Hand off local work

Use browser cloud start when the GitHub branch has all the work the worker needs. Local handoff also sends commits reachable from your current HEAD, tracked changes, and non-ignored untracked files. It does not send ignored untracked files or services that run only on your computer.

1. Install and connect the CLI

Use the public Barge releases and the distribution README for the platform-specific installation instructions and checksums. A released binary does not require Bun. The installer supports Linux and macOS; Windows has a separate executable on the releases page.

barge version
barge setup --url https://getbarge.dev

Sign in with your invited Barge account in the browser and approve this device. Setup saves a CLI credential locally without printing it. Do not share the config file. If setup expires or is declined, run it again.

Success check: barge list succeeds and shows your own sessions. Confirm the URL and account before handing off any work. Explicitly exported BARGE_URL and BARGE_TOKEN override saved config; remove unintended overrides locally without printing their values.

2. Review what you will send

In your disposable test repository, review git status and your diff. Confirm the GitHub remote, base branch, and App access. Remove secrets and unintended files. The handoff includes files in commits, even if they are now ignored. It can include a local provider file if that file is tracked or non-ignored.

The exclude list in .barge.yml filters untracked files. It does not remove committed history or tracked changes. Use a clean test repository if the history contains secrets.

Inspect repository history for secrets before handoff. The CLI does not scan committed history. It scans the tracked patch and untracked files for likely secrets, but this scan cannot prove the handoff is safe. Remove secrets and rotate any exposed secret. Do not use a secret-scanning override for this task.

If the project needs setup or checks, review its .barge.yml before uploading. Use that project’s actual commands; do not copy Bun commands into a project that uses another toolchain. The worker runs configured commands in the cloud.

3. Hand off and review

barge create "Create docs/first-barge-task.md with a PR review checklist and link it from README.md. Change no application code, dependencies, workflows, or deployments. Do not merge."

Record the returned session ID. Follow it in the dashboard or use:

barge get <session-id>
barge wait <session-id>
barge cancel <session-id>

Success check: the session is marked as local handoff, your intended local changes appear in the result, and you can review its draft PR. An upload or packaging failure before session creation is not a running worker; open My sessions before retrying an uncertain request.