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Backups and restore

The recommended way to back up, restore or migrate your data is the built-in export/import feature, whatever your installation mode.

Built-in export / import (recommended)​

In Settings → Data backup, first choose the Scope:

  • "Full backup (everything)" — the whole instance: game systems, worlds, campaigns, playthroughs and images;
  • or a specific campaign — a targeted export, to share or archive a single campaign.

For a campaign export, three "Include" checkboxes (all checked by default):

  • Lore (world) — the full linked world (pages, folders, templates);
  • Play space (playthroughs, sessions, characters) — the playthroughs with their sessions and journals, the facts, the quest progression and the character sheets;
  • Images — the binaries of the referenced images.

Then two buttons:

  • Export data — produces a portable .zip file (loremind-<name>.zip).
  • Import a file — reloads a .zip (file picker or drag & drop) in merge mode: the content is added to the existing data without overwriting anything. A confirmation reminds you: "Its content will be added to your instance (nothing is deleted)."

This is the preferred path to back up your work or transfer it to another installation.

note
  • The built-in backup/restore is disabled in demo mode.
  • Maximum size of an imported file: 2 GB on the desktop installation, 128 MB by default on Docker (configurable server-side).
  • Exports created with previous versions of DM Loremind can still be imported — missing sections (e.g. the play space) are simply treated as empty.

For details about the export file format, see Export.

Where does your data live?​

The location depends on your installation mode:

  • Desktop installation (local-first) — local H2 + files database. This is exactly the case where the built-in .zip export is the right path: it gathers everything into a single portable file.
  • Docker deployment — data in PostgreSQL (campaigns, lore, sheets, image references) and binaries in MinIO with the supplied Compose (minio-data volume).

Advanced option (Docker only)​

The supplied Compose uses the postgres service and MinIO object storage. Images and files are not stored in a loremind_images volume. A technical backup must cover the database, objects and Brain configuration together.

PostgreSQL dump​

Bash example from the Compose directory, reading database and user names from the container's environment:

docker compose exec -T postgres sh -c 'pg_dump -U "$POSTGRES_USER" "$POSTGRES_DB"' > loremind.sql

This dumps relational data. It does not contain MinIO binaries, Workshop PDF files, their indexes or configuration keys.

Files and volumes​

Check actual names with docker volume ls and your Compose file: names can include a project prefix. The repository's Compose declares postgres-data, minio-data and brain-data, among others.

  • Back up MinIO objects and Brain data with your usual backup tool.
  • For raw volume copies, stop services writing to them during the copy. A raw PostgreSQL volume copy also requires stopping PostgreSQL; the logical dump above is an alternative.
  • Keep Compose, .env and AI settings separately. They may contain secrets and should not accompany shared campaign content.

Technical restoration​

Restore to an isolated installation with a compatible version first, using a PostgreSQL database, MinIO objects and Brain data from the same backup point. Raw SQL restoration does not have the Loremind ZIP import's merge mode; do not run it against a populated database without an appropriate restore procedure.

Then check an illustrated page, a character sheet, a playthrough and a Workshop before considering restoration successful.

Best practices​

  • Back up before every major update (release 0.X.0 → 0.Y.0)
  • Quarterly restore test — an untested backup is a fake backup
  • Off-site it — copy backups off the DM Loremind machine (NAS, encrypted cloud)