Local backup packs a vault folder into an ordinary ZIP and puts it in a folder you choose. It runs on this computer, never touches the server, and does not encrypt: it is a second copy, not sync.
Add a vault
Section titled “Add a vault”- Local backup → Add Vault, then pick the vault folder.
- Pick the folder to write backups to. It cannot be the vault itself or inside it.
- Choose when to run: Off, Daily at a time, or Every few hours.
- Choose how long to keep them, or turn on Keep forever.
A newly added vault starts with the schedule off — backups delete files past the retention period, so turning it on is your decision. Back up now runs one immediately.
When it runs
Section titled “When it runs”- While the app is running, including when its window is closed — the menu-bar icon is the app still working.
- Not while the app is not running. A run that was missed happens once at the next start, not once per missed day.
- One at a time: vaults that are due together run one after another.
What is in the ZIP
Section titled “What is in the ZIP”The whole vault, including the .obsidian settings and empty folders. What is not in it: .courier/
and .obsidian/plugins/courier/, which hold this device’s keys — a backup is plaintext, so they must not
travel in it.
The name is <vault>-<id>-YYYY-MM-DD-HHmmss.zip, so two vaults with the same name never overwrite each
other’s backups.
Retention
Section titled “Retention”Cleanup only deletes backups this app made, and the newest one is always kept. Your own files in the folder are left alone.
The ZIP is not encrypted, so keep the folder on a disk you trust.