FAQ

Can I use ARC with any AI tool?

Yes. ARC ships built-in adapters for Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, and OpenClaw. The generic adapter supports anything that speaks MCP or accepts HTTP configuration. If a tool reads environment variables or config files, ARC can manage it.

Does ARC replace Claude Code / Codex CLI / Gemini CLI?

No. ARC wraps and manages these tools — it does not replace them. You still install and use the tools directly. ARC provides the isolation layer: per-profile configs, credentials, environment variables, and supervision hooks.

Can I sync profiles across machines?

Yes. The filesystem sync provider is available now:

arc sync push    # Push profile data to shared location
arc sync pull    # Pull from shared location

Git and S3 providers are planned.

How do I backup my profiles?

Copy the ~/.arc/ directory. It contains all profile configs, credentials, and settings.

Alternatively, use sync to push to a shared location:

arc sync push

Is ARC compatible with VS Code / Cursor / JetBrains?

ARC manages CLI tools, not IDE extensions. However, any IDE extension or tool that respects CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR or similar environment variables will work with ARC profiles. Use arc exec to launch IDE processes with the correct profile environment.

Can two profiles share MCP servers?

Yes. Enable the shared layer for a profile:

arc shared enable <profile> --mcp

MCP server configurations from ~/.arc/shared/ are merged into the profile. Changes to the shared layer propagate to all profiles that have it enabled.

What happens if a hook fails?

In log mode (the default), failures are logged and the hook is skipped — execution continues. The circuit breaker trips after 3 consecutive failures for the same hook, bypassing it automatically. The breaker resets after 5 minutes.

Check hook status:

arc logs

Is the web dashboard required?

No. The dashboard is optional. All ARC features — profiles, secrets, hooks, tasks, sessions — work from the CLI and TUI. The dashboard provides a visual overview but is not required for any workflow.

Can I use ARC in CI/CD?

Yes. arc exec runs commands with the correct profile environment:

arc exec my-profile -- npm test

Use --json flags for machine-readable output in scripts:

arc list --json
arc status --json