Backup and Restore

Backup & Restore

This page covers getting your data out, bringing it back, and keeping the app up to date — all from Settings.

Encrypted backup

Settings → Encrypted Backup.

• Create — produces a single backup file of your entire store, encrypted with a passphrase you choose (passphrase-derived AES-256-GCM). Handlers: backup:create.
• Restore — point Compass at a backup file and supply the passphrase to restore (backup:restore).
• The passphrase is not stored — if you lose it, the backup can't be decrypted. Keep it safe.

Because the backup is encrypted, you can store it anywhere (external drive, cloud storage) without exposing your data.

Plain JSON export

Settings → Data → Export data → Export JSON.

Writes all your structured data (tasks, habits, finance, knowledge index) to a plain JSON file. This is not encrypted — it's for portability, scripting, and migration, not secure archival. Use the encrypted backup above for anything sensitive.

Open the data folder

Settings → Data → Open data folder → Open in Finder opens your store (~/Library/Application Support/Compass/) so you can copy the raw files yourself — the markdown knowledge base in particular is plain files you can back up with any tool. See Data & Storage Reference.

Wipe / reset

The Danger zone in Settings → Data provides destructive reset controls. These are clearly separated and require confirmation — they remove local data and cannot be undone (so make a backup first).

Updates

Compass auto-updates from GitHub Releases (electron-updater):

• Checks ~3 seconds after launch, then every 4 hours.
• Downloads the new version silently in the background.
• Shows an Update banner with Restart to Install when ready.
• You can also force a check from Settings → Updates → Check now (it shows your current version).

Releases are built and signed by GitHub Actions; macOS auto-updates require signed builds. For the release pipeline, see the Developer Guide.

Related

• Settings · Security & Privacy · Data & Storage Reference