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Backups

2Do keeps snapshots of your database so you can go back to a known good state. Backups are separate from sync: sync keeps your devices in step with each other, while a backup is a copy of everything as it stood at one moment, including things a sync service may not carry.

Everything on this page lives in Settings > Backups & Export.

Keep a copy outside the app

Backups are stored inside 2Do's own container on your device. They are not uploaded anywhere on their own. If you delete 2Do, or erase the device, every backup inside the app goes with it.

Use Backup to Email every so often to send yourself a fresh copy, or save one to Files or iCloud Drive. A copy that lives outside 2Do is the only thing that survives an accidental delete.

Automatic Backups​

Two settings control the schedule:

  • Create backups: None, Every 24 Hours, or Every 48 Hours.
  • Keep at most: 5, 10, 20, or 30. Older backups are removed once the limit is reached.

2Do checks whether a backup is due when you open the app and when the system grants it time in the background. It waits for sync to finish before writing one, so a backup is never taken mid-sync.

Making a Backup Yourself​

  • Create Backup Now writes a backup immediately and adds it to the list below.
  • Backup to Email creates a fresh backup and opens the share sheet, so you can mail it to yourself, save it to Files, or AirDrop it to another device.
tip

Pick a rhythm you will actually keep, such as one Backup to Email every Sunday, and send it to yourself. It costs a few seconds and it is the difference between an inconvenience and a loss.

Working with Stored Backups​

Each backup in the list shows its file name, size, and date. Its menu offers:

  • Restore… opens the backup in the Browse Backup screen described below.
  • Save a Copy… exports the file through the system document picker, so you can put it in Files or iCloud Drive.
  • Delete removes that backup after asking you to confirm.

Restore from File… opens a backup you saved elsewhere. It accepts 2Do's .2dodb archives and older .db database files.

tip

Before you change sync services, save a copy of a backup. Services carry slightly different sets of task properties, and a backup holds everything 2Do knows.

Browse Backup​

Opening a backup does not change anything yet. 2Do stages a safe copy of the file and shows you what is inside it: your regular lists and your Smart Lists, grouped the way they were when the backup was made, with a task count beside each regular list.

Tap rows to select the ones you want, or use Select All and Deselect All in a section header. The bar at the bottom keeps a running count of what you have picked.

Restore Selected​

Restore Selected copies the lists you picked into your live database, under a group named Restored. Your existing lists and tasks are not replaced, so this is the safe way to pull back one list you deleted or a project you overwrote. Rows that have already been restored are marked, so you can restore a few, look at them, and come back for more.

tip

Deleted one list by accident? Open the most recent backup, select just that list, and use Restore Selected. Everything else stays exactly as it is.

Restore Everything​

Restore Everything… replaces your current database with the backup. 2Do asks Replace Current Database? and explains that it will quit once the restore completes.

Before it replaces anything, 2Do writes a safety backup of your current database, so the state you are leaving behind is still recoverable. When the restore finishes, quit 2Do and open it again to work with the restored database.

warning

Restore Everything… discards everything currently in 2Do on this device, including tasks created since the backup was made. If any of it matters, use Create Backup Now first.

Exporting Lists​

Export Lists… opens Export as CSV, which produces a spreadsheet file rather than a backup. Turn the switches ON for the lists you would like to export, choose All Tasks, Undone Tasks, or Done Tasks, and tap Export. Use it when you want your tasks readable outside 2Do. Use a backup when you want to put them back into 2Do.

Moving to a New iPhone or iPad​

Two routes, depending on how you work:

  1. Sync. Set up 2Do on the new device with the same sync account. Your lists and tasks arrive on the first sync. This is the simpler route and the one to prefer.
  2. Backup file. On the old device, use Save a Copy… or Backup to Email to put a backup in Files, iCloud Drive, or your mailbox. On the new device, open Settings > Backups & Export > Restore from File…, pick that file, and use Restore Everything….
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