I tried migrating a Cowork project when switching Claude plans
This page has been translated by machine translation. View original
Hello, I'm Nakano from Classmethod Technologies.
Today I'll be writing about migrating a Cowork project when switching Claude plans, reflecting on my experience.
Introduction
Unable to carry over Cowork projects when switching plans
With Claude, you cannot merge individual accounts (Pro/Max) into Team/Enterprise plan accounts.
Even with the same email address, there is no way to migrate data or integrate accounts, and exporting at the Cowork project level is not supported.
If you want to transfer a Cowork project developed on an individual plan to a team plan, you have no choice but to migrate without using any tools.
I also faced this challenge when switching from Max to Enterprise.
Have Cowork itself handle the export
The project structure of Cowork is data that Cowork itself can access.
So my approach was to have Cowork itself export a "setup instruction document" and then have the destination Cowork read it and set up accordingly.
Rather than manually searching for file paths to copy, I asked Cowork and had Cowork create them.
Since Cowork itself handled both the inventory and reconstruction, the workload wasn't significant.
However, not everything can be migrated using this method.
MCP connector authentication tokens, scheduled tasks, and conversation histories require manual handling or cannot be migrated at all.
In this article, I'll clarify what can be migrated with the setup instruction document and what cannot, and introduce the procedure with example prompts.
From here on, I'll refer to the source plan as "source" and the destination plan as "destination."
Summary
By having Cowork itself create a "setup instruction document" and giving it to the destination Cowork, I was able to complete the migration of CLAUDE.md, custom skills, and auto memory.
While MCP re-authentication and recreating scheduled tasks require manual handling, there's no confusion if you understand the configuration used in the source Cowork.
The only thing that can't be salvaged is the conversation history.
The more extensively you've used a project, the more exchanges exist only within sessions.
If you're planning for a migration, I feel the best preparation is to regularly document insights in CLAUDE.md and auto memory.
Migration Procedure
Follow these steps in order to complete the migration.
Phase 1: Creating the Setup Instruction Document
With the source Cowork project open, use the following prompt:
Please create a setup instruction document to recreate this Cowork project in another account.
Target: CLAUDE.md, custom skills, auto memory
Format: A Markdown file that another Cowork can read to reconstruct the project
Condition: Please embed skill SKILL.md files in a format that can be directly copy-pasted
Cowork will gather information from the project and output a setup instruction document as a Markdown file.
In my case, the following were exported together in a single file:
- Full text of CLAUDE.md
- Custom skills' SKILL.md files
- Auto memory contents
MCP connector and scheduled task information were not included in the export, so we'll handle those manually in Phase 3.
The output file becomes the handover document for the destination, so please review the content and remove any unnecessary information.
Phase 2: Inputting the Setup Instruction Document
Create a new Cowork project with the destination account.
After uploading or placing the setup instruction document created in Phase 1 in a folder, use the following prompt:
Please set up this Cowork project according to the attached setup instruction document.
Create all CLAUDE.md, custom skills, and auto memory exactly as specified in the instructions.
Cowork will read the instruction document and reconstruct CLAUDE.md, skills, and memory.
Checking Consistency with Managed Policy (for Enterprise migration)
In Enterprise environments, administrators may have set up organization-wide Managed Policy CLAUDE.md.
If concerned, use the following prompt to check for conflicts:
Please compare the following two CLAUDE.md files and check for contradictions or duplications:
1. The source project's CLAUDE.md (.claude/CLAUDE.md)
2. The Managed Policy set by Enterprise administrators
If there are duplicated sections, please suggest parts that can be removed from the project side.
If there are contradictions, please provide criteria for deciding which to prioritize.
Skip this step if no Managed Policy is set.
Phase 3: Manual Reconfiguration of Items That Cannot Be Migrated
Manually reconfigure items that couldn't be migrated via the setup instruction document.
Reconnecting MCP Connectors
MCP connector authentication tokens are linked to accounts, so you need to reconnect them in the destination.
Re-authenticate each service that was connected in the source.
Reinstalling Plugins
Plugin installation states are linked to accounts and require reinstallation. In Enterprise environments, administrators may control plugin availability, so some plugins used in the source may not be available.
Recreating Scheduled Tasks
Scheduled tasks are linked to sessions, so recreate the content (execution content, schedule interval, posting destination) that was set in the source.
Phase 4: Verification
After setup is complete, verify operation.
MCP Connector Communication Check
Please perform a connectivity check on the connected MCP connectors.
Try a light read operation with each connector and report the results. For example:
- Slack: Retrieve the latest message from a specific channel
- Google Calendar: Retrieve today's schedule
Summarize success/failure in table format.
Skill Operation Check
Please list the custom skills registered in this project and
check the following for each:
1. Whether the SKILL.md can be correctly loaded
2. Whether the name/description in the frontmatter is appropriate
3. Whether external tools (MCP) referenced in the skill are available
If there are any problematic skills, please suggest corrections.
Checking Memory and Project Context
Try asking Cowork about project-specific terms or team member names.
If it answers correctly, the loading of CLAUDE.md and memory has been successful.
Notes
Conversation History Cannot Be Migrated
Conversation history is linked to accounts and sessions, and there is no way to migrate it.
I recommend regularly documenting insights and decision-making processes from past conversations in CLAUDE.md and auto memory.
This is effective not only for migrations but also for retaining knowledge across context windows.
Reviewing Setup Instruction Document Content
The setup instruction document generated by Cowork contains consolidated project information.
Before passing it to the destination, check that it doesn't contain confidential information or API keys.
Conclusion
I was able to migrate Cowork projects by utilizing Claude itself.
I hope this article helps with smooth transitions from individual plans to Team/Enterprise plans.