Backups & Recovery
Keep dated copies of your saved links in Preferences → Backups, and use the same screen to recover them.
Automatic backups
Automatic backups are on by default, every 7 days, when you have never saved a backup preference. SupaSidebar uses its local Application Support → SupaSidebar → Backups folder on this Mac. The exact path appears under Backup Folder. Existing backup settings, including Off, custom folders, and schedules, stay unchanged.
- Open Preferences → Backups.
- Check Automatic Backups and Backup Folder. If backups are off, turning them on uses the displayed folder immediately; no folder picker is required.
- Keep Weekly (every 7 days), or choose another Backup Frequency.
- Choose a Backup Limit of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, or 100 copies. The default is 10.
- Use Next Backup to change the next date and time.
- Check Last Successful Backup, or click Back Up Now to save a copy immediately.
| Frequency | Next copy |
|---|---|
| Daily | One calendar day after the last successful backup |
| Weekly (default) | Seven calendar days after the last successful backup |
| Monthly | One calendar month after the last successful backup |
| Every 3 months | Three calendar months after the last successful backup |
The first backup runs when SupaSidebar starts the default schedule, or when you enable backups with no previous schedule. Each successful backup, including Back Up Now, starts the next interval. Changing the frequency schedules the next copy from the time you make the change. For months without the same day, the date falls on that month’s last day.
SupaSidebar must be open to save a backup. If your Mac is asleep or SupaSidebar is closed when a backup is due, it saves one catch-up copy when you next open the app or wake your Mac. It does not create a separate file for each missed interval.
What’s included
- All spaces, folders, saved links, space-pinned links, tags, notes, and smart folders.
- Saved links outside spaces, collected into Other Saved Links for recovery.
- App and file shortcuts keep their references. The target apps and files are not copied.
Recovered links keep their URLs, names, notes, tags, colors, custom icons, browser choices, and ordering within folders and spaces. Duplicate saved links remain separate. Space browser-profile choices are included, but the corresponding browser profile must already exist on the Mac where you restore.
Select all related spaces when recovering smart folders. Their source-space, source-folder, and space-filter references reconnect to the recovered spaces and folders. A space you leave unselected is not recovered. Older backups can only restore the information they originally contained.
Automatic backups exclude Trash, browsing history, Live Tabs, and app settings. To include preferences, shortcuts, or Air Traffic Control rules, open Preferences → Import & Export → Export and select .ssb with settings enabled.
Choosing and maintaining a backup folder
Use Backup Folder → Choose Folder… to change the destination, and Show in Finder to see it. Canceling the picker keeps the current destination and schedule. Use Use Default Folder to return to the local app folder. Each copy has a date and a unique filename. Changing folders or turning backups off does not remove existing files.
Backup Limit controls how many automatic backups SupaSidebar keeps in the current backup folder. After a new copy saves successfully, older automatic backups are deleted until the folder meets the limit. This also applies to Back Up Now. Changing the limit takes effect after the next successful backup; it does not delete files immediately or change the schedule. Existing installations without a saved limit use 10 copies.
Cleanup recognizes the full automatic-backup filename, including its date and unique ID. It leaves manual exports, renamed files, subfolders, and symbolic links alone. Keep a separate copy using Import & Export if you want to retain a backup indefinitely. A backup saved with an older app version still counts if it uses the automatic-backup filename.
Changing the folder while automatic backups are on schedules a copy in the new location immediately. Last Successful Backup then reports backups saved to that folder.
For protection against losing your Mac’s drive, choose a folder on another drive or a folder managed by your cloud storage provider. A successful local write does not confirm that your cloud provider finished uploading it. The .ssb file is readable and is not encrypted by SupaSidebar, so use a private folder. The default local copies do not protect against losing the Mac or its drive. The limit controls the number of automatic backups, not their total size.
If a drive is disconnected, a folder is unavailable, or saving fails, the app shows the error and keeps the previous successful backup date. Reconnect the drive or choose a writable folder, then click Back Up Now. Scheduled failures retry after one hour while the app is open.
If the new copy saves but cleanup fails, Last Successful Backup still updates and a separate warning explains that the folder may exceed the limit. Check folder permissions or remove older copies in Finder. Cleanup retries after the next successful backup.
Backup schedules and folder permissions belong to this Mac. On a new Mac with no saved backup preference, the app starts weekly backups in that Mac’s own local folder. Choose your external or cloud folder again if you want to use it there. Switching between the direct and Mac App Store editions may use different local Application Support folders.
Recovering your links
- Open Preferences → Backups and click Restore Backup…. You can also use Preferences → Import & Export → From Backup File → Choose File….
- Open a dated
.ssbfile from your backup folder. Choose an older copy if the newest one was saved after you lost or changed a link. - Review the spaces in the preview and select the ones you want to recover.
- Click Import. The button also shows how many spaces are selected.
- Check the recovered links before removing any duplicate spaces.
Recovery adds new spaces and keeps your current data. It does not replace or merge existing spaces. Importing the same file again can create duplicate spaces. Links that were saved outside spaces are recovered inside Other Saved Links.
On a new Mac, install and open SupaSidebar, then follow the same steps with your copied .ssb file. Automatic backups contain no app settings to restore; manually exported files may offer optional settings controls.
When importing a .ssb or .json file, SupaSidebar uses its folder records and the names or paths recorded on links to restore the folder structure. This includes missing parent folders when their paths are recorded clearly. You do not need a separate repair step for folders the importer can recover from the file.
Check & Repair
If saved links appear in search or in a space’s count, but their folders are missing from the sidebar, open Preferences → Backups → Check & Repair.
Click Check Now, review the folder rows, then click Update. The scan reads your current library; you do not need to select a backup first. Each unassigned folder has a space dropdown. Clear destinations are selected for you; choose Choose a space… to skip a folder. Expand Links (N) to inspect its links in a collapsed, scrollable list.
Selecting a space only prepares a preview. Update appears to the left of Check Again whenever a folder has a selected space, including a suggested space. Click Update, then Save & Update in the save dialog to save a recovery copy and apply your choices. The scan refreshes after updating.
The recovery copy includes selected empty folders. Links stay in their current spaces, and already-filed links keep their folders. Completely unassigned trees also offer a Delete Folder & Links… trash button with a confirmation and a separate recovery copy.
If an older import lost folder grouping, an optional Still missing folders? section can help. It appears after a scan has no folders it can reconnect but finds unfiled saved links in spaces. Unfiled links are normal; expand this only if you expected them to be in folders. Choose Older Backup… then uses an earlier .ssb or .json file to preview missing folders around links already in your library. It skips ambiguous matches and does not import extra links or spaces.
Keep the original export for this optional recovery. It must still record the missing folder names or paths; a newer export of content that has already lost its grouping cannot provide that information.
See Missing folders or links: Check & Repair for when to use it, every check it performs, and the repair steps.