How to move your Claude memory, projects and Cowork setup to Turnstone (2026)

The easiest way to move your Claude setup to Turnstone is to let Claude do it. Add Turnstone to Claude as a custom connector, then ask Claude to recreate each project as a Turnstone Agent and send it your memory, instructions, Skills and scheduled tasks.

You don't have to give up Claude to do this. We make Turnstone, a free, model-agnostic app that runs on the AI subscriptions you already have. For a Claude plan, it runs Anthropic's official Claude Code app on your Mac, signed in through Anthropic's own login, so your new Agents keep using Claude on the plan you already pay for. Below are the connector method, an import for Claude Code and Claude Desktop history, and the manual way. Everything was checked on October 28, 2026. Claude's menus move often, so if a label looks different, look for the nearest match.

Where your Claude setup lives

• Memory. Since August 25, 2026, chat and Cowork share one memory, kept as topics you can "read, edit, or delete" in Memory settings.
• Projects. Each has instructions, a knowledge base of files, and "its own memory." Claude never uses one project's memory in another.
• Instructions for Claude. Under Settings > Your Claude. Global instructions from Cowork moved here.
• Styles. How-To Geek reported in June that Anthropic is "migrating all current styles to skills." Look for yours under Customize > Skills.
• Skills. Under Customize > Skills, with code execution turned on.
• Scheduled tasks. Under Scheduled in the sidebar, on paid plans only.

How do I move Claude to Turnstone with the connector?

Turnstone has a hosted MCP server. Once Claude adds it as a custom connector, Claude can create Turnstone Agents, send them work and check their replies.

1. Install Turnstone on your Mac and sign in with your Claude plan, or any other AI you want your Agents to use.
2. Copy your Turnstone MCP link. In Turnstone, open Settings, then MCP and webhooks, and choose Copy MCP link.
3. Add it to Claude as a custom connector. On Pro and Max, go to Customize > Connectors, choose "+ Add," then "Add custom connector." Some accounts show Add, then Custom, then Web. Name it Turnstone, paste the link and press Continue, then Add. Paste the link here, not into a chat.
4. Sign in and allow access. Claude opens a Turnstone sign-in. Use the same Turnstone account that's signed in on your Mac.
5. Turn the connector on in a chat. Use the "+" button in the chat, then Connectors, and switch on Turnstone.
6. Paste the prompt below. Keep Turnstone open on your Mac while Claude works, because your Agents run there.
7. Check each Agent. In Turnstone, each one shows "From Claude" on the work it got. Read its memory, correct anything that's off, reconnect its apps and pick its model.

A few plan details. Free accounts can add custom connectors but are "limited to one custom connector." On Team and Enterprise, only an owner can add one. They go to Organization settings > Connectors, choose Add, hover Custom and pick Web. Members then find it under Customize > Connectors and press Connect.

Here's the prompt. Turnstone only gets what Claude writes out, so the prompt asks for everything in full.

Using the Turnstone connector, move my setup into Turnstone.
For each project I use, create a Turnstone Agent with a clear name
and a one-paragraph job. Then send that Agent one message with
everything it needs: the project instructions word for word,
everything you remember about me that matters for it, key facts and
decisions from our past chats, a summary of every file in the project
knowledge, the full text of any Skills it relies on, and any
scheduled tasks with their timing, so it can set them up as
Schedules. Also create one Agent called "About me" and send it
everything you remember about me in general, plus my instructions
for Claude. Write it all out in full, don't summarize away details.
Tell me when every Agent has its message.

Run it once inside each project

A chat outside a project can't see what Claude learned inside it. So run the prompt once in a normal chat for your "About me" Agent. Then start a new chat in each project and run it again, asking Claude to move only that project.

If Claude can't see a scheduled task or a Skill's full text from the chat, copy it in from Scheduled or Customize > Skills and ask Claude to send it to the right Agent.

The job description is short, about 1,000 characters, but the first message can run to 100,000. So the detail goes in the message.

What moves and what doesn't

How do I import my Claude Code and Claude Desktop history?

There's a second path that needs no connector. Turnstone can read the Claude Code, Claude Desktop and Cowork history already on your Mac and suggest Agents from it.

In Turnstone, open Agent Library, then Your Agents, then Find my Agents. It reads your recent chats, those with at least ten back-and-forths in the last six months, groups them by project, and builds Agents with their own memory. Before it starts, it tells you that your chats are sent to Turnstone's servers for analysis.

This helps with older local Cowork work. Anthropic says "Memory from Cowork tasks that ran only on your computer stays with those tasks," so it doesn't carry into the new Claude experience. Find my Agents only reads what's on your Mac, and since October 6, new Cowork tasks on Pro and Max run in Anthropic's cloud. Use the connector method for that cloud work. The two methods work well together.

How do I export Claude memory by hand?

Use this if you can't add the connector, or you want your own copy. Anthropic's help page suggests asking:

Write out your memories of me verbatim, exactly as they appear in your memory.

You can also go to Settings > Your Claude and choose Manage next to Your memory.

Then open a new Agent in Turnstone and paste in what you saved, one project per Agent. Ask it to set up each scheduled task as a Schedule.

Can I keep using Claude after I move?

Yes. Each Turnstone Agent has its own model, and you can switch it mid-chat. Claude Agents run the official Claude Code on your Mac with your own Claude login. Usage counts against your own plan's limits, which Anthropic shares across chat, Claude Code and Cowork. Turnstone doesn't add credits or a meter. You can put other Agents on ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Cursor, OpenRouter, Ollama or your own OpenAI or Anthropic API key.

Once a Turnstone Schedule does what an old Claude scheduled task did, pause the old one in Scheduled so the same job doesn't run twice on your limits.

What you give up

To be fair to Claude, Anthropic says Cowork scheduled tasks run "even when your computer is asleep or the Claude Desktop app is closed." Turnstone runs on your Mac today, so it needs to be open. Cloud, the iPhone app and the web app are coming soon. Turnstone has no Windows, Linux or Android app, and Claude has all three. See Turnstone vs Claude Cowork and Turnstone vs Claude Duet for every difference, our AI agent memory guide for how memory works across apps, and our facts page for the short version. Moving from Grok Bot too? The same method is in our Grok Bot switching guide.

Questions

How do I export my Claude memory? Ask Claude, "Write out your memories of me verbatim, exactly as they appear in your memory." That's Anthropic's own suggested prompt. You can also open Settings > Your Claude and choose Manage next to Your memory. Do it inside each project too, because each project keeps its own memory.

Can I move Claude memory to another AI? Yes. Anthropic says you can copy your memories into a file or "paste it into another AI service." With the Turnstone connector, Claude sends your memory straight to your new Agents.

How do I move my Claude projects? Run the move prompt inside each project. Claude creates one Turnstone Agent per project and sends it the instructions, the project's memory and a summary of its files. Add any original files you still need yourself.

Do my Cowork scheduled tasks move over? They move as text with their timing, and the new Agent sets each one up as a Schedule. Run each Schedule once while you watch, then pause the old task in Claude's Scheduled list.

Can I transfer my Claude chats to Turnstone? Not one by one. For Claude Code and Claude Desktop, Find my Agents reads the history on your Mac and builds Agents from it. For other chats, the move prompt asks Claude to send the key facts and decisions. Keep Claude's data export as a backup.

Can I add the Turnstone connector on a Free Claude plan? Yes, if you haven't used your one custom connector yet. If you have, use Find my Agents or the manual way.

Is Turnstone a Claude Cowork alternative? It can be, and it can also sit alongside Claude. Turnstone gives you a team of Agents that run on your Mac, on your Claude plan or another AI. Cowork runs in Anthropic's cloud and works with your computer off.

Sources

• Get started with custom connectors using remote MCP, Claude Help Center (checked October 28, 2026)
• Use connectors to extend Claude's capabilities, Claude Help Center (checked October 28, 2026)
• Import and export your memory from Claude, Claude Help Center (checked October 28, 2026)
• Claude's memory works everywhere, and you decide what's in it, Anthropic (checked October 28, 2026)
• How can I create and manage projects?, Claude Help Center (checked October 28, 2026)
• Understanding Claude's personalization features, Claude Help Center (checked October 28, 2026)
• Use skills in Claude, Claude Help Center (checked October 28, 2026)
• Schedule recurring tasks in Claude Cowork, Claude Help Center (checked October 28, 2026)
• Claude Cowork and chat are one Claude, Claude Help Center (checked October 27, 2026)
• Claude Cowork architecture overview, Claude Help Center (checked October 27, 2026)
• Export your Claude data, Claude Help Center (checked October 28, 2026)
• Claude pricing and usage limits, Anthropic (checked October 27, 2026)
• Claude Code legal and compliance, Anthropic (checked October 27, 2026)
• One Claude feature solved my biggest frustration, then Anthropic killed it, How-To Geek (checked October 28, 2026)