A library is your own work, gathered over years. Tessera can keep encrypted copies of it somewhere else, and put them back if the worst happens.
Backups use Kopia, which Tessera fetches for you the first time, checksum verified. Each library is backed up on its own.
#Setting one up
Settings, then Backups, then Set up. Choose where the copies go:
- A folder: this computer, an external drive, or a folder a cloud client already syncs.
- A cloud drive: Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, pCloud, or iCloud Drive through its folder.
- Cloud storage: Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Cloudflare R2, Wasabi, DigitalOcean Spaces, Google Cloud Storage, Azure, or any other S3-compatible service.
- Your own server: SFTP or WebDAV.
Then set a password. It encrypts the backup, and it is the only way in. Tessera can generate one, save it to your keychain, and print a recovery kit that holds everything needed to restore on a computer that has never seen this library.
#While it runs
Backups happen while Tessera is open: every day, every few hours, or only when you press Back up now. The activity bar shows progress, and the Backups screen shows when the last one finished and how much was sent.
Only what changed is uploaded, so the second backup of a large library is quick.
#Restoring
Restore lists every snapshot with its date. Choose one, choose where it should land, and Tessera writes it back beside your library rather than over it, so nothing is lost if you picked the wrong one.
To restore on another computer you need the location, the password and, for some providers, the key file: exactly what the recovery kit holds.
#What is backed up
The library folder: packs, their originals, their licenses and proof, collections and the library's own settings. Not the search index or the thumbnails, which are made again from the packs.