project's CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md so the AI does the right thing automatically:

Use ~/Dropbox/Code/<project>/ for code. Copy final outputs (tables, figures, CSV files) to ~/Dropbox/Apps/Overleaf/<project>/ and edit the .tex files directly there.

Create a project repo

Ask the AI from inside the project folder:

"Create a private GitHub repo for this project, set the remote, and push the initial commit."

(Use "public" instead if the project should be open.) The AI runs gh repo create, scaffolds a .gitignore if you need one, and pushes.

Or manually 
cd ~/Dropbox/Code/<project>
gh repo create --source=. --remote=origin --push --private  # or --public

Toggle visibility later:

gh repo edit --visibility public  # or private

Tip

Review before you push. In Claude Code, run /code-review to scan your changes for bugs and cleanups before committing. /code-review ultra launches a deep multi-agent cloud review of the current branch (or a PR number) — user-triggered and billed.

What to back up

Commit:

  • Source code
  • CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md and project .claude/settings.json
  • Notes and drafts
  • Small reference data (under ~10 MB)
  • Figures, tables, and outputs you reference in writing

Don't commit:

  • .claude/settings.local.json (already gitignored)
  • Large data — use Git LFS, S3, or external storage
  • Huge intermediate artifacts (regenerate from code as needed)
  • Secrets: .env, API keys, credentials — keep these in .gitignore

Your .gitignore is your friend. Start with github/gitignore templates for your language.

Installing more tools

Beyond git and gh, the AI installs any tool the same way — paste a repo URL (anything from awesome-ai-for-economists works) and ask "install this." See Step 4 — Work with research software for the full pattern.

← Back to README — you're at the end of the guide. Time to actually do some research.