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Yardmaster Guide

Move to a new computer with one file

Portable Backup saves all your Yardmaster data in one encrypted file that you carry to another computer yourself, on a USB stick or a cloud drive.

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Portable Backup saves everything in Yardmaster (projects, sessions, conversations, settings and attachments, plus your notes in The Vault and your CLAUDE.md and memory files) into one encrypted file. You carry the file to the other computer yourself and import it there, with no shared folder to set up first.

Portable Backup is a Preview: the feature is still in development and stays off until you turn it on.

Portable BackupSettings, Lab · Default: OffIn-development: export an encrypted backup file you can move to another computer, and import it back. Hidden until shipped.Open in YardmasterOpens Yardmaster. Don't have it? Download

Make a backup file#

  1. Open Settings > Backup & Restore and find Portable Backup.

  2. Optional: tick Include my saved credentials to bring your API keys and sign-ins too (see Does it include my API keys and sign-ins?).

  3. Click Export a backup… and choose where to save the file.

  4. Copy the recovery code from the Backup Created window into a password manager.

  5. Tick I've saved this recovery code somewhere safe and click I've saved this.

  6. Optional: click Show in folder to find the file and copy it to a USB stick or cloud drive.

What does import do to my data?#

Yardmaster picks the right way for you, and always saves a backup of this computer's data first:

  • This computer has no Yardmaster projects and no Claude Code setup yet: a full restore, the same as a Replace with Backup Mirror. It is set up and finishes the next time Yardmaster starts.

  • This computer already has projects, or a Claude Code setup (a CLAUDE.md or memory files in the .claude folder in your home folder): a merge. Projects, sessions and other saved items from the file are added; nothing you already have is changed or removed.

Bring it in on the other computer#

  1. Copy the backup file (it ends in .yardmasterbackup) onto the other computer and sign in to Yardmaster.

  2. Turn on Portable Backup there too, open Settings > Backup & Restore and click Import a backup….

  3. Pick the file and type the recovery code when asked.

  4. Check the Import Preview (when it was made, and how many projects, sessions and messages it holds), then click Import. On a full restore, read the list of what it replaces and confirm.

Nothing changes until you click Import. On a brand-new install with no projects, Yardmaster may also offer "Have a backup from another computer? Import it now." as a shortcut here.

Does it include my API keys and sign-ins?#

Only if you tick Include my saved credentials before exporting (it is off at first). Then your keys and sign-ins are encrypted again for the file and, on import, saved under the new computer's own secure storage. They are never written anywhere unencrypted.

Keep a copy in the Yardmaster cloud#

The Yardmaster Cloud backup card on the same page stores one backup in the Yardmaster cloud, tied to your account. Click Back up to Yardmaster Cloud, then save the new recovery code it shows. On another computer, signed in to the same account, click Restore from cloud and enter the code. It decides between a full restore and a merge the same way as Import, and a full restore can be undone the same way too.

The file is encrypted on your computer before it is uploaded, so the Yardmaster team cannot read it. A cloud backup never includes your saved credentials. Delete removes it from the cloud; your data on this computer is untouched.

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