Skip to content

FAQ

Quick answers to the most common questions about KoNiMa Claude Sync. Each entry opens with a click.

Before you start

What is KoNiMa Claude Sync and what is it for?

It syncs your Claude Code configuration (rules, skills, slash commands, agents, CLAUDE.md, settings.json), plugins, MCP servers and, on the editions that include them, project memories, across all your machines and among the members of a team. That way you have the same configuration everywhere and a memory that isn’t locked into a single computer. Syncing goes through your own git repository: your data travels only between your machines, not through KoNiMa’s servers.

What do I need to use it?
  • Visual Studio Code 1.90 or later, on Windows, macOS or Linux.
  • Git and Claude Code installed.
  • A private, empty git repository that you provide (GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, Azure DevOps or any server reachable over HTTPS), with a personal access token with read and write permissions.
  • A KoNiMa Claude Sync license. Without a license the extension doesn’t sync.

The details, including when you need Node.js, are in Installation.

Is there a free version?

No, but you can request a free trial right from the extension, from the card of the edition you’re interested in, with no credit card.

Editions and licenses

What is the difference between the Starter, Pro and Team editions?

All editions use the same package: the license unlocks the features, and you can change it without reinstalling anything.

  • Starter: configuration and plugins.
  • Pro: adds memories, MCP servers, hooks, syncing at every session, and custom plugins.
  • Team: adds the team’s two repositories, roles, managed seats, invitation codes, proposals and audit.

The full table is in Editions.

How many machines can I use?

It depends on your license. You can see how many machines are active and what the limit is on the Machines card of the Overview (for example 3/10) and under Seats in User settings. To free a seat, you deactivate a machine you no longer use.

Do I have to hand out the VSIX with every update?

No. Updates arrive from the store, like any other VS Code extension. If you want to try upcoming features early, click Switch to Pre-Release Version on the extension’s page; Switch to Release Version takes you back to the stable version.

How do I activate a license or join a team?

On first launch, without a license, the dashboard shows the Have a license or a team invitation? panel. Paste the code into the Paste your license code or team invitation code field and click Activate. The same field takes both a license code and a team invitation (it starts with KNMI-): with an invitation, the Join the team window opens, where you enter your name, email and the credentials of your git account. License and repositories are set up in a single step.

Machines and seats

What exactly is a "machine" or "seat"?

A machine is an installation of VS Code with Claude Sync connected to your repository. Each active machine takes one seat out of the license limit. You see the machines in the Machines tab, with status, operating system and last sync.

Can I free a machine I no longer use?

Yes. In the Machines tab, click Deactivate on the machine you want to free: the seat becomes available again. The tab also flags machines that have been idle for more than 30 days. In the Team edition the maintainer does this. If you want to free the machine you’re working on, you can also remove the license from there: see Leaving the team or removing the license.

Security, privacy and data

Does my data pass through KoNiMa's servers?

No. Configuration, memories, plugins and sessions travel only between your machines and your git repository. The only KoNiMa service contacted is the license service, to verify your license; when you request a trial, an anonymous machine identifier is also sent, which only serves to prevent repeated requests.

Do my MCP server credentials end up in the repository?

Credentials (tokens, keys, passwords) in MCP server environment variables and headers are blanked before sending: the repository receives the server definition without its secrets. On a new machine you enter them once, and later syncs leave them where they are. Don’t write secrets in an MCP server’s URL or arguments.

Where are the repository credentials and the license kept?

In VS Code’s protected storage, that is, in the operating system keychain. To sync even when VS Code is closed, Claude Sync keeps an encrypted copy of them that can only be used on this machine. They are never written in plain text and never end up in the repository.

Does the extension work offline?

Yes. Syncing needs to reach your repository, but changes made without a network connection go out at the next sync that can run, and the license works offline for up to seven days after the last successful check.

Behavior and syncing

Can two machines overwrite each other?

No. Before applying a change that arrives from your other machines, Claude Sync saves a copy of what was there. Memories and notes are merged; when the same file changes in two places at once, the dashboard shows you and you decide.

What happens if two machines update the memories of the same project?

The memories are merged. Projects are recognized by their git remote, not by their folder: the same project cloned into different folders on different machines is recognized, and the memories end up in the right folder on each machine.

How do roles work in a team?

The role is not set in the app: it depends on your account’s permissions on the CORE repository.

  • Maintainer: can write to CORE. Looks after the shared configuration and plugins, decides on proposals, generates invitations, maintains the repositories, deactivates machines and merges projects.
  • Member: reads CORE and writes to the MEMORIES repository. Receives the configuration, contributes to memories and proposes changes to the maintainer. Other people’s details are hidden in the team lists.
What do I need for memories to sync?

An edition that includes memories (Pro or Team). Then, in the Memory tab, turn on the switches you need: Sync claude-mem memories (database), which requires the claude-mem plugin and Node.js 23.4 or later, and Sync .md project memories (~/.claude/projects). If the tab isn’t there, your edition doesn’t include memories.

What's the difference between plugins and custom plugins?

The Plugins domain syncs the list of plugins installed from marketplaces: you install once and every machine receives the same plugin. Custom plugins, on the other hand, are plugins your team writes itself: what travels is the plugin’s files, and each machine installs and enables them on its own. They are included in Pro and Team. See Custom plugins.

Does it sync even when VS Code is closed?

Yes, with the Session hooks switch turned on (Pro and Team editions). Configuration and memories get back in step on their own whenever a Claude Code session starts and ends, even if you work from the terminal with the editor closed. You need Node.js on your PATH.

How can I tell whether Claude Sync is reading the right folder?

If the Claude Code folder is missing or is the wrong one, Claude Sync does not show green: the status bar turns yellow and the dashboard shows Check setup with the Claude folder not found banner, which shows the path it looked in. Follow the Claude Code folder guide to point it at the right one.

I'm a team member: can I change a shared skill?

Yes, on your own machine. Your version stays there and you find it in the Team tab, Proposals panel, under Team items you changed on this machine: from there you can propose it to the maintainer or go back to the team version. If in the meantime the team publishes a new version of the same item, the team’s version goes into use and yours is kept in the Overview, under Waiting for your decision, where you can compare it and keep it. See Proposals to the team.

Can I continue a conversation with Claude on another machine?

Yes, if your license includes session sync. During the session, type /sync-session: when you end it, the conversation is encrypted and sent to your repository, and on the other machine you resume it with claude -r. Only the sessions you mark travel, and no teammate sees them. See Sessions across machines.

Why does the Overview count some skills as "from Claude Code"?

Claude Code downloads some skills by itself, on each machine, and updates them on its own. Claude Sync leaves them where they are and doesn’t send them to the repository; the Overview counts them separately, so the first number matches the skills that travel with syncing.

How do I leave the team or remove the license from a machine?

Any role can remove the license from their own machine: System tab, License card, Remove license button, or the Claude Sync: Remove License command. The machine stops syncing, its seat is freed and Claude Sync asks whether to remove from the machine the items that came from the team. If you accept, whatever they replaced comes back as it was and everything you created stays. See Leaving the team or removing the license.