Why we back up

Miládka remembers everything in a folder on your computer. That's normally fine – until something happens to the computer. Theft, spilled coffee, a failed disk. Then everything you've told her over the months is gone.

Backup solves it: after every piece of work, Miládka puts a copy on the internet, into your private account. If you lose the computer, you get a new one and download Miládka back exactly as she was.

Bonus: with backup you can have Miládka on a second computer too – say at home and at work. She makes sure both know the same things.

Nobody else sees your data. The account is yours and private. Miládka stores your files in it the same way you have them on your disk – just additionally.

What's ahead

Miládka sets the backup up herself, but she needs a place to store into. That place has to be created by you – it's tied to your email and password, and Miládka can't create accounts on your behalf.

  1. You create an account on GitHub – that's the service where the backup will live.
  2. You create an empty space for Miládka and copy its address.
  3. You hand the address to Miládka and she does the rest.

Steps 1 and 2 happen in the browser, step 3 in the chat with Miládka.

Step 1 – Create a GitHub account

GitHub is a free file storage service. It's mostly used by programmers, but you won't be doing anything there except letting Miládka keep a copy. Once it's set up, you never have to look at GitHub again.

  1. Open github.com and click Sign up.
  2. Enter your email, think up a password and choose a username.
  3. GitHub sends a verification code to your email. Type it in and the registration is done.
The GitHub sign-up form
The GitHub sign-up form

The username is public and becomes part of the backup's address. Pick something you're fine with – say your first and last name joined together.

The account is free and you don't need to buy anything for it. If GitHub offers you anything to try or subscribe to, feel free to decline – the backup doesn't need it.

Two-factor authentication. GitHub may eventually ask you to confirm sign-ins with your phone – it doesn't require it at registration, but asks active accounts for it later. When it does, tell Miládka and she'll walk you through it. Store the recovery codes GitHub shows you somewhere outside your computer and outside your phone – they're your insurance if you lose the phone.

Step 2 – Create the space for Miládka

Now you'll create an empty folder in your account for Miládka to store into. GitHub calls it a repository – just another word for storage.

  1. On the home page, click the green Create repository button top left.
  2. Into the Repository name field, type miladka.
  3. Switch Choose visibility to Private. This is the only thing you change on the page – and the most important one – it's what keeps anyone else from seeing your files.
  4. Leave everything else as it is – Add README off, no .gitignore, no licence. Otherwise the storage wouldn't be empty and Miládka couldn't upload hers.
  5. At the bottom, click Create repository.
Where the Create repository button is
Where the Create repository button is
The new repository form with Private selected
The new repository form with Private selected

Copy the address

After creating it, GitHub shows a page with the storage's address. It looks like this:

https://github.com/yourname/miladka.git

Copy the whole thing – next to it there's a button with a two-sheets icon that copies it for you.

Where to find the repository address
Where to find the repository address

Step 3 – Hand the address to Miládka

The rest is on her. Switch over to Claude, to Miládka, and write:

Message for Miladka

I want backup. The address is https://github.com/yourname/miladka.git

From this moment she leads you and tells you what's happening. Here's what may pop up – it's good to know about it in advance.

She may need to install helper programs

Mac

For the backup, Miládka needs a program on a Mac that may not be there. She installs it herself, but the system asks you for permission along the way.

A window pops up saying developer tools are needed. Click Install and then Agree to the terms. It downloads for a while.

After the installation, Miládka asks you to close her and open her again. She can only find the new program after a restart. It's not an error – just close her and start her again; she picks up where you two left off.

One more program. On a Mac, Miládka needs a second helper program that takes care of signing in to GitHub. She downloads it for you, but you have to run it – the installation wants your computer password, which nobody can enter for you.

  1. Miládka tells you she downloaded the file – you'll find it in Downloads.
  2. Double-click it and click through the wizard: Continue, Install.
  3. Enter the password you sign in to the computer with.
  4. When it's done, tell Miládka to continue.

There's nothing to configure on it; after the installation it takes care of itself.

Windows

On Windows this step usually isn't needed – Miládka arranges the helper programs herself. If she does ask for something, she'll walk you through it.

A GitHub sign-in pops up

Before Miládka sends the first backup, a Connect to GitHub window appears in Claude – click Sign in with your browser. Your browser opens; sign in to your GitHub and click Authorize git-ecosystem.

Don't close that window. It's the most common reason the first backup fails. If you close it by accident, no harm done – tell Miládka to try again.

The Connect to GitHub window in Claude
The Connect to GitHub window in Claude
Authorising in the browser
Authorising in the browser

The screenshots come from the Czech version – GitHub and the dialogs are in English anyway.

Done. What happens next

From now on the backup happens by itself. After every piece of work Miládka saves what's new, and at every start she checks whether something arrived from another computer. You don't have to do anything at all – no remembering, no launching, no confirming.

The only time you'll notice is when she tells you a backup failed. She'll also tell you what to do about it.

Frequently asked questions

Can anyone see my notes?
No. The storage is private; only your account has access. That's why the Private choice in step 2 is stressed so much.
Does it cost anything?
No. The account and the storage are free, and for what Miládka stores, the free account is more than enough – they're text files that take up less space than a single photo.
What if I lose my computer?
You get a new one, install Claude following the installation guide and tell Miládka to restore herself from the backup – you give her the same address as now. She comes back with everything she remembered.
What isn't backed up?
Add-ons, because they only work on this computer, and the inbox folder with unprocessed files. Add-on settings are backed up. On a new computer the add-ons need to be installed again and their access set up again, such as passwords. Miládka will guide you through it.
Can I have Miládka on two computers?
Yes, that's exactly what the backup is good for. On the second computer you go through the same steps and use the same address. Miládka then knows the same things on both.
Do I have to do anything regularly because of it?
No. Set up once, it runs by itself.
I don't want the backup – can I use Miládka without it?
You can, you just can't complain when you lose her. It can be added any time later – just tell Miládka "I want backup" and you'll go through this guide together.

Stuck?

Miládka says the backup failed
Most often because the GitHub sign-in window got closed before it could be confirmed. Tell her to try again, and this time don't treat the window as a nuisance.
Miládka says the storage isn't empty
That means the README (or another file) got switched on in step 2. The simplest fix is creating a new empty storage – name it say miladka2, this time leave everything except Private as it is and give Miládka the new address.
Miládka can't find a program she just installed
Close her and open her again. She can only find newly installed programs after a restart.
I lost the phone with the authenticator app
Use the recovery codes GitHub showed you when you enabled two-factor authentication. When signing in, choose the option to sign in with a recovery code and type one in. Then set up verification on a new phone in GitHub's settings.

If you have to install the program yourself

You only need this part if Miládka tells you she couldn't install the helper program herself. Most people never will.

Mac
  1. Open the Terminal app (find it via the magnifier top right – type "Terminal").
  2. Copy this line into it and press Enter: xcode-select --install
  3. A window pops up – click Install and then Agree.
  4. Once it finishes downloading, close Terminal, close and reopen Miládka and tell her to try the backup again.