PSA: Current FAQ

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How to backup on Desktop

The official response for doing backups of your data to keep it safe or move it to another device will be below. Then underneath that, you’ll see other options.

OFFICIAL METHODS

OPTION 1 Backup Method (minimal)

  1. Go to brave://password-manager/settings and Download File where it says Export Passwords
  2. Go to brave://bookmarks/ and Export Bookmarks from the hamburger menu image on top right.
  3. If using Brave Wallet and you don’t have your phrase saved, go to brave://wallet/crypto/backup-wallet and you can get it.

Option 1 Restore Method

  1. Go to brave://password-manager/settings and Select File where it says Import Passwords
  2. Go to brave://bookmarks/ and Import Bookmarks from the hamburger menu image on top right.
  3. Click on Brave Wallet, click Restore, enter your phrase and create a password.

This will keep your vital information. However, it doesn’t keep any of your settings, extensions, favorites, etc. But it’s the only “official” way they have shared.

OPTION 2 Backup Method

This is everything from Option 1 except includes a workaround on getting all of the other data. Brave staff has shared this, but yet it’s still not considered an official method.

  1. Go to brave://password-manager/settings and Download File where it says Export Passwords
  2. Go to brave://version and look for Profile Path and take note of it’s location
    • For example, it might be C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default
  3. From your OS, do a backup (copy/paste) of your entire \brave-browser folder
  4. If using Brave Wallet and you don’t have your phrase saved, go to brave://wallet/crypto/backup-wallet and you can get it.

At this point, all of your information will be backed up. Overall it should work with no issues but the \brave-browser information could potentially have issues if the browser version lags behind the current too much.

Option 2 Restore Method

  1. Install Brave and then replace the \brave-browser folder with the one you saved prior.
  2. Go to brave://password-manager/settings and click the Select File under Import Passwords, choosing the file you exported earlier.
  3. Click on Brave Wallet, click Restore, enter your phrase and create a password. (if needing to restore your Wallet)

This should restore everything on your browser just as you had it at the time of the backup. Keep in mind that if the backup folder is from a much older version, there could be issues. Otherwise this should give you all your extensions, settings, bookmarks, passwords, history, etc.

Unofficial (Short-term) Method:

Before I share the method, let me give this warning. It is important to realize is that officially, Brave does not support sync as a form of backup. To put it in the exact words of the developers:

Warning: Brave does not officially support using the Sync code as a backup and you should not rely on this continuing to work in to the future. Use the export functionality in bookmarks and the password manager instead.

Backup Method:

  1. Go to brave://settings/braveSync/setup (settings → sync) and either create a sync chain if you don’t already have one. Then make sure to write down the phrase.
    • -NOTE- This phrase changes daily. So don’t rely on this as a permanent method.
  2. If using Brave Wallet and you don’t have your phrase saved, go to brave://wallet/crypto/backup-wallet and you can get it.

Restore Method:

  1. Go to brave://settings/braveSync/setup (settings → sync) and choose I have a Sync Code and then enter the code you previously saved.
    • -NOTE- If this code is older than a day it will no longer be valid. Hence why this isn’t a recommended option.
  2. Click on Brave Wallet, click Restore, enter your phrase and create a password. (if needing to restore your Wallet)

-NOTE-

I just want to emphasize again that the sync codes change daily. So if you try to keep it as a backup, you risk losing info. It is always good to manually Export and Import passwords and bookmarks if you want to make sure these stay safe.

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