Orch term
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More · System · Storage · Backup

Storage · Backup

Settings, workspace, and to-dos are all saved automatically in one place. Nothing breaks if the app shuts down mid-use, it's backed up automatically every day, and you can export and import all your settings as a single file — there's nothing to manage by hand.

Everything saved in one file

All state — settings, your open Spaces and tabs, and to-dos — is held in a single file, orchterm.db, inside the data folder. Development, release, and worktree builds each use their own separate folder so they never mix.

Automatic migration of old settings

If you were on an older version, the first boot of the new version moves your existing settings to the new store automatically in one go (settings, theme, Spaces, and to-dos all preserved). The original is left as settings.json.migrated, so there's nothing else to do.

Automatic backup · recovery

On every boot it leaves one backup for that day (keeping the 10 most recent) and checks that the storage file is intact. If corruption is found, it automatically recovers from the most recent healthy backup and lets you know.

Data folder — daily .bak rotationquick_check ✓
# One .bak created per day at boot · rotated up to 10 $ ls -la ~/.orchterm orchterm.db 464K ← live DB orchterm.db-wal 132K ← WAL journal (writes) orchterm.db-shm 32K ← shared-memory index orchterm.db.bak.2026-06-28 452K orchterm.db.bak.2026-06-27 448K orchterm.db.bak.2026-06-26 447K … (beyond 10, the oldest are discarded first) settings.json.migrated 116K ← original preserved after migration [db] quick_check ok — backup orchterm.db.bak.2026-06-28 (rotated)
A backup (.bak) is a clean single-file snapshot · if the check fails, it auto-recovers from the latest healthy backup.

Full backup — export · import

From Settings → Backup you can export all your settings as a single file, or replace your current data wholesale from a backup file. Import isn't applied immediately; it's safely swapped in on the next restart.

Settings — Backup: full backup (database) import/export
Export = save settings + workspace + to-dos all to one .db file · Import = validated, then swapped only on restart.
Import replaces your current data wholesale — after a confirmation, the app restarts. The previous state is automatically preserved as a .pre-import file so you can roll back.

Data folder files

FileRole
orchterm.dbThe storage file holding all settings, Spaces, and to-dos
orchterm.db.bak.YYYY-MM-DDA backup created daily — the 10 most recent are kept
settings.json.migratedThe old settings original, preserved after migration
orchterm.db.<stamp>.pre-importThe state just before import — for rollback