Restore Data From Backup

To understand what a backup contains and how import replaces your data, see 4.23-Managing-Your-Data and 3.06-User-Data.

First Try: Browse Backups on This Device

Every device keeps its own backups, and the app lists all of them in one place:

1. Open Settings (gear icon in the sidebar or top bar).
2. Open the Sync & Backup tab and expand the Import/Export section.
3. Click Browse backups. The list shows, newest first:
   • Recovery points — full snapshots the app takes automatically right before anything replaces your data: before sync applies another device's full-state import, before Use server data, and before an import or restore. The device keeps the three most recent ones.
   • Automatic backup files on desktop (Electron).
   • The latest and previous automatic backup slots on Android and iOS.
4. Select an entry to see its date, source, and how many tasks it contains, then click Restore and confirm.

Restore replaces the current data on this device. If sync is enabled, the restored data is uploaded and replaces the data on your other devices on their next sync; if the next sync shows a sync conflict dialog, choose Use my data to keep the restored data. The data you replace is kept as a new recovery point first, so a wrong pick can be undone from the same list.

If sync just replaced your data with a much smaller dataset, the app shows a banner with a Browse backups shortcut. Use it before adding new work on any device.

Standard Method: Restore via Import/Export

1. Open Settings (gear icon in the sidebar or top bar).
2. Open the Sync & Backup tab.
3. In the Automatic Backups section, the backup location is shown on desktop (Electron): a line “Backups are saved to:” followed by the path. Note or copy this path so you can locate a backup file if needed.
4. In the same tab, use the Import/Export section. Click Import from File and choose your backup file (e.g. from the automatic backup folder). Confirm when warned—import replaces all current data and cannot be undone.

On desktop, Browse backups (above) lists the same automatic backup files without leaving the app.

If the app finds no data but detects backups (e.g. on startup), it may prompt you to restore the latest backup; you can accept that instead of using Import from File.

Android: Restore Latest Automatic Backup

On Android, automatic backups are stored inside the app data instead of as visible backup files. Browse backups (above) lists both slots; alternatively, to restore the latest usable slot directly:

1. Open Settings.
2. Open the Sync & Backup tab.
3. In the Automatic Backups section, click Restore latest automatic backup.
4. Confirm the warning. This replaces the current local data with the selected automatic backup.

Use this only as a recovery action. If sync is configured, the restored data is treated like a backup import and can overwrite other synced devices on the next sync.

SuperSync Security Integrity Error

Use this recovery only when an updated device still shows the complete, current data. Force Overwrite replaces the SuperSync server copy and propagates that device's data to every other device. Never run it from a blank, newly installed, incomplete, or stale device.

1. Keep every other device offline. Do not clear or uninstall the device with the complete data.
2. On the complete device, update Super Productivity and verify that recent tasks, projects, and archives are present.
3. Go to Settings → Sync & Backup → Import/Export, export the data, and store that plaintext backup securely.
4. In Settings → Sync & Backup → Sync, open Advanced, choose Force Overwrite, and confirm the replacement.
5. Wait for sync to finish successfully before reconnecting another device.
6. Update the other devices before reconnecting them, sync one at a time, and verify the restored data. Keep the backup until every device is correct.

If no device has a verified complete copy, do not use Force Overwrite and do not reset the server account. Keep the remaining devices unchanged and contact support so the retained history can be inspected.

Force Overwrite here in Settings has no safety check of its own — it does exactly what you tell it, from any device. The refusal described below does not apply to this procedure.

Super Productivity does refuse outright in the recovery dialogs it shows you after a failed sync ("Decryption Failed" and the encryption password prompt), when the device has never completed a sync and holds no data of its own. If you see that refusal, the server copy is untouched.

Alternative Method: Clear App Data First, then Import

If the app does not start properly (e.g. inconsistent task state), clear local data and then import a backup:

1. Locate your backup file (and optionally make a copy).
2. Start the app.
3. Open developer tools: Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+I (macOS).
4. Open the Application tab, then Storage in the left sidebar.
5. Click Clear site data.
6. Reload the app: Ctrl+R (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+R (macOS).
7. In Super Productivity, go to Settings → Sync & Backup → Import/Export and use Import from File to select your backup.