# Backups

*Turn on automatic backups, choose where they go, and restore a library from a backup.*

Online version: https://promptmason.ai/docs/backups

PromptMason can save a copy of your libraries to a folder you choose, on a schedule. Each backup is locked so only you can open it: it opens with the keys on your PCs, or with your [recovery kit](https://promptmason.ai/docs/recovery-kit) where a PC doesn't hold them.

What's inside a backup is encrypted. The file's name isn't: it includes this PC's name and the time, for example "PromptMason backup - [PC name] - [time].pmbackup". The PC's name is based on your Windows account name unless you've set **Your name** or **This PC’s name** in **Settings → Libraries & sharing**. Keep that in mind if other people can see the folder.

A backup holds your personal library and every team library you're an owner of. Team libraries where you're an editor or a reader aren't in your backups. Every member's PC holds a full copy anyway. Items in **Recently deleted** aren't in a backup.

## Turn on backups

1. Click **Settings** in the sidebar, then **Backup & data**.
2. In the **Automatic backups** row at the top, click **Choose folder…**.

    ![The Automatic backups card with a Choose folder button and a Restore from backup button, before any folder is chosen.](https://promptmason.ai/images/docs/backups-automatic-backups-card.webp)

3. The **Turn on automatic backups** window opens. Read the note: your personal library can't be recovered if you lose every PC and your recovery kit.

    ![The "Turn on automatic backups" window with a warning, a Choose where button and a Turn on backups button.](https://promptmason.ai/images/docs/backups-turn-on-automatic-backups-window.webp)

4. Click **Choose where…** and pick where your backups should go (see [Choosing where](#choosing-where)). PromptMason keeps backups in a folder there called **PromptMason backups**, and makes it if it isn't there yet. If you back up more than one PC, pick the same place on each: they share the folder, and each backup is named for its PC.
5. Click **Turn on backups**.
6. If this is the first time PromptMason needs your keys, the **Save your recovery kit** step appears. Follow it to the end and click **I’ve saved my kit**. [Your recovery kit](https://promptmason.ai/docs/recovery-kit#save-your-kit) explains each step.
7. You see **Backups are on. Your first backup is saved.** Click **Close**.

If the window says "Backups are on, but the first one didn’t work." followed by the reason, backups are on but the first one wasn't saved. Click **Close** and see [If a backup fails](#if-a-backup-fails).

From then on PromptMason backs up once a day. You don't need to keep Settings open.

![The Automatic backups card after backups are on, with the folder, how often, how many to keep, a Back up now button and the last backup time.](https://promptmason.ai/images/docs/backups-card-turned-on.webp)

## Backups run while PromptMason is open

PromptMason makes backups only while it's open. Closing its window quits the app. If a backup was due while it was closed, PromptMason makes it soon after you open it again.

If you rarely open PromptMason, click **Back up now** after you've made changes you want to keep.

## Choosing where

PromptMason keeps backups in a folder of its own, **PromptMason backups**, in the place you pick (your other PCs can use the same one). Any place you can write to works:

- **A folder on this PC.** Quick, but it's lost along with the PC.
- **Another drive**, such as a USB or external drive. Safe from a broken PC, as long as the drive is plugged in when a backup is due.
- **A folder in your cloud storage**, such as OneDrive, Dropbox, or **My Drive** in Google Drive (not the top of the Google Drive drive, which doesn't allow new folders). Your backups leave the PC, so this is the best protection against losing the PC. The cloud company can't read what's inside them.

To move backups later, click **Choose another place…** under **Back up to:** and pick where. PromptMason uses the **PromptMason backups** folder there, making it if needed, and makes a backup in it straight away. Backups already made stay where they were.

## How often, and how many

Under **Automatically:**, choose:

- **After changes (at most once an hour)**
- **Daily** (the default)
- **Off**

Under **Keep the last … backups**, type how many to keep, from 1 to 365 (30 to start with). When there are more, each PC deletes its own oldest backups. It never deletes a backup another PC made, or any file that isn't a PromptMason backup.

To make one now, click **Back up now**. **Last backup:** shows when the newest one was made, or **No backup yet.**

## If a backup fails

Notifications (the bell in the top-right corner) shows **Your last backup didn’t finish**, and Settings shows one of these under the backup buttons:

- **Couldn't write to the backup folder**: PromptMason couldn't reach or save to the folder.
- **The last backup didn’t finish. PromptMason will try again.**: something else stopped it.

To fix it:

1. Check the folder is there: the drive is plugged in, or your cloud storage app is running and signed in.
2. Click **Open backup settings** in Notifications.
3. Click **Back up now**.

![The Automatic backups card showing a message that PromptMason couldn't write to the backup folder.](https://promptmason.ai/images/docs/backups-card-backup-failed.webp)

If you leave it, PromptMason tries again on its own a few minutes later, while it's open. If it keeps failing, click **Choose another place…** and pick a folder you can save to.

## Restore a backup

1. Click **Settings** in the sidebar, then **Backup & data**.
2. In the **Automatic backups** row, click **Restore from backup…**.
3. The **Restore from backup** window lists the backups in your backup folder. If yours aren't there, click **Choose another folder…** under **Backup folder** (or **Choose folder…** if backups aren't set up on this PC) and pick the folder they're in (**PromptMason backups**, unless you moved them).
4. Backups are grouped by date, then by the PC that made them. Times are in your time zone. Click the one you want.

    ![The Restore from backup window listing backups grouped by date and PC.](https://promptmason.ai/images/docs/backups-restore-window.webp)

5. If it says **Needs your recovery kit**, this PC doesn't hold the keys that backup was made with. That happens on a brand-new PC, or with a backup made before you replaced a stolen kit (use the kit that was current then). Under **Your recovery kit file**, choose your kit file, and under **Its code**, type the code.
6. Click **Open backup**.
7. Pick what to restore:
   - **Your personal library:** click **Restore personal library…**, read the warning, then click **Replace my personal library**. This replaces everything in your personal library with the backup. Anything you added since is lost, and it can't be undone. Your settings go back to the ones in the backup, and your chats and web-tab browsing history on this PC are deleted (backups don't hold them). If your personal library syncs to your other PCs, they get the same change.
   - **A team library:** click **Restore as a new library**. It comes back as a new team library called "[name] (restored)", owned by you. The library you have now isn't changed.
8. Click **Close**.

On the Free plan, a restore has to fit within your limits (25 blocks and 15 prompts, across all your libraries). If it doesn't, PromptMason shows the plan limit window instead of restoring. While your library is paused, restoring isn't available at all (see [When your library is paused](https://promptmason.ai/docs/paused-library)). For the limits on each plan, see [Plans and limits](https://promptmason.ai/docs/plans).

## Backup messages

| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| "There are no backups in that folder." | Choose the folder your backups are in, usually **PromptMason backups**. |
| "This backup doesn’t hold any libraries." | Pick another backup. |
| "Couldn't open that folder." | Check the drive or cloud storage is available, or choose another folder. |
| "Choose a folder for your backups first." | Click **Choose folder…** in the **Automatic backups** row. |
| "Backups aren’t set up on this PC yet." | Turn on backups first ([above](#turn-on-backups)). |
| "A restore is running. Try again when it’s finished." | Wait for the restore to end. |
| "A backup is being written. Try again in a moment." | Wait a moment and try again. |
| "That backup isn’t in the folder any more." | It was deleted or moved. Pick another backup. |
| "That file isn’t a PromptMason backup." | Pick a file from the **PromptMason backups** folder. |
| "This PC doesn’t hold the keys for this backup. Use your recovery kit and its code to open it." | Choose your recovery kit file and type its code. |
| "That recovery kit doesn’t open this backup. It was made with different keys." | Use the kit that was current when the backup was made. |
| "This backup is damaged or has been changed, so it can’t be opened." | Pick another backup. |
| "That library isn’t in this backup." | Pick another backup. |
| "Keep between 1 and 365 backups." | Type a number from 1 to 365. |

## If your kit was ever stolen

A backup opens with the kit that was current when it was made. If you replaced a stolen kit, treat backups made before that day as readable by whoever has the old kit, and let new backups replace them. See [Lost or stolen PC or kit](https://promptmason.ai/docs/lost-device#your-recovery-kit-was-stolen).

## Want a hand?

Paste this prompt into Claude, ChatGPT or another AI assistant, together with this guide, to be walked through it step by step:

> Help me turn on automatic backups in PromptMason. I want to choose a good folder for them and understand how to restore one if I need it.