Saves and Backup

💾 Saves and Backup

A save keeps one game's progress. A backup keeps your worlds, saves, library entities and library dictionaries in one file. Formamorph keeps all of it on your device. It sends an item to a server only when you publish it.

To start a new game instead, see Starting a Game.

How to Save a Game

1. In the game, select the Menu button at the top right.
2. Select Save Game.
3. Type a name in the box. The box shows the name of the save you loaded or saved last.
4. Select the Save button, or press Enter.
5. If a save with that name is in this world, select Overwrite to replace it, or Keep both to add a second save.

The Logs tab records Game saved as …. To keep scene images in the save, select their checkbox. See The Save Game Dialog.

How to Load a Game

1. Open Load Game:
   • In the game, select Menu, then Load Game.
   • On the main menu, select the Menu button at the top right, then Load Game. On a narrow screen, the item is in the Menu button at the top center.
2. Select the folder of the world.
3. Select a save. The game opens at the turn you saved.

A save from a world that is not on this device does not load from the main menu. Import or download that world first. See Loading from Another World.

How to Export a Save

1. Open Load Game.
2. Select the world's folder.
3. On the save's row, select the Export save button.

You get a .json file with the save's name. On Android, choose a folder in the Save As sheet. See Save Exports to a Folder.

How to Import a Save

1. Open Load Game.
2. Select the Import button.
3. Select one or more save .json files.

Each save goes into the folder of its world. The dialog opens that folder, and a message counts the saves it imported. The dialog skips a file that it cannot read.

How to Make a Backup

1. On the main menu, select the Menu button, then Backup & Restore.
2. Select the Backup button.
3. Clear the checkbox of each item you do not want. All items start selected.
4. Select Save backup. You get a file named formamorph-backup- and the date.
5. Keep the file in a safe place, away from the app's own folder.

Make a backup before you update the app or move to a new device. See What a Backup Holds.

How to Restore a Backup

1. On the main menu, select the Menu button, then Backup & Restore.
2. Select the Restore button, then select a backup .json file.
3. Clear the checkbox of each item you do not want.
4. Items you already have show an exists tag. To replace them, select Overwrite existing in their group.
5. Select Restore. The app reloads when it is done.

Restore adds to what you have. It never erases an item that is not in the backup.

How to Update the Desktop App

1. On the main menu, look at the version number at the bottom left. It shows — Update Available! when a newer release is out.
2. Select the version number. The update dialog opens.
3. Select the Download button. A progress bar shows under the version number.
4. Select Update & Restart.

On a Mac, Download opens the new .dmg file in your browser. Open the file and copy the new app over the old one. For Android, see How to Update the App.

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The Save Game Dialog

Save Game shows the saves of the world you play.

Part	What it does
Name box	The name of the new save. An empty name saves nothing.
Save	Saves the game under the name
Import	Imports save files. See How to Import a Save.
A save in the list	Puts its name in the name box, so Save replaces it
Scene images checkbox	Shows when the game has scene images. Select it to keep them in the save. The checkbox shows how much the images add.

A save holds the full story and a copy of each turn, so Rewind to Here still works after you load it. It also holds your notes, memories, persona, the game's dictionaries and the images you attached to actions.

Autosaves are not in this list. You cannot save over them.

The Load Game Dialog

Load Game has a folder for each world that has saves. In the game, the folder of the current world is first, with (current). Each folder shows how many saves it has and when you last played.

Part	What it does
Import	Imports save files
Back	Goes back to the folder list
Drag handle	Changes the order of folders or saves. Each folder keeps its own order.
A save	Loads it
Export save	Exports the save as a .json file
Delete save	Erases the save after you confirm. You cannot undo it.

Each save row shows its name, the date and time you saved it, and the Game Time of the story. The autosave has an Auto tag. A save has no rename control: save it again under the new name, then erase the old one with Delete save.

Saves are newest first until you drag one. A new save always goes to the top.

Loading from Another World

Each save is for the world you played when you made it.

Where you load	The save's world	What happens
In the game	The world you play	The save loads
In the game	Another world on this device	Switch worlds and load? asks first. Your current game closes.
In the game	A world not on this device	Load a save from another world? asks first. The save loads into the current world and may not work as intended.
Main menu	A world on this device	That world opens and the save loads
Main menu	A world not on this device	World not installed shows. You can still export or delete the save.

Unsaved progress is lost each time a game closes.

Old Save Files

Saves from older versions of Formamorph load too. Formamorph converts a save in the oldest format when you load it. A message shows while that runs. If the conversion fails, the game still loads what it can, and the Logs tab says (with conversion errors).

Autosave

Autosave saves your game after every turn, named by turn, such as Autosave · Turn 12. Autosaves Kept sets how many each world keeps; it starts at one. A new turn adds an autosave until the world has that many, then replaces the oldest. If you lower it, the world's oldest extra autosaves are deleted on its next autosave.

• It starts after the opening scene. After Re-generate, it replaces that turn's autosave.
• It never changes your own saves.
• It never keeps scene images.
• It shows under Load Game with an Auto tag. You can load, export or delete it.
• If an autosave fails, a message shows once. Your own saves still work.

To turn it off, clear Autosave in the Saves section of the Settings Data tab. Autosaves Kept is in the same section.

Quick Start

Quick Start starts a new game with the world's defaults. It does not load a save. See How to Start with the Defaults.

The Backup & Restore Dialog

Open it from the main menu's Menu button. It has three buttons: Backup, Restore and Close.

Backup lists what you have in up to four groups: Worlds, Saves, Entities and Dictionaries. A group shows only when it has items. Each group has a checkbox that selects all of its items, and a count of the items you selected. Save backup is off when nothing is selected.

Restore reads a backup file and shows the groups that the file holds.

Control	What it does
exists tag	Marks an item that is already on this device
Overwrite existing	Replaces the group's existing items. Shows only in a group with exists items. When it is clear, the restore skips those items.
World images, Entity images	Choose Keep as-is, Optimize or Downscale for the images the restore writes
Restore	Writes the selected items, then reloads the app

A file that is not a Formamorph backup shows This file is not a Formamorph backup.

What a Backup Holds

In the backup	Not in the backup
Worlds, with their images	Settings, prompt presets and Tools
Saves	Avatars
Library entities	Downloaded AI models
Library dictionaries	Cached images and other caches
	The order of the Load Game list

To move an avatar, open it on the library's Avatars tab and select the Export button.

Where Your Data Lives

Formamorph stores your data in the app's browser storage on your device. Nothing is stored on a server unless you publish it.

Platform	Where the data is
🌐 Web	The browser's storage for the site. Each browser and each site address keeps its own copy. Clearing the site's data in the browser erases it.
🪟 Windows desktop	The userdata folder beside Formamorph.exe. AI models are in the models folder beside it, unless you choose a different folder. An update never changes either folder.
🐧 Linux AppImage	The userdata folder beside the AppImage file
🍎 macOS	The app's default data folder for your user account
📱 Android	The app's own storage. When you remove the app from the device, Android erases this data.

The web version asks the browser to keep its storage. A browser can still clear it, and a hosted copy of the app on a new address starts empty. Make a backup if your data matters to you.

On Windows and Linux, copy the whole folder to move your data to a new place.

App Updates

The Update Dialog

The desktop and Android apps check for updates on start, then every few hours. Select the version number at the bottom left of the main menu to open the dialog.

Part	What it does
Title	Update available — and the version, You're up to date, or Couldn't check for updates
Release channel	Stable gets finished releases. Pre-release also gets beta builds.
Release notes	What changed in the new version
Full changelog →	Opens the full changelog
Download	Downloads the update. Shows when an update is available.
Check for updates	Checks again. Shows when no update is available.

After the download, Update & Restart shows under the version number on desktop. On Windows, the app checks the download before it uses it. If the new Windows version fails to start, the app starts the old version again. The web version updates when you reload the page.

Your saves, worlds and settings stay the same through an update.

The Update Required Dialog

Update Formamorph shows when a Community Creations feature needs a newer version of the app than you have. It names the feature and the version you run. Everything else keeps working.

Button	What it does
Update	On the web, reloads the page. On desktop and Android, starts the download of the newest version.
Not Now	Closes the dialog. The feature stays off until you update.

After the download, select Update & Restart on desktop or Install on Android, under the version number on the main menu. See How to Update the Desktop App.

What's New

On the web, the version number at the bottom left of the main menu opens What's new. On a narrow screen, it is in the More menu at the bottom right. The dialog shows the notes of the latest release and a Full changelog → link.

Related

• 🎮 How to Play: the game menu and the Logs tab
• ⚙️ Settings: the Autosave setting and the Data tab
• 📚 Library: import and export worlds, entities, dictionaries and avatars
• 📱 Install on Android: updates and exports on Android