Backup and Restore

Backup & Restore

ARK-launcher can back up your home layout and settings to a file you keep yourself, so you can move to a new phone or recover after a reset.

Open Settings ▸ Backup to find export and import.

Since 0.7.12 the app has no Google Drive auto-backup any more (the launcher is now fully FOSS), and it opts out of Android's system backup — the file you export is the only backup. Backups you made to Drive with an older version stay in your Drive's app-data folder; remove them via Drive ▸ Settings ▸ Manage apps.

What's included

A backup contains:

• your home layout — app positions across pages, the dock, and folders,
• pinned shortcuts and placed widgets,
• your settings (columns, labels, gestures, icon pack, status bar, and the rest).

Device-specific bookkeeping (such as the last-backup timestamp) is not included.

File backup (export / import)

• Export: Settings ▸ Backup ▸ Export writes a .json file wherever you choose (Downloads, a cloud folder, a file manager, …). Keep it somewhere safe. From 0.8.2 the suggested file name carries the date and time (ARK-launcher-backup-2026-10-01_08-40.json), so each backup gets its own name.
• Import: Settings ▸ Backup ▸ Import reads a file you pick and restores it.

A restore is a full replace of your current layout and settings.

Restoring widgets

Widget IDs are specific to each device, so a restored widget can't be reconnected automatically. Instead, each restored widget comes back as a "Tap to set up" placeholder in its original position and size. Tap the placeholder to reconnect it — Android shows its permission dialog and the placeholder turns into the live widget. If you don't want a restored widget, long-press its placeholder to remove it.

A widget is restored only if its app is still installed on the new device.

Tips

• After restoring to a new phone, install the apps you had first, then restore — apps that aren't installed are skipped.
• Widgets re-fetch their own content after you reconnect them; the backup restores their placement, not their internal data.