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Mehdi edited this page Sep 8, 2026 · 6 revisions

Backup & Restore

SSH Pilot lets you back up your settings, connections, snippets, and credentials. You can export them to a file, sync them to Bitwarden/Vaultwarden, or copy a backup archive to a remote server.

What Gets Backed Up

Item Included
App settings (UI preferences, shortcuts, themes) Yes
Connections and groups Yes
Snippets library Yes
SSH config file Yes
Known hosts file Yes
Private keys Optional (off by default)
Passwords and passphrases Yes

Note: Your ~/.ssh/config and private keys are managed by OpenSSH. SSH Pilot backs up its own copy and settings.

Local Backup

Export your settings

  1. Open the application menu (hamburger menu on Linux, File menu on macOS)
  2. Go to Backup/Restore
  3. Click Start Backup
  4. Choose a location to save the backup file
  5. The backup is saved as an archive

Import settings

  1. Open the application menu
  2. Go to Backup/Restore
  3. Click Restore Configuration
  4. Select your backup file
  5. SSH Pilot applies the settings and restarts if needed

Bitwarden / Vaultwarden Backup

If you use SSH Pilot on multiple machines, you can store configuration backups as secure notes in Bitwarden or Vaultwarden -- separate from credential login items.

For credential backend setup, the rbw option, and performance notes, see Bitwarden & Vaultwarden.

Step 1 -- Sign in to Bitwarden

  1. Open Settings > Security
  2. Select Bitwarden / Vaultwarden (or Bitwarden via rbw) as your credential backend
  3. Complete the setup wizard (email and master password, plus 2FA if enabled)
  4. Unlock the vault

You do not need Bitwarden as the credential backend only for backups, but the vault must be signed in and unlocked for Import/Export Bitwarden actions.

Step 2 -- Export to Bitwarden

  1. Open the application menu
  2. Go to Import/Export
  3. Click Export to Bitwarden
  4. Optionally set a passphrase for the backup archive
  5. Confirm -- the backup is saved as a secure note (prefixed with sshpilot_backup)

Step 3 -- Import on another machine

  1. Install SSH Pilot on the new machine
  2. Sign in to the same Bitwarden vault and unlock it
  3. Open Import/Export
  4. Click Import from Bitwarden
  5. Select a backup from the list (sorted by date), preview if needed, then confirm

Remote Server Backup

You can also copy backup archives to or from another host over SSH:

  1. Open Import/Export
  2. Choose the remote export or import option
  3. Pick a server and a remote directory (default: ~/sshpilot-backups)
  4. Complete the transfer, then import locally if you downloaded a backup

What You Can Back Up To

Destination How it works
Local file Export Configuration / Import Configuration
Bitwarden/Vaultwarden Export to Bitwarden / Import from Bitwarden (secure notes)
Remote server Upload or download backup archives over SSH

Backup Features

Home path rebasing

If you restore a backup on a different machine, SSH Pilot automatically adjusts file paths to match the new system.

SSH config tree handling

If your ~/.ssh/config uses Include directives, SSH Pilot backs up the entire config tree, not just the main file.

Encryption

Backup archives can be encrypted for extra security.

Version tracking

Backups include version information so SSH Pilot knows what format they are in.

Bitwarden size limit

Secure notes have a maximum size. If a backup is too large (many private keys or a large SSH config), SSH Pilot warns you. Exclude private keys to reduce size.

Tips

Tip: Back up regularly, especially before upgrading SSH Pilot or making big changes to your configuration.

Tip: If you use Bitwarden on multiple machines, cloud backups are the easiest way to stay in sync.

Tip: Your snippets library is included in backups, so you don't lose your saved commands.

Next Steps

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