Back up & export

Protect your data by restoring one of Kioku’s automatic backups, copying a Collection, or exporting it to a .zip archive, JSON, or CSV, and importing it back later.

Before you begin

• Kioku takes automatic backups in the background and lists them under Settings → Backups, where you can restore any of them. Backups include media. Use the Collection .db export below when you want a file you can move to another machine yourself.
• Export and Collection actions act on the active Collection. To back up several Collections, switch to each one and repeat.
• Collection .db files do not include media (images). Plan for that before relying on a .db copy as your only backup.

Back up a Collection

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to the Collections section.
3. Hover the row for the Collection you want to back up, then select the export icon.
4. If the Collection contains media, a Media Not Included in .db Export warning appears. Select Continue Export to proceed, or Cancel to stop.
5. In the Export Collection dialog, confirm the file name (it defaults to Name.db) and save.

Caution

A Collection .db export copies the database file but not its media. If your Collection has images, keep a separate copy of them, or rely on the automatic background backups, which do include media.

Restore from an automatic backup

Kioku snapshots the active Collection on its own: every 30 minutes, before a version update migrates the database, and once more immediately before any restore. Each snapshot copies the database and its media, so a restore brings images back too.

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to the Backups section. Each row shows when the snapshot was taken, its size, and what produced it: Automatic, Before update, or Before restore.
3. Select Restore on the row you want, then confirm.

Kioku saves your current data as a Before restore snapshot first, so a restore is always reversible. Restore that snapshot to undo.

Two more controls sit at the top of the section:

• Back up now takes an immediate snapshot.
• Show backups folder reveals the backup directory in your file manager. See Where Kioku stores your data for the exact paths.

Note

Backups rotate automatically: the 5 most recent automatic snapshots, the 3 most recent Before update snapshots, and the 2 most recent Before restore snapshots are kept per Collection. Older ones are deleted. Backups live on the same machine. For off-machine safety, use an export below.

Export (.zip / JSON / CSV)

Use a data export when you want a portable file of your content rather than a database copy. Every format exports the active Collection only.

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to the Export section.
3. Choose a format:
   • Select Export everything (.zip) for the complete copy: the database and all media, plus a manifest describing the archive. This is the only export that includes images.
   • Select Export JSON for the full database: Elements, Sources, review history, and Concepts. Confirm the file name (defaults to kioku-export.json) and save.
   • Select Export CSV for flashcards only. Confirm the file name (defaults to kioku-export.csv) and save.

Note

CSV exports Items only and strips HTML, so it omits Topics, Extracts, Source content, and review history. For a complete export, use JSON or a Collection .db copy.

The .zip is an archive, not a restorable backup

Kioku can write the full .zip but cannot read one back in. There is no import path for it. To get your data back you must unzip the archive by hand and import the .db inside it with the Collection import below, and that flow does not restore the media/ folder, so every image is lost. Treat the .zip as an off-machine archive of last resort. For a backup you can actually restore, use Settings → Backups.

Restore or import a Collection

Importing a Collection .db always creates a new Collection. It never overwrites an existing one, so re-importing the same file produces a duplicate.

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to the Collections section.
3. Select Import.
4. In the Import Collection picker, choose a Kioku .db file.
5. Kioku validates the file and adds it as a new Collection. If the name clashes with an existing Collection, it appends a numbered suffix such as (1) or (2).

Caution

A .db import carries over the database but not media. Images stored separately are not restored by this flow.

Result

You have a portable copy of your data: a Collection .db file for a full restore, a .zip archive that also carries your media, a JSON file for the complete database contents, or a CSV file of your flashcards. Importing a .db brings a Collection back as a new, separate Collection alongside your existing ones, and Settings → Backups restores an automatic snapshot in place.

Related

• Collections
• Data locations