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description: "Jotaid's encrypted backups: a single AES-GCM file, a 12-character minimum password that cannot be recovered, and a restore that merges rather than overwrites."
---
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# Backup & Restore

iCloud sync guarantees **consistency across devices**, not **safety across versions** — delete something by accident and the deletion syncs too. A backup is the complete copy you can hold in your hand.

## Exporting a Backup

**⌃⌘B** on macOS writes a single encrypted file containing your notes and attachments.

- You set a **password**, needed to restore on any device
- Encryption is **PBKDF2 + AES-GCM**, with a **12-character minimum**
- **A lost password cannot be recovered** — Jotaid has no reset and no back door

> **There is no password recovery**
>
> This is not laziness: the password *derives* the key, so Jotaid holds nothing capable of opening the file. Put it in a password manager.

If an attachment turns out to be missing or unreadable mid-backup, the backup **stops** rather than producing a partial file — an incomplete backup is more dangerous than none, because you will believe you have one.

## Restoring

**⌥⇧⌘B** imports a backup. Two things to know:

1. **Restoring merges, it does not overwrite** — the backup's contents join your current library; nothing existing is cleared
2. It may return a **partial result** (some link rebuilds failing, say), and Jotaid reports that honestly rather than claiming success

Importing a backup made by a much older version warns you **first** about what that format omits — attachments not captured, project and theme hierarchy possibly rebuilt as flat items. You decide whether to continue after seeing it.

## When to Take One

- Before switching devices
- Before large-scale reorganising (bulk moves, node merges, emptying the trash)
- Before a [Rebuild from iCloud](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/sync) — Jotaid takes one automatically, but your own is more reassuring

## Backup vs Export

| | Contains | For |
|---|---------|-----|
| **Backup** | Notes + attachments + structure, encrypted | Full migration, disaster recovery |
| **[Export](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/import-export)** | Plain text, no attachments | Other tools, archiving, sharing |

Moving house calls for a backup; handing content to other software calls for an export.

## Next Steps

- [Import & Export](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/import-export) — Markdown and PDF
- [Sync](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/sync) — The iCloud layer
- [Trash](https://docs.jotaid.com/en/guide/trash) — Where deleted things go