Backup and restore

Manual local backup; cloud sync not shipped yet

Why back up

Tags, notes, status, smart collection rules, and similar data cannot be regenerated from GitHub. Back up before switching Macs, reinstalling, or using factory reset.

Manual backup (recommended)

1. Quit Starcat completely

   Avoid copying a database mid-write.
2. Copy the data directory

   Common Direct path:

   ~/Library/Application Support/Starcat/
   

   The App Store build lives in a sandbox container with a different path. Use the Finder shortcut under Settings → Storage to locate it, then copy.

3. Store somewhere safe

   External drive or encrypted backup both work.

Manual restore

1. Quit Starcat completely
2. Restore the backup to the same channel’s path (do not mix App Store and Direct)
3. Open the app again

Cloud sync (coming soon)

iCloud / CloudKit user-data sync is not available. This site will not describe fake “turn on sync and you’re done” steps.

Priority table

Priority	Data
High	Tags, notes, status, collection rules
Medium	AI / RAG session history
Low	README / images / summary cache (rebuildable)

Stars lists can be re-synced from GitHub — usually no separate backup needed.

Related

• Data storage
• Data export (coming soon)