Canifi Backup

Overview

The Canifi Backup skill creates comprehensive backups of your entire LifeOS system with a single command. It packages your configuration, skills, and Claude settings into a timestamped ZIP file stored at your preferred destination.

Why This Skill is Required:

Protects your custom skills and configurations from loss
Enables easy migration to new machines
Provides restore points before major changes
Ensures your LifeOS investment is never lost

Privacy & Authentication

Your credentials, your choice. Canifi LifeOS respects your privacy.

Option 1: Manual Browser Login (Recommended)

If you prefer not to share credentials with Claude Code:

Complete the Browser Automation Setup using CDP mode
Login to the service manually in the Playwright-controlled Chrome window
Claude will use your authenticated session without ever seeing your password

Option 2: Environment Variables

If you're comfortable sharing credentials, you can store them locally:

bash

canifi-env set SERVICE_EMAIL "your-email"
canifi-env set SERVICE_PASSWORD "your-password"

Note: Credentials stored in canifi-env are only accessible locally on your machine and are never transmitted.

What Gets Backed Up

The backup includes three critical directories:

1. Claude Configuration (

~/.claude/

)

```
CLAUDE.md
```
- Your global Claude instructions
```
settings.json
```
- Claude Code settings
```
projects/
```
- Project-specific configurations
All custom configurations

2. Global Skills (

~/.claude/skills/

)

All installed skills (including auto-generated ones)
Custom skill modifications
Skill configurations

3. Canifi Scripts (

~/canifi/

)

iMessage integration scripts
Helper scripts
Custom automation scripts

First-Time Setup

On your first backup request, Canifi will ask for your backup destination:

User: "canifi backup"

Canifi: "This is your first backup. Where would you like to store backups?

Please provide a full path, for example:
- ~/Backups/canifi
- ~/Documents/CanifiBackups
- /Volumes/ExternalDrive/Backups

I'll remember this location for future backups."

User: "~/Backups/canifi"

Canifi: "Got it! I'll store backups at ~/Backups/canifi

Saving this to your global CLAUDE.md...
Creating your first backup now..."

The destination is stored in your global

~/.claude/CLAUDE.md

file:

markdown

## Canifi Backup Configuration

CANIFI_BACKUP_DESTINATION="~/Backups/canifi"

Usage

Create a Backup

canifi backup

Creates a timestamped backup at your configured destination:

~/Backups/canifi/canifi-backup-2026-01-09-143022.zip

Backup with Custom Name

canifi backup before-major-update

Creates:

~/Backups/canifi/canifi-backup-before-major-update-2026-01-09.zip

Change Backup Destination

canifi backup set destination ~/NewLocation/backups

Updates the destination in your global CLAUDE.md.

List Recent Backups

canifi backup list

Shows recent backups with sizes and dates.

Restore from Backup

canifi backup restore ~/Backups/canifi/canifi-backup-2026-01-09-143022.zip

Restores files from a backup (with confirmation prompts).

Backup Workflow

Step 1: Check for Destination

First, check if

CANIFI_BACKUP_DESTINATION

exists in

~/.claude/CLAUDE.md

bash

grep "CANIFI_BACKUP_DESTINATION" ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md

If not found, prompt user for destination.

Step 2: Store Destination (First Time Only)

Append to

~/.claude/CLAUDE.md

bash

cat >> ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md << 'EOF'

## Canifi Backup Configuration

CANIFI_BACKUP_DESTINATION="[USER_PROVIDED_PATH]"
EOF

Step 3: Create Backup Directory

bash

mkdir -p "$CANIFI_BACKUP_DESTINATION"

Step 4: Generate Timestamp

bash

TIMESTAMP=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d-%H%M%S")
BACKUP_NAME="canifi-backup-${TIMESTAMP}.zip"

Step 5: Create ZIP Archive

bash

cd ~
zip -r "$CANIFI_BACKUP_DESTINATION/$BACKUP_NAME" \
  .claude/ \
  canifi/ \
  -x "*.DS_Store" \
  -x "*node_modules/*" \
  -x "*.git/*"

Step 6: Verify and Report

bash

# Check file was created
ls -lh "$CANIFI_BACKUP_DESTINATION/$BACKUP_NAME"

# Report to user
echo "Backup complete: $BACKUP_NAME"
echo "Location: $CANIFI_BACKUP_DESTINATION"
echo "Size: $(du -h "$CANIFI_BACKUP_DESTINATION/$BACKUP_NAME" | cut -f1)"

Restore Workflow

Step 1: Confirm with User

WARNING: Restoring will overwrite existing files:
- ~/.claude/
- ~/canifi/

Current files will be backed up to ~/.canifi-restore-backup/ first.

Proceed? (yes/no)

Step 2: Backup Current State

bash

mkdir -p ~/.canifi-restore-backup
cp -r ~/.claude ~/.canifi-restore-backup/
cp -r ~/canifi ~/.canifi-restore-backup/

Step 3: Extract Archive

bash

cd ~
unzip -o "$BACKUP_FILE"

Step 4: Verify Restore

bash

echo "Restore complete!"
echo "Your previous configuration was backed up to ~/.canifi-restore-backup/"

Backup Contents Structure

canifi-backup-2026-01-09-143022.zip
├── .claude/
│   ├── CLAUDE.md
│   ├── settings.json
│   ├── projects/
│   │   └── [project-specific configs]
│   └── skills/
│       ├── canifi/
│       ├── canifi-skill-generator/
│       ├── canifi-backup/
│       └── [all other skills]
└── canifi/
    ├── canifi-send.sh
    ├── canifi-help.sh
    ├── canifi-status.sh
    ├── canifi-stream.sh
    ├── canifi-pause.sh
    ├── canifi-resume.sh
    ├── canifi-abort.sh
    └── canifi-imessage-monitor.sh

Configuration in CLAUDE.md

After first backup, your

~/.claude/CLAUDE.md

will include:

markdown

## Canifi Backup Configuration

CANIFI_BACKUP_DESTINATION="~/Backups/canifi"

### Backup History
- Last backup: 2026-01-09 14:30:22
- Total backups: 5
- Oldest backup: 2026-01-01

Automatic Backup Triggers

Consider setting up automatic backups:

Before Major Operations

The skill generator can trigger a backup before creating new skills:

"Creating new skill 'todoist'...
 Running pre-change backup first..."

Scheduled Backups

Add to your workflow:

canifi backup weekly

Pre-Update Backups

Before updating Canifi LifeOS:

canifi backup pre-update

Cloud Backup Destinations

You can set your backup destination to cloud-synced folders:

iCloud Drive (macOS)

~/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/Backups/canifi

Dropbox

~/Dropbox/Backups/canifi

Google Drive

~/Google Drive/Backups/canifi

OneDrive

~/OneDrive/Backups/canifi

This way your backups are automatically synced to the cloud!

Troubleshooting

"Destination not found"

bash

# Create the directory
mkdir -p ~/Backups/canifi

# Or change destination
canifi backup set destination ~/NewPath

"Permission denied"

bash

# Check permissions
ls -la ~/Backups/

# Fix if needed
chmod 755 ~/Backups/canifi

"Backup too large"

The backup excludes node_modules and .git by default. If still large:

bash

# Check what's taking space
du -sh ~/.claude/* ~/canifi/*

"Cannot find CLAUDE.md"

bash

# Create if missing
touch ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md

Example Session

User: "canifi backup"

Canifi: "I notice this is your first backup request.
        Where would you like me to store your backups?

        Suggested locations:
        1. ~/Backups/canifi (local)
        2. ~/Dropbox/Backups/canifi (cloud-synced)
        3. Custom path

        Please provide your preferred backup destination."

User: "Use Dropbox"

Canifi: "Setting backup destination to: ~/Dropbox/Backups/canifi

        Updating ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md with backup configuration...
        Creating directory ~/Dropbox/Backups/canifi...

        Now creating your first backup...

        Backing up:
        ✓ ~/.claude/ (1.2 MB)
        ✓ ~/.claude/skills/ (4.8 MB)
        ✓ ~/canifi/ (52 KB)

        Backup complete!

        📦 canifi-backup-2026-01-09-143022.zip
        📍 ~/Dropbox/Backups/canifi/
        📊 Size: 6.1 MB

        Your LifeOS is now backed up and syncing to Dropbox."

Security Notes

Backups may contain sensitive data - Your CLAUDE.md might have API keys or credentials
Encrypt sensitive backups - Consider using encrypted disk images for highly sensitive setups
Cloud sync considerations - Cloud-synced folders upload your backup; ensure you trust the provider
Exclude from git - Never commit backup ZIPs to version control

canifi-backup

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Canifi Backup

Overview

Privacy & Authentication

Option 1: Manual Browser Login (Recommended)

Option 2: Environment Variables

What Gets Backed Up

1. Claude Configuration (~/.claude/)

2. Global Skills (~/.claude/skills/)

3. Canifi Scripts (~/canifi/)

First-Time Setup

Usage

Create a Backup

Backup with Custom Name

Change Backup Destination

List Recent Backups

Restore from Backup

Backup Workflow

Step 1: Check for Destination

Step 2: Store Destination (First Time Only)

Step 3: Create Backup Directory

Step 4: Generate Timestamp

Step 5: Create ZIP Archive

Step 6: Verify and Report

Restore Workflow

Step 1: Confirm with User

Step 2: Backup Current State

Step 3: Extract Archive

Step 4: Verify Restore

Backup Contents Structure

Configuration in CLAUDE.md

Automatic Backup Triggers

Before Major Operations

Scheduled Backups

Pre-Update Backups

Cloud Backup Destinations

iCloud Drive (macOS)

Dropbox

Google Drive

OneDrive

Troubleshooting

"Destination not found"

"Permission denied"

"Backup too large"

"Cannot find CLAUDE.md"

Example Session

Security Notes

1. Claude Configuration (
`~/.claude/`
)

2. Global Skills (
`~/.claude/skills/`
)

3. Canifi Scripts (
`~/canifi/`
)