{"slug": "move-your-claude-code-sessions-between-computers-mac-windows-any-direction", "title": "Move your Claude Code sessions between computers (Mac/Windows, any direction)", "summary": "Session Porter, an independent tool not affiliated with Anthropic, lets users move Claude Code conversations between Mac and Windows computers in any direction by packing sessions into a single zip bundle and unpacking them on the new machine, with no installation and no data leaving the machines. The tool handles the chat list stored outside the .claude folder, rewrites paths for the new home folder, renames encoded project folder names, merges without overwriting, reunites fragmented conversations, and strips credentials from the bundle. It requires Python 3.9+ on Windows, while Macs have it preinstalled.", "body_md": "Moves your Claude Code conversations between computers: Mac to Mac, Mac to Windows, Windows to Mac, or Windows to Windows. One file, no installation, and nothing ever leaves your machines.\n\n**On the old computer**\n\n- Mac: double-click\n`Session Porter.command`\n\n(or run`python3 session_porter.py`\n\n) - Windows: double-click\n`Session Porter.bat`\n\n(or run`py session_porter.py`\n\n)\n\nClick **Pack this computer**. You get one bundle zip on the desktop, with a copy of\nthe app saved next to it.\n\n**Copy both files** to the new computer using a USB stick, AirDrop, a network drive,\nor anything else.\n\n**On the new computer**, run the app the same way and click **Unpack a bundle**.\nPorter finds the bundle on the desktop, in downloads, or on an attached drive by\nitself, or you can paste the path. Check the summary, click **Unpack here**, then\nquit the Claude app completely and reopen it. Your chats are there.\n\nWindows needs Python 3.9+ from [python.org](https://python.org) (tick \"Add to PATH\"\nduring install). Macs already have it.\n\nA plain zip of the `.claude`\n\nfolder is not enough to move sessions. Porter covers\nthe gaps:\n\n**The app's chat list lives outside**(Mac:`.claude`\n\n`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude-code-sessions`\n\n, Windows:`%APPDATA%\\Claude\\claude-code-sessions`\n\n). Without it, imported sessions exist on disk but appear nowhere in the app. Porter packs it, and rebuilds it from the transcripts when it is missing, so it can also ingest a plain`.claude`\n\nzip made without Porter.**Every path is rewritten** for the new home folder, at all four JSON escape depths, anchored on the old home prefix with boundaries on both sides. A username that is also an ordinary word never corrupts your text, and a longer username sharing the same prefix is never mistaken for the home.**Project folder names are encoded paths**(`C--Users-Name-...`\n\n,`-Users-name-...`\n\n) and are renamed to match the new home.**Merge only, never overwrite.** Whatever already exists on the target computer wins. Every import writes a log, and`python3 session_porter.py undo`\n\nremoves exactly what an import added.**Fragmented conversations are reunited.** Auto-compaction and forks split one chat across many transcript files. Porter follows the recorded links so the app shows one chat per conversation.**Credentials never travel.** You sign in normally on the new computer, and account identity fields are stripped from the bundle.\n\n- After unpacking on a computer where the Claude app has never signed in, open the\napp once, then click\n**Finish setup** in Porter. - Bundles moved to Windows use forward-slash paths (\n`C:/Users/Name/...`\n\n). These are valid on Windows and produce identical encoded folder names, and they cannot be corrupted by nested JSON escaping. - Everything also works from the command line:\n`export DIR`\n\n,`inspect ZIP`\n\n,`import ZIP`\n\n,`register`\n\n,`undo`\n\n, and`selftest`\n\n(the built-in test suite, covering every direction).\n\nSession Porter is an independent tool and is not affiliated with Anthropic.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/move-your-claude-code-sessions-between-computers-mac-windows-any-direction", "canonical_source": "https://github.com/ZenKhalil/session-porter", "published_at": "2026-08-10 17:50:33+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-10 18:12:37.786070+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["developer-tools", "ai-tools"], "entities": ["Session Porter", "Anthropic", "Claude Code", "Python"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/move-your-claude-code-sessions-between-computers-mac-windows-any-direction", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/move-your-claude-code-sessions-between-computers-mac-windows-any-direction.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/move-your-claude-code-sessions-between-computers-mac-windows-any-direction.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/move-your-claude-code-sessions-between-computers-mac-windows-any-direction.jsonld"}}