Switch Tracking Backend

Switch ContentForge's tracking and delivery backend between Google Sheets + Drive, Airtable, or Local filesystem. Optionally migrate existing tracking data and output files to the new backend.

When to Use

• Switching from local (default) to a cloud backend for collaboration
• Migrating from Google to Airtable (or vice versa) for simpler auth
• Downgrading to local when cloud access isn't needed
• Checking current backend status before switching

Running in Cowork? The "local" backend writes to the ephemeral sandbox filesystem — files vanish at session end. For Cowork team setups, use the Google (Drive) route and run /contentforge:cf-cowork-setup first to wire the Drive folder layout.

How to Use

/contentforge:cf-switch-backend airtable
/contentforge:cf-switch-backend google_sheets
/contentforge:cf-switch-backend local
/contentforge:cf-switch-backend --status

What This Command Does

Step 1: Identify Current Backend

Read the active brand profile's tracking.backend field.

Report current state:

Current backend: local
Records: 47 tracking records (~/.claude-marketing/{brand}/tracking/tracking.json)
Output files: 42 files in ~/.claude-marketing/{brand}/outputs/{YYYY}/{MM}/

Step 2: Validate Target Backend

If switching to Airtable:

1. Check AIRTABLE_TOKEN environment variable exists
2. If missing, guide through setup:
   • Go to airtable.com/create/tokens
   • Create a Personal Access Token with data.records:read and data.records:write scopes
   • Select the base that will hold tracking data
   • Set the environment variable: export AIRTABLE_TOKEN=patXXXXXXXX
3. Ask for the Airtable Base ID (from the base URL: airtable.com/appXXXXXXXXX/...)
4. Verify access by running:

   python {scripts_dir}/airtable-tracker.py --action init --base-id {base_id}
   

If switching to Google Sheets + Drive:

1. Check Google credentials at ~/.claude-marketing/google-credentials.json
2. If missing, guide through setup:
   • Go to Google Cloud Console > IAM & Admin > Service Accounts
   • Create a project (or use existing)
   • Enable Google Sheets API and Google Drive API
   • Create a Service Account and download the JSON key
   • Save to ~/.claude-marketing/google-credentials.json
   • Create a Google Sheet and share it with the service account email (Editor)
   • Create a Google Drive folder and share it with the service account email (Editor)
3. Ask for the Google Sheet ID and Drive folder ID
4. Verify access by running:

   python {scripts_dir}/sheets-tracker.py --action init --sheet-id {sheet_id}
   

If switching to Local:

• No setup needed — works immediately
• Run init to ensure directory exists:

  python {scripts_dir}/local-tracker.py --action init --brand "{brand}"
  

Step 3: Offer Migration

If the current backend has existing records:

You have 47 tracking records and 42 output files on 'local'.
Would you like to migrate this data to Airtable?
  1. Yes — Copy all records and files to the new backend
  2. No — Start fresh (existing data preserved but not synced)
  3. Skip — Just switch, decide on migration later

If yes, run:

python {scripts_dir}/backend-migrator.py --action migrate --brand "{brand}" --from {current} --to {target} [backend-specific args]

{current} and {target} must be one of local, airtable, google_sheets — the migrator rejects any other value.

Report migration results:

Migration complete:
  Records migrated: 47
  Files migrated: 42
  Files failed: 0
  Source data preserved at: ~/.claude-marketing/{brand}/tracking/tracking.json
                        and ~/.claude-marketing/{brand}/outputs/{YYYY}/{MM}/

Step 4: Update Brand Profile

Update the brand profile JSON:

• Set tracking.backend to the new backend value
• Fill in backend-specific config (base_id, sheet_id, folder_id, etc.)

Step 5: Confirm

Backend switched to Airtable.
  New tracking records → Airtable base appXXXXXX
  Output files → Airtable attachment fields
  Previous data preserved at: ~/.claude-marketing/{brand}/tracking/tracking.json
                          and ~/.claude-marketing/{brand}/outputs/{YYYY}/{MM}/

Run /contentforge:cf-switch-backend --status to verify anytime.

Backend Comparison

Factor	Google Sheets + Drive	Airtable	Local
Auth setup	Service account (~5 min)	Personal token (~2 min)	None
Tracking	Google Sheets	Airtable records	JSON file
File delivery	Google Drive	Attachment field	Local filesystem
Collaboration	Share via Google	Share via Airtable	Single user
Free tier	15GB Drive	1,000 records + 10GB	Unlimited
Offline	No	No	Yes

Check Status

Run with --status flag to check current backend health:

/contentforge:cf-switch-backend --status

This runs:

python {scripts_dir}/backend-migrator.py --action status --brand "{brand}" --from {current_backend}

Important Notes

• Migration is additive — source data is never deleted
• Migration is idempotent for records that carry a requirement_id — dedup is keyed on that field, so records without one are re-written on every run
• Migration is resumable on the same basis — re-running after an interruption skips whatever already landed with a matching requirement_id
• Migrating from google_sheets moves records only — downloading the linked Drive files is not implemented yet, so rows arrive without their attachments (the source Drive copies are untouched)
• You can switch back anytime — data is preserved on all backends you've used
• The pipeline uses whichever backend is set in tracking.backend — switching takes effect immediately for the next content run

Related Skills

• /contentforge:cf-style-guide — Brand setup (Step G sets initial backend)
• /contentforge:cf-cowork-setup — Wire Cowork + Drive before choosing the Google backend in Cowork
• /contentforge:cf-integrations — Check all connector status
• /contentforge:cf-connect — Set up individual connectors