Backup and Restore#

Open Settings → Backup.

Full Backup#

Use Export Backup to save every dock, your app settings, and your custom icons as one .extradock5backup file.

Use Import Backup to bring a backup in. Docks from the backup are added; a dock that matches one of yours replaces it. The confirmation prompt states how many docks will be added and replaced and reminds you that app settings are replaced too. ExtraDock saves a snapshot of the current configuration before the import, and that snapshot appears in the Restore list as Saved before an import. A backup saved by a newer version of ExtraDock cannot be imported.

Settings Only#

Export Settings saves app-level settings, not docks, as a plain JSON file. Import Settings replaces your current app settings with the file's contents and leaves your docks untouched. Use this when you want preferences without replacing dock content.

Daily Backups#

ExtraDock saves a snapshot of your configuration before the first change of each day and keeps the last week. The Daily Backups list shows them with a Restore button for each.

The Manager sidebar's restore button opens a longer list that also includes snapshots Saved before an upgrade, Saved before an import, and Replaced by a restore. Restoring replaces the active configuration, so ExtraDock asks Replace the current configuration? and keeps the replaced state in the Backups folder.

If the configuration database is damaged when ExtraDock starts, it recovers automatically from the most recent daily backup, then from pre-upgrade snapshots, before falling back to an empty configuration.

ExtraDock 4 migration#

Choose Import from ExtraDock 4 to rerun the V4 conversion flow. It replaces your current docks with the converted ExtraDock 4 configuration and only reads the ExtraDock 4 data. This is not the same operation as importing an ExtraDock 5 backup. See Migrate from ExtraDock 4.