ClaudeTools Bootstrap / Reinstall Guide

Complete instructions for backing up and restoring a ClaudeTools development environment on Windows 11.

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Pre-Reinstall: Creating the Archive

Before wiping or reinstalling Windows, create a backup archive.

Option A: Automated Archive (Recommended)

Run the bootstrap script in archive mode:

cd D:\ClaudeTools\bootstrap
.\bootstrap.ps1 -Archive

This creates D:\ClaudeTools-backup.zip containing:

• The full ClaudeTools repository (excluding node_modules, __pycache__, venv)
• Claude configuration and memory from C:\Users\<you>\.claude\

To specify a custom output path:

.\bootstrap.ps1 -Archive -ArchivePath "E:\Backups\claudetools-2026-03-17.zip"

Option B: Manual Archive

If the script is unavailable, manually zip these locations:

1. ClaudeTools repository: D:\ClaudeTools\ (entire directory)
2. Claude memory and config: C:\Users\<you>\.claude\ (entire directory)

Copy the archive(s) to external storage (USB, NAS, cloud) before proceeding with the Windows reinstall.

What Does NOT Need Archiving

These are restored automatically by the bootstrap script:

• Git, Node.js, Python, Ollama (reinstalled via winget)
• npm global packages (reinstalled)
• Python pip packages (reinstalled)
• Ollama models (re-pulled)
• MCP server virtual environments (recreated)

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Post-Reinstall: Running the Bootstrap

Step 1: Prepare the D: Drive

If D:\ClaudeTools was on a separate partition that survived the reinstall, skip to Step 2.

Otherwise, extract your archive:

# Extract the ClaudeTools repo to D:\
Expand-Archive -Path "E:\Backups\claudetools-2026-03-17.zip" -DestinationPath "D:\"

# Extract Claude config to your user profile
# (The archive contains a 'claude-config' folder - copy it to the right place)
Copy-Item -Path "D:\claude-config\*" -Destination "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\" -Recurse -Force

Step 2: Run the Bootstrap Script

Open an elevated PowerShell (Run as Administrator):

Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
D:\ClaudeTools\bootstrap\bootstrap.ps1

The script runs 9 phases and takes approximately 15-30 minutes depending on download speeds and Ollama model sizes.

Step 3: Advanced Usage

Run a single phase:

.\bootstrap.ps1 -OnlyPhase 4    # Only install Python packages

Skip specific phases:

.\bootstrap.ps1 -SkipPhase 5    # Skip Ollama model pulls (slow)
.\bootstrap.ps1 -SkipPhase 4,5  # Skip Python packages and Ollama models

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Phase Reference

Phase	What It Does	Duration
1	Install Git, Node.js, Python 3.13, Ollama via winget	2-5 min
2	Install Claude Code CLI + global npm packages	1-2 min
3	Clone or configure ClaudeTools git repository	<1 min
4	Install all Python pip packages globally	3-5 min
5	Pull Ollama models (nomic-embed-text, llama3.1:8b, qwen2.5-coder:7b)	5-15 min
6	Create MCP server venv and install dependencies	1-2 min
7	Write Claude Code settings.json, copy commands, create directories	<1 min
8	Initialize GrepAI	<1 min
9	Verify all components are installed and working	<1 min

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Manual Steps (Cannot Be Automated)

These steps require interactive authentication or browser actions:

1. Authenticate Claude Code

claude

Follow the prompts to enter your Anthropic API key or log in via browser.

2. GitHub Personal Access Token

Edit D:\ClaudeTools\.mcp.json and set the GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN value:

"env": {
    "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "ghp_your_token_here"
}

Generate a new token at: https://github.com/settings/tokens

3. Claude-in-Chrome Extension

Install the Chrome extension manually:

• Open Chrome and navigate to the Chrome Web Store
• Search for "Claude in Chrome" (or install from the MCP extension source)
• Configure the extension to connect to your local MCP server

4. Restore Memory Files (If Needed)

If the bootstrap reports memory files are missing:

# Copy from your archive
Copy-Item -Path "E:\Backups\claude-config\projects\D--ClaudeTools\memory\*" `
          -Destination "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\projects\D--ClaudeTools\memory\" `
          -Recurse -Force

5. Git Credentials

When you first git pull or git push to Gitea, you will be prompted for credentials. Use the Gitea username and password from credentials.md.

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Verification Checklist

After bootstrap completes, verify manually:

• git --version returns a version
• node --version returns v24.x or later
• python --version returns 3.13.x
• claude --version returns a version
• ollama list shows all 3 models
• D:\ClaudeTools exists and has .git directory
• D:\ClaudeTools\.mcp.json exists
• D:\ClaudeTools\grepai.exe exists
• C:\Users\<you>\.claude\settings.json exists
• C:\Users\<you>\.claude\commands\ has command files
• Run claude from D:\ClaudeTools and confirm MCP servers connect
• Claude-in-Chrome extension is installed and responsive

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Troubleshooting

winget not found

Install "App Installer" from the Microsoft Store. It ships with Windows 11 but may need updating.

Node.js/Python not on PATH after install

Close and reopen your terminal, or run:

$env:Path = [System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "Machine") + ";" + [System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "User")

Ollama models fail to pull

Ensure the Ollama service is running:

ollama serve

Then retry:

.\bootstrap.ps1 -OnlyPhase 5

pip install fails for specific packages

Some packages (pywin32, opencv-python, pyzbar) require Visual C++ Build Tools. Install if needed:

winget install Microsoft.VisualStudio.2022.BuildTools

Then re-run Phase 4:

.\bootstrap.ps1 -OnlyPhase 4

GrepAI init requires interaction

Run manually:

cd D:\ClaudeTools
.\grepai.exe init

Select Ollama as the provider and nomic-embed-text as the embedding model.

SSL certificate errors with Gitea

The bootstrap configures http.sslVerify false automatically. If you still see errors:

cd D:\ClaudeTools
git config http.sslVerify false