# Backup and export

> Save the whole library as a zip, now or on a schedule, or export it as a spreadsheet with its files.

- Page: https://resurf.so/guides/backup-and-export
- Section: Your data
- Works on: Mac
- Last checked against the app: 2026-10-17
- Back up: Settings → Backup
- Export: Settings → Data

## Back up now

A backup is a dated zip of the whole vault.

1. Open Settings (`⌘,`) and choose **Backup**.
2. Beside **Back up now…**, click **Back up…** You can also choose **File → Back Up Vault…**, or click **Back up…** in the [Vault section](https://resurf.so/guides/vault) of the info pane.
3. Choose where to save it. Backups can't be saved inside the vault itself.

## Automatic backups

Automatic backups are off until you turn them on.

1. In **Settings → Backup**, turn on **Automatic backups**.
2. Pick a **Frequency**: **Daily** or **Weekly**. Weekly is the default.
3. Pick how many to **Keep**: 3, 5 or 10. The default is 3, and older backups are deleted.
4. Beside **Folder**, click **Choose…** and pick a folder outside the vault.

![Settings, Backup pane with automatic weekly backups and the backup folder.](https://resurf.so/guides/shots/settings-backup@2x.webp)

Backups run while Resurf is running, and a run is skipped when nothing changed. Keep your own copies outside the backup folder.

## Export to CSV

Export writes a folder with `captures.csv`, a `notes` folder with each note as a Markdown file, and an `assets` folder with every file on each capture. Captures in the Trash and stacks are left out.

1. Open Settings (`⌘,`) and choose **Data**.
2. Under **Import & export**, click **Export…** beside **Export to CSV…**
3. Pick a folder and click **Export**. Resurf makes a folder named **Resurf CSV Export**, with the date and time, inside it.

## Getting things back

Resurf has no restore button. A backup is a zip of the vault, so you can open it in Finder and copy files out. If sync was on, a new Mac signed in to the same Apple Account downloads your library from iCloud. See [Sync](https://resurf.so/guides/sync).

## Questions

### Do I need a license to export?

No. Export works without one. At the free limit of 50 captures, the screen that replaces the library has Export everything and Show vault in Finder, and Settings and the File menu still work.

### Do backups run when Resurf is closed?

No. They run while Resurf is running, including when it's only in the menu bar.

### Why didn't a weekly backup happen?

Nothing changed since the last one, the folder couldn't be reached, or Resurf wasn't running. The Back up now… row in Settings → Backup shows the last problem.

## More guides

- Previous: [Sync status](https://resurf.so/guides/sync-status.md)
- Next: [Import](https://resurf.so/guides/import.md)
- [Where your library lives](https://resurf.so/guides/vault.md): Your library is a folder of ordinary files on your device, named Resurf Library.
- [Sync](https://resurf.so/guides/sync.md): Your library syncs between your devices through your private iCloud, and it starts on its own.
- [Sync status](https://resurf.so/guides/sync-status.md): One line in Settings says whether sync is working, with a checklist and a report you can send to support.
- [Import](https://resurf.so/guides/import.md): Bring captures in from a CSV file or from the old Resurf 1.0 app.
- [Move from another app](https://resurf.so/guides/move-from-another-app.md): Bring your bookmarks, notes and images over from Raindrop, Pocket, your browser, Notion, Eagle, Apple Notes, Readwise or mymind.
- [CSV format](https://resurf.so/guides/csv-format.md): The columns Resurf reads when it imports a CSV, and the exact values each one takes.
- [Erase and start over](https://resurf.so/guides/erase.md): Erase this device's copy of your library, or delete the copy in iCloud. Your license stays active either way.
- [Every guide](https://resurf.so/llms.txt)