How can I save my Sessions or create a backup?

Updated: April 17, 20252 min read

Two options are available for backing up OptionsApp data:

Automatic creation of backups via the built-in backup function of OptionsApp
Manual backup by copying the database file

With the built-in backup function, backups can be created automatically at a defined time interval and saved in a folder of your choice.

Setting up automatic backups

The automatic backup function is configured in the OptionsApp settings.

Go to the "Settings" area.
Scroll to the bottom of the settings.
Select the folder in which the backups should be saved.
Set the time interval at which a new backup should be created automatically.
Finally, click "Save" to save the settings.

If OptionsApp runs on a server, a folder on that server must be selected as the storage location. For a local installation, a folder on the PC in use is selected accordingly.

After saving, OptionsApp automatically creates a backup of the database at the defined time interval and stores it in the selected folder. This way, for example, all data can be backed up daily.

With automatic backups, a new file is always saved instead of overwriting the previous one, so you have regular backups from different points in time. After a few months, for example, old backups can be deleted if they are no longer needed. This frees up storage space again.

Setting up manual backups

All your data (Templates, Strategies, Results, ...) is stored locally in a database file. You can find it at C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\OptionsApp\sessions\<ENCODED SESSION NAME>\database_vX.X.db

You can also find the path in use at the very bottom of the Settings.

To make a manual backup, copy the database file.

To do this, go to the Session folder. The AppData folder may not be displayed directly because it is a hidden folder. You can show it by going to View -> Show in the bar at the top and then checking Hidden items.

If you have multiple Sessions, you can usually find the correct Session folder by its last modified date.

Alternatively, you can identify the right Session via the settings.yaml file. It lists which Session has which name. Open this file in an editor to see which folder belongs to which name: