Save your work on GitHub

Everything Claude Code builds lives in a folder on your computer. If that computer breaks or gets lost, so does your app. GitHub keeps a safe copy online, with the full history of every change, so you can always go back. This page walks you through it step by step: no experience needed.

You do steps 1 to 4 once per project. After that, saving is one sentence, or happens by itself every night.

What you need

• A project folder that Claude Code works in (see Build your first feature).
• About 10 minutes.
• A free GitHub account (step 1).

Words you'll see

• Repository (or repo): your project's folder on GitHub. One per app.
• Commit: a saved moment in your project's history, with a short note of what changed.
• Push: sending your commits from your computer to GitHub.
• Branch: a separate line of work. Each Flowmaps feature gets its own, like flowmaps/v0.2.0-customers-can-book-a-walk, so half-finished work never mixes with your working app.

Step 1: Create a GitHub account

1. Go to github.com/signup.
2. Enter your email address, choose a password and a username. Your username shows up in your repository's address, so pick something you're happy with (your name or your company name).
3. Confirm your email address with the code GitHub sends you.
4. If GitHub asks which plan you want, pick Free. It includes unlimited private repositories.

Tip: turn on two-factor authentication right away: your profile photo (top right) → Settings → Password and authentication → Enable two-factor authentication. Your code is valuable; this keeps it yours.

Step 2: Create a repository for your project

1. On GitHub, click the + at the top right and choose New repository.
2. Repository name: the name of your app, without spaces, like reviewloop.
3. Choose Private, so only you (and people you invite) can see the code.
4. Leave everything below it empty: no README, no .gitignore, no license. Your project already has its files, and these would get in the way.
5. Click Create repository.
6. GitHub shows a page with the repository's address. Click the copy button next to the HTTPS address. It looks like https://github.com/your-name/reviewloop.git.

Step 3: Connect your project and save it for the first time

1. Open your project folder in Claude Code (the Code tab in the Claude desktop app, or Claude Code in VS Code).

2. Paste this, with your own address instead of the example:

   Connect this project to my GitHub repository at https://github.com/your-name/reviewloop.git and push all my work to it. Make sure .env.local and other files with keys or passwords are in .gitignore and never pushed.

3. Claude Code saves your work (a commit) and sends it to GitHub (a push).

4. The first time, a browser window opens asking you to sign in to GitHub. Sign in and click Authorize. Your computer remembers this, so you only do it once.

5. Go back to your repository on GitHub and refresh the page. Your project's files are there.

Claude Code says git isn't installed? Download Git from git-scm.com/downloads, install it with all the default options, restart the Claude app, and try again.

Used our recommended setup? The Set up the project card already does this step in its last part, so your project may be on GitHub already.

Step 4: Save every night by itself

Let Claude save your work while you sleep, with a scheduled task in the Claude desktop app:

1. In the Claude desktop app, click Scheduled in the left sidebar.

2. Create a new task, choose the Code environment and pick your project folder.

3. Choose when: for example every day at 23:00.

4. Paste this as the task:

   Save all my work to GitHub. Commit every change in this project with a short message that says what changed, and push the current branch to GitHub. Don't merge anything into main, and don't change any code. If there's nothing new, do nothing. Make sure .env.local and other secret files are never committed.

5. Save the task.

Why this wording? It only saves: half-finished features stay on their own branch and don't end up in your working app. Merging a feature into your app happens when you tell Claude Code "It works, finish it".

Good to know:

• Your computer needs to be on and the Claude app open at that time, because the task works on the files on your computer. Check the task's details in the app: settings can differ between versions.
• The first morning, open your repository on GitHub and check that last night's changes are there (GitHub shows "… hours ago" next to the latest change).

Save by hand, any time

In Claude Code, in your project folder, just ask:

Save my work to GitHub.

Do it before you close your laptop, before you try something big, or whenever you've got something working.

Keep your keys out of GitHub

Files like .env.local hold your secret keys (Supabase, payments, email). They must never go to GitHub, not even in a private repository.

• The .gitignore file in your project lists what git skips. .env.local should be in it. Not sure? Ask Claude Code: "Check that no secret keys are in git."
• A key ended up on GitHub by accident? Treat it as known to others: create a new key in that service's dashboard, put the new one in .env.local, and delete the old one. Then ask Claude Code to remove the file from git.

Next: let GitHub move your cards

Once your project is on GitHub, you can connect it to your venture, and Flowmaps moves your cards to In Progress and Shipped by themselves as you build. See Cards that follow GitHub.

When something goes wrong

• "Repository not found": the address has a typo, or you're signed in to a different GitHub account. Copy the address again from GitHub (step 2.6).
• "Permission denied" or "Authentication failed": sign in again. Ask Claude Code: "Help me sign in to GitHub again." A browser window opens.
• "Updates were rejected" or "fetch first": GitHub has changes your computer doesn't, usually because the repository wasn't empty when you created it. Ask Claude Code: "Get the latest changes from GitHub, then push my work."
• The nightly task didn't run: your computer was asleep or the Claude app was closed. Save by hand in the morning; nothing is lost, it's all still on your computer.