SnipperAppSnipperApp 3

Backup & Restore

Automatic backups and one-click restore.

Backup & Restore

SnipperApp 3 includes a comprehensive backup system that protects your snippet library against data loss. Backups happen automatically, and restoring is a one-click operation.

Automatic Backups

SnipperApp 3 creates automatic backups of your entire snippet library on a regular schedule:

  • Frequency -- A backup is created every 6 hours while the app is running.
  • Trigger -- Backups are also created before potentially destructive operations like workspace deletion or large imports.
  • Silent operation -- Automatic backups run in the background without interrupting your workflow.

Tiered Retention

To balance storage usage with backup availability, SnipperApp uses a tiered retention policy:

PeriodRetention
Last 24 hoursAll backups are kept (up to 4 backups).
Last 7 daysOne backup per day is kept.
Last 30 daysOne backup per week is kept.
Older than 30 daysBackups are automatically deleted.

This means you always have fine-grained recovery options for recent changes and longer-term snapshots for older states.

Manual Backup

You can create a backup at any time:

  1. Open Settings (Cmd+,).
  2. Navigate to the Backup section.
  3. Click Create Backup Now.

A new backup is created immediately and added to the backup list. Manual backups follow the same retention policy as automatic backups.

When to Create a Manual Backup

  • Before making large-scale changes to your snippet organization.
  • Before deleting a workspace.
  • Before importing snippets from another source.
  • Before updating SnipperApp to a new version (although the app creates a pre-update backup automatically).

Restoring from a Backup

To restore your snippet library from a backup:

  1. Open Settings (Cmd+,).
  2. Navigate to the Backup section.
  3. Browse the list of available backups, sorted by date.
  4. Select the backup you want to restore.
  5. Click Restore.
  6. Confirm the restore operation.

Important: Restoring from a backup replaces the current contents of the active workspace with the backup data. A safety backup of the current state is automatically created before the restore, so you can undo the restore if needed.

What Gets Restored

A restore includes:

  • All snippets (content, titles, languages, metadata)
  • Folder hierarchy
  • Tags and tag assignments
  • Favorites
  • Attachments

What Is Not Restored

  • Application settings (themes, font preferences, etc.)
  • iCloud sync state (sync resumes normally after restore)
  • GitHub Gist link associations (re-established on next sync)

Custom Backup Location

By default, backups are stored in the app's Application Support directory. You can change this to a custom location:

  1. Open Settings > Backup.
  2. Click Change Backup Location.
  3. Select a folder (e.g., an external drive, a cloud-synced folder, or a NAS).
  4. Future backups will be saved to the new location.

Storing backups on an external or cloud-synced drive provides additional protection against disk failure.

Importing from SnipperApp 2

If you are upgrading from SnipperApp 2, you can import your existing library:

  1. Open Settings > Backup.
  2. Click Import from V2.
  3. Select your .snipperapp2 backup file (exported from SnipperApp 2).
  4. SnipperApp 3 imports all snippets, folders, and tags into the current workspace.

What Gets Imported

  • All snippets with their content and metadata.
  • Folder structure (mapped to SnipperApp 3 folders).
  • Tags (mapped to SnipperApp 3 tags).

Import Notes

  • The import is additive -- it does not replace existing snippets in the workspace.
  • Duplicate detection is not performed, so importing the same V2 file twice will create duplicate snippets.
  • After importing, review the imported snippets and reorganize as needed to fit your SnipperApp 3 workflow.

Backup File Format

Backup files are self-contained archives that include all snippet data and attachments. They can be:

  • Moved between Macs for migration purposes.
  • Stored long-term as archives.
  • Shared as a way to transfer a snippet library to another user.

Tips

  • Do not rely solely on backups for cross-device sync. Use iCloud Sync for that purpose. Backups are a safety net for data recovery.
  • Check your backups periodically by browsing the backup list in Settings to ensure they are being created.
  • Store backups externally for disaster recovery. The custom backup location feature makes this easy.
  • The automatic backup system runs only while SnipperApp is open. If you use the app infrequently, consider creating manual backups.

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