Backing up and keeping versions

In testingChecked on 24/10/2026 (French version)Translated on 27/10/2026

This lesson is still being tested: it improves with learners' feedback. If something is unclear, it is the lesson that needs fixing, not you.

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/formation-ia:suivre m05-l06 en

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By the end of this lesson, you will be able to

make a copy of your folder, in the right place;
turn on your computer’s automatic backup;
know what Claude Code’s restore points are worth;
optionally, keep versions of your work with Git, by asking Claude.

Why it matters to you

Your mon-espace-ia folder now contains weeks of work. A file deleted by mistake, a change you regret, a computer that breaks down: without a backup, everything is lost. A few minutes of setup greatly reduce the risk of losing your work, as long as you redo your copy regularly.

Before you start


You need	Your mon-espace-ia folder; a USB drive, an external disk or online storage; Git if you take the option
Cost	The agent subscription, the same as in module 4 (Claude Pro at minimum, €18 per month excl. VAT, price shown in France on 24/10/2026). Git is free. An external disk or online storage may cost money
Duration	40 minutes, and 20 more minutes for the Git option
Reminder	A copy of your folder contains your “About me” part, your journals and your projects: keep it somewhere that belongs to you

Understand it in 3 minutes

Three levels of protection:

Level	What it is	What it protects against
1. The copy	A copy of your folder, on a drive, an external disk or online storage	Failure, loss of the computer
2. Automatic backup	Time Machine on Mac, File History on Windows	Failure, and previous versions of your files
3. Versions with Git (optional)	A history of each step of your work, inside your folder	Changes you regret, even old ones

What the official help pages say (read on 24/10/2026):

Time Machine automatically backs up your Mac, with hourly, daily and weekly backups, to a backup disk. Apple recommends backing up to a place other than the internal disk, for example an external disk.
Windows File History automatically saves copies of your files to an external drive or a network location, including your Documents library; it lets you restore previous versions.
Git is a version control tool: a system that records how a file or a set of files changes over time, so that you can recall an earlier version at any moment (official Git book, in French).

Claude Code’s restore points are not a backup. In the terminal, Claude Code keeps the state of the files it modifies itself, before each request (100 points at most per session, erased about 30 days after the session’s last activity), and /rewind (or pressing the Esc key twice, when the input box is empty) lets you undo.

Your changes made by hand are not tracked. The documentation says so: it is designed for going back quickly, during a session, not for replacing a version control tool.

Automatic memory is not in your folder (lesson 4): so it is in no copy of your folder.

Do it together

1Step 1: A copy, right now

On Mac

In the Finder, right-click mon-espace-ia, then Compress “mon-espace-ia”: a mon-espace-ia.zip file appears next to it.
Rename it with the date, for example mon-espace-ia-2026-10-24.zip.
Copy it to your USB drive, your external disk or your online storage.

On Windows

In File Explorer, right-click mon-espace-ia, then Compress to ZIP file if you see it (or Show more options, then Send to, then Compressed (zipped) folder, depending on your version of Windows).
Rename the file with the date, for example mon-espace-ia-2026-10-24.zip.
Copy it to your USB drive, your external disk or your online storage.

2Step 2: Automatic backup

On Mac

Warning, before choosing the disk: Time Machine does not back up to a disk formatted for Windows (for example a disk already used with a PC). macOS may then offer to reformat it, which permanently erases everything it contains (Apple help, 25/10/2026). You do not need to know your disk’s format: if macOS offers to erase, stop and follow point 3.

Take a disk reserved for backups, empty if possible. Apple warns that files you keep on a backup disk are not backed up, and that they reduce the space available for backups. If your only disk contains files you want to keep (photos, for example) and you cannot copy them to your Mac (not enough space, for example), do not use it for Time Machine: the dated copy of your folder (“Step 1 · A copy, right now”, above) already protects you, and automatic backup will wait for a reserved disk.
Look at what it contains, every time, before using it: plug it in, open the Finder and click its name, under Locations in the sidebar. If it contains files you want to keep, drag them into a folder on your Mac (for example Documents), then open them from that folder to check that they are really there. As long as you have not found them again on your Mac, do not go any further.
Before you click, know what may happen: at the end of point 4, a window may offer to erase the disk. Apple then offers two choices, Erase or choosing another disk. Only erase if you have found and opened on your Mac everything you wanted to keep (point 2), or if you are sure you no longer need it. If in doubt, choose another disk.
In System Settings, open General, then Time Machine. Click Add Backup Disk, choose your disk, then Set Up Disk. If an options window appears (space, encryption), click Done; if you choose to encrypt, keep the password somewhere safe: you may be asked for it to use the disk.

Backups then happen on their own, as long as the disk is plugged in and the Mac is not asleep. Otherwise, the scheduled backup is not made, and it resumes when the Mac and the disk are available again.

On Windows

Plug in an external disk.
In Control Panel, under System and Security, open Save backup copies of your files with File History, then Turn on.
If no drive is selected, click Select drive, choose your external disk, then OK.

3Step 3: Git option: versions, by asking Claude

Git must be installed on your computer. To check, open the terminal (module 4) and type git --version: if a version number appears, you are set. If not:

on Mac: according to the official Git book, the simplest way is to install Apple’s command line tools. When you run git for the first time in the terminal, and it is not installed, the Mac offers to do it: accept, and wait until it finishes;
on Windows: download Git for Windows at git-scm.com/install/windows, then install it (Claude Code’s documentation recommends it anyway).

Do not want to install anything? Skip this option: the copy and the automatic backup already protect you. Otherwise, in a session on mon-espace-ia, in Manual mode:

Put this folder under Git and record a first version (a commit) of all the files, with a clear message in English. Explain to me in 3 lines what you did.

Claude asks for your permission before the git commands that change something (creating the history, recording a version, putting a file back): read them, then approve.

Before the first recording, Git may ask for your name and an email address (Claude guides you): they are written into each recorded version, so into your folder if you send it to someone. Choose what you are happy to see there.

Later, after a change you regret:

The file [name] has been modified since the last recorded version. Show me what has changed, without changing anything.

Then, only after reading what it showed you:

Put [name] back as it was in the last recorded version.

Warning: the changes to this file that were not recorded will be lost for good. Read the file name again before approving.

And at the end of a session: “Record a Git version of what we did today, with a clear message.”

What Git does not do on its own: send your folder over the internet. Nothing leaves until you ask for a publication, which the kit forbids during the path.

What Git does not replace: the history is stored in the hidden .git folder, inside your folder, so on the same disk. It does not replace the level 1 copy.

Your turn

Make your first dated copy, and keep it outside your computer.
Turn on automatic backup, if you have an external disk reserved for backups (on Mac, follow the 4 points of step 2 in order).
Choose your copy rhythm (for example, every Sunday) and note it in your journal.
Optional: put your folder under Git, and record a version at the end of each session.

Check your work

It worked if:

a dated copy of your folder exists somewhere other than on your computer;
you know how to open this copy and find your journal in it;
your copy rhythm is noted in your journal;
Git option: you have at least two recorded versions, and you put a file back to an earlier state.

Common mistakes:

a copy on the same disk as the original: it disappears with it in case of failure;
a copy that is never redone: it gets old without you seeing it;
on Mac, agreeing to erase a disk without having looked at what it contains;
thinking the copy contains automatic memory;
counting on /rewind as on a backup.

Keep it and pick it up later

One dated copy per week, and automatic backup running continuously, are plenty to start with.
Before sending a copy to someone, read again what it contains. If your folder is under Git, the copy also contains the hidden .git folder, so every recorded version, even what you have deleted since.

Going further

optional

The official Git book is free to read online: git-scm.com/book/en. The chapter “About Version Control” takes 10 minutes to read.
Claude Code’s restore points, in English: code.claude.com/docs/en/checkpointing. Changes made by terminal commands are not all tracked: one more reason to keep Git.

New words

6 words explained

Word	What it means
Dated copy	A copy of your folder, with the date in its name, stored somewhere other than on your computer
Automatic backup	A copy your computer makes by itself, regularly: Time Machine, File History
Reformat a disk	Prepare it for another system, here the Mac: this erases everything it contains
Git	A free version control tool: it keeps the history of your files
Commit	A Git record: the state of your files at one moment, with a message. It is stored in the hidden `.git` folder of your folder: it is not a copy outside
Restore point	The state of the files Claude Code modifies, kept before each request, to undo quickly during a session

Check your understanding

3 questions, no grade. An explanation appears after each answer.

1You copy your mon-espace-ia folder to a USB drive. Is Claude's automatic memory in the copy?

No: it is stored outside your folder, on your computerYes: it is stored in a hidden folder inside mon-espace-iaYes: Claude copies it into your folder at the end of each session

2What is a version control tool like Git for?

Copying your folder to another disk, so that a computer failure costs you nothingSharing your folder with other people, by sending it over the internet at every changeRecording how your files change over time, so you can go back to an earlier version at any moment

3Do Claude Code's restore points (/rewind) replace a backup?

Yes: they keep the state of your files before each request, and you can go back to them weeks later, even on another computerNo: they are for quickly undoing a change during a session; the documentation recommends a version control tool for a lasting historyNo: they are for finding an old conversation, not for undoing changes made to your files

What's next?

Lesson 7 · When your setup gets too heavy: spot what clutters your workspace, and simplify it.

Module 5:

✏️ Do the exercises

My space: your progress, your exercises and your last lesson.

The Git scenario (first version recorded, then return to that version) was actually played through with Claude Code in a test folder (test report, T33). To be checked: the “Compress to ZIP file” label in Windows File Explorer, with a real screenshot. The Finder label (“Compress “mon-espace-ia””) was read in the macOS 27.0.1 text strings and the Time Machine path in Apple’s help, on 28/10/2026.

Sources and checks

7 sources

Date, version, sources Written on 24/10/2026. Checks of 24/10/2026:

Time Machine (hourly, daily and weekly backups, a disk other than the internal disk): Apple help, “Sauvegarder vos fichiers avec Time Machine sur Mac” (Back up your files with Time Machine on Mac, page in French);
Time Machine and a Windows-formatted disk (reformatting that erases everything, choice between Erase and another disk, files kept on the backup disk not backed up), checked on 25/10/2026: Apple help, “Choisir un disque de sauvegarde et définir les options de chiffrement sur Mac” (page in French); disk under Locations in the Finder sidebar: Apple help, “Connecter et utiliser d’autres périphériques de stockage avec un Mac” (page in French);
File History (external or network drive, libraries including Documents, Control Panel path): Microsoft help;
definition of a version control tool: official Git book, in French;
restore points and /rewind, limits: code.claude.com/docs/en/checkpointing;
automatic memory outside the folder: code.claude.com/docs/en/memory;
Claude Pro price: claude.com/pricing.

Sources checked: