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Docs: Backups

Backups

Your project is one file on your computer. A backup keeps dated copies of it somewhere else, so a lost laptop or a bad afternoon of edits isn't the end of the book.

Choosing where backups go

Projects back up with Git Backup. The status bar shows where, and when the last backup was, for example GitHub · 10m. Click it to set up backups, or click Back up now (the circular arrows) to take one immediately. If a backup needs your attention, the status bar says so.

Making backups needs an active trial or license. Restoring one you already made always works.

Git Backup

Git Backup keeps a history of your project in a hidden folder next to the project file, on your own computer. You don't need to know anything about Git, but it does need to be installed: get it free from git-scm.com. On a Mac, it's included with Apple's Command Line Tools.

  1. Open Project → Git Backup….
  2. Click Turn On Backup. Ravenburst takes the first backup straight away.
  3. Click Back Up Now whenever you like, or tick Back up automatically and choose how often: every 15 minutes, 30 minutes, hour or 2 hours (30 minutes by default). Automatic backup also runs once more when you quit.

Each backup appears in the panel's list with its date. A backup is only made when something has changed.

Advanced holds the Git controls, for people who want them: a remote address, Push, Pull, and a backup with your own message.

Git Backup works on the folder that holds your project file. Several projects in one folder can all be backed up, each with its own list of backups, but they share one online copy, and the panel says so. To keep projects completely separate, give each its own folder.

Keeping a copy online

A backup on the same computer won't survive the computer. To keep a copy online as well:

  1. Create a free account with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Codeberg or SourceHut.
  2. Create a new, empty private repository (don't add a README).
  3. In the Git Backup panel, under Keep a copy online, paste the repository's address, click Test, then Use This.

From then on, every backup is also sent there. Sign-in uses your computer's own Git credentials; if Ravenburst can't sign in, install Git Credential Manager and try again.

If the online copy and your computer have both changed (for example, you wrote on two computers), Ravenburst stops and asks rather than merging. Restore the version you want to keep from the list of backups.

Restoring

In either panel, click Restore next to a backup and choose a name and place for it. The backup is saved as a new project file (for example My Novel-restored.ravenburst); the project you have open is never overwritten. Open the restored file with File → Open Project… and copy back what you need.

For one document rather than the whole project, snapshots are quicker.

Copying the file yourself

Everything in a project is in its .ravenburst file, so copying that file somewhere safe (a USB drive, another computer, a folder that your cloud service syncs) is a complete backup. Close Ravenburst first so the copy is up to date.

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