Back up everything to a folder
Backup Mirror keeps an encrypted copy of all your Yardmaster data in a folder you choose, such as a Dropbox or OneDrive folder, so a broken or new computer loses nothing.
Backup Mirror keeps an encrypted copy of everything in Yardmaster (every project, session and conversation, your settings and your attachments) in a folder you choose. Put that folder inside Dropbox, OneDrive or iCloud Drive and the copy leaves your computer too, so a broken drive or a new computer loses nothing.
Turn it on#
Open Settings > Backup & Restore and find Backup Mirror.
Under Mirror folder, click a cloud folder Yardmaster found on this computer (it makes a
Yardmaster-mirrorfolder inside it), or click Browse….Under Encryption passphrase, type a long passphrase or click Generate strong passphrase.
Save the passphrase in a password manager, then tick I’ve saved this passphrase somewhere safe.
Turn on Enable backup mirror.
Click Mirror now for a first copy straight away.
If you turn the switch on before choosing a folder and a passphrase, a Finish setting up Backup Mirror reminder waits in your Inbox until you do.
What is in a backup, and where it goes#
Each backup is one encrypted file in your mirror folder. It holds:
your database: projects, sessions, conversations, automations, recipes and the rest,
your settings file,
your attachments (images and files you sent to sessions),
your notes in The Vault (the Backup Mirror text in Settings still calls it your KMS knowledge vault), and your
CLAUDE.mdand memory files from the.claudefolder in your home folder.
Yardmaster only writes to the folder; your cloud app (Dropbox, OneDrive and so on) does the uploading. The file is encrypted with your passphrase before it is written, so the cloud service cannot read it.
Your saved sign-ins and API keys are in the backup, but locked to this computer. Restored on another computer, they cannot be read, and you enter them again: see Fix sign-ins after a restore.
When it backs up#
After you turn it on, a backup is written each time Yardmaster makes its regular automatic backup (every 6 hours while it runs, as long as Enable automatic backups stays on, as it is at first), and whenever you click Mirror now. The last 5 are kept; change Keep last to keep more.
A half-written file never replaces a good one: each backup is written in full first and only then given its final name.
Restore on a new computer#
Install Yardmaster on the new computer and sign in.
Copy your backup file (it ends in
.amcmirror) onto it, for example from your cloud folder.Open Settings > Backup & Restore and click Restore from file….
Type your passphrase and click Choose mirror file. You see when the backup was made and on which computer.
Read Merge or Replace? just after these steps, pick one and click Restore.
A wrong passphrase changes nothing: Yardmaster stops before touching your data.
Restored sessions pick up where they left off. The first message you send gives the agent the whole earlier conversation again.
Merge or Replace?#
Merge (the default) adds the sessions and messages from the backup that this computer does not have yet, with the projects they belong to. Nothing you already have is changed or removed. Settings and automations are not merged.
Replace makes this computer a copy of the backup, including files outside Yardmaster's own data.
Undo a restore#
After a Replace, an Undo restore card waits at the top of Settings > Backup & Restore until you undo, keep the restore, or restore again. Undo restore asks first, then:
puts back replaced files and removes added ones,
first saves any file you changed since then in the
backupsfolder (the card names them),before a restart, cancels the database and settings swap; after one, swaps your earlier ones back at the next restart (later work is lost).
Use Yardmaster on two computers#
Point both computers at the same cloud folder with the same passphrase. Then Sync now sends this computer's latest backup and merges in the other computer's chats. Mirror now only sends.
Automatic sync does this for you: When I open & close Yardmaster, or On a schedule (every 1, 3, 6 or 12 hours). The first time you turn the mirror on, it is set to When I open & close Yardmaster. A backup can be 1 to 3 GB, so sync is skipped when nothing has changed.
Keep last (5 at first) counts each computer separately: every computer that uses the folder keeps its own last 5 backups, and Yardmaster never deletes another computer's newest backup.
The saved copies stay on disk even after Keep the restore: the database and settings as
pre-restorefiles next to them in Yardmaster's data folder, the rest inpre-restore-claude-*,pre-restore-amc-*andpre-restore-vault-*folders in itsbackupsfolder.Never overwritten: a file Yardmaster cannot copy first, and a file behind a link that points outside its folder. Attachments a restore added stay after an undo. If the database copy goes missing, the card says the restore can no longer be undone.
One undo at a time: while a restore can still be undone, or any restore is waiting for a restart, another Replace waits until you undo or keep the first one (or restart).
Agent requests: when an agent asks to restore a backup for you, its approval card shows the same list of what would be replaced.
Which backup? Automatic Backups (on the same page) are kept on this computer and only open here, so they protect against a damaged database, not a lost computer. Setup Backup to Gmail emails your quick replies, automations, recipes, bookmarks, keyboard shortcuts and skills each week, with no conversations. Export Data saves an unencrypted ZIP without keys; importing it replaces all your data. Move to a new computer with one file is a preview that makes one file you carry yourself.
Encryption is AES-256-GCM with a key made from your passphrase, so a damaged or changed file is refused rather than restored as garbage.
Merge needs the same Yardmaster version on both computers; Replace works across versions and updates the data when the app starts.
Your passphrase is stored on this computer, protected by your operating system, so scheduled backups can run. It never leaves the computer.
Restored sessions do not need their old Claude Code files: Yardmaster sends the saved conversation to the agent with your first message.
After a restore from another computer, a checklist helps you set things up again; see Fix sign-ins after a restore.
Related
- Keep your agent instructions in one placeCopy your CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md into the files other AI coding tools read, and see what Default Agent Instructions writes into your projects.
- Fix sign-ins after a restoreAfter you restore a backup on another computer, a checklist shows which keys and sign-ins need entering again, and what else to set up.
- Update a share without changing its linkRe-publish a share to the same link, compare and restore older versions, and see what an already-open tab does when it changes.