Backups

Everything Nifty keeps is in one folder: /var/lib/nifty on a Linux server. Back up the database and files/, and keep secret.key safe somewhere else.

What's in the folder

Path	What	Back up?
nifty.db (with -wal, -shm)	The database: everything you've written	Yes, as below
files/	Photos, note images and documents	Yes
secret.key	Unlocks the AI providers' API keys saved in the database	Separately
acme/	Let's Encrypt certificates	Optional: Nifty gets new ones
nifty.db.v<N>-<time>.bak	A copy made before each update changed the database	Optional
cache/	The compiled PDF renderer, made again if missing	No
lock, tmp/	Working files	No

Back up while Nifty runs

Don't copy nifty.db directly while Nifty runs: the copy can be half-written. Let SQLite make it (install sqlite3 first, e.g. sudo apt install sqlite3):

sudo sqlite3 /var/lib/nifty/nifty.db "VACUUM INTO '/backups/nifty-$(date +%F).db'"
sudo rsync -a /var/lib/nifty/files/ /backups/files/

Run them daily from cron or a systemd timer, and copy /backups off the machine.

Keep the secret key apart

secret.key (or NIFTY_SECRET_KEY, if you set it) unlocks the AI providers' API keys. Keep it out of your regular backups, in a password manager, say. Without it, a restored Nifty works but asks for those API keys again in Settings → AI.

Restore

1. Stop Nifty: sudo systemctl stop nifty.

2. Put the database back, and remove the old -wal and -shm files:

   sudo cp /backups/nifty-2026-10-10.db /var/lib/nifty/nifty.db
   sudo rm -f /var/lib/nifty/nifty.db-wal /var/lib/nifty/nifty.db-shm

3. Put files/ back: sudo rsync -a /backups/files/ /var/lib/nifty/files/.

4. Put secret.key back, if you have it.

5. Give it all to the nifty user: sudo chown -R nifty:nifty /var/lib/nifty.

6. Start Nifty: sudo systemctl start nifty.

Restoring onto a newer version is fine: Nifty updates the database as it starts.

Copies before updates

Before an update changes the database, Nifty copies it to nifty.db.v<N>-<time>.bak in the same folder. Rolling back uses them. Nifty keeps the five newest and deletes older ones.

On a Mac

The Mac app keeps everything in ~/Library/Application Support/Nifty, unless you chose another folder when you first opened it. Quit Nifty and copy the folder, or run the same sqlite3 … "VACUUM INTO …" command while it runs.