DunneNote · Your data
Backup and restore
Back up a notebook to a folder, an S3 bucket or another computer, with optional encryption, and restore it when you need it.
DunneNote can back up each notebook to a destination you choose, check the backup, and restore it. Backup works today to all three kinds of destination below. The feature is marked In progress because it is still going through final acceptance testing on every platform.
Open Settings ▸ Backup. Backups are per notebook: with no notebook open, the panel says "Open a notebook first — backups are per notebook."
Destinations#
| Destination | Set it up with | Encryption |
|---|---|---|
| A folder on this computer. A local folder, an external or USB drive, or a mounted network share. | Choose destination… | Optional |
| An Amazon S3 bucket you own. | Add a cloud destination… | Required |
| Another of your computers running DunneNote Host. | Pair another computer… | Required |
Always start with an empty folder, bucket or host. A destination can't be inside a notebook's own folder. DunneNote refuses with "Choose a folder outside any notebook. Backups can't be kept inside a notebook's own folder.", and nothing is created there.
Backing up#
Choose the destination, then Back up now. When it finishes, DunneNote reads the backup back and confirms with "Backed up and verified — N items…". Each backup is kept as a separate generation in the list, so you can restore an earlier state.
Verify backup checks a destination again later: "Backup verified: N items…". It confirms the backup is complete and readable. It does not re-check every item byte by byte, and says so.
You can't delete the only backup of a notebook at a destination. Its Delete button is disabled and the row reads "Only backup of this notebook here — kept."
Encryption#
With encryption on, a backup is encrypted on your computer, before it is written to the destination. The destination only ever holds encrypted data. DunneNote uses a passphrase you choose, stretched with Argon2id, to protect a random key, and encrypts each item with XChaCha20-Poly1305.
S3 and peer destinations must be encrypted. If you try to back up to one before turning encryption on, DunneNote refuses with a message starting "Nothing was sent. This destination is not encrypted…".
Turning encryption on#
- Choose an empty destination.
- Choose Encrypt backups at this destination… and enter a passphrase. This is a new passphrase you are choosing now, not an existing password. For S3, it must not be the same as your secret access key.
- Choose Continue. DunneNote shows a recovery code. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe, away from the passphrase.
- Choose I have recorded it — continue, then type the code back to prove you have it.
- Choose Turn on encryption. DunneNote confirms with "Encryption is on for this destination."
Encryption is decided the first time a destination is used. A destination that already holds backups can't be switched to encrypted. Start a new, empty one instead.
Locking and unlocking#
DunneNote saves the passphrase in your operating system's credential store, so you don't have to type it for every backup.
- Lock now ▸ Forget them removes every saved backup passphrase and cloud access key from this computer. Use it before lending your computer, for example. Your backups are not touched.
- To unlock again, enter the passphrase, or use Unlock with recovery code.
- A wrong passphrase is refused with "That passphrase does not unlock this destination. Nothing was read — check the passphrase and try again."
You can change a destination's passphrase. Changing it does not invalidate recovery codes you have already written down, or older copies of the destination, and DunneNote shows a checklist of what else to deal with.
S3 destinations#
Add a cloud destination… asks for a Name, Bucket, Region, Endpoint host, Addressing (Virtual-hosted or Path-style), Access key ID and Secret access key. Choose Save, then Test connection. The access keys are stored in your operating system's credential store.
You pay your storage provider for what you store. Check your provider's pricing.
Restoring#
A restore always creates a new notebook. It never overwrites the one you have open.
- In Settings ▸ Backup, select the backup and choose Restore….
- Choose Choose where to put it… and give the restored notebook a name.
- Choose Restore this backup.
- Open the restored copy with Open a notebook.
- The target must be a new or empty folder. If a non-empty folder with that name exists, DunneNote leaves it untouched and asks you to choose a different name.
- You can't restore into the open notebook or into the backup destination itself.
- A restore from an unencrypted folder is itself stored unencrypted, and DunneNote tells you so.
When you've lost the notebook#
On the launch screen, choose Lost a notebook?, answer Where are the backups?, and point DunneNote at the destination. It lists the backups there and restores from them in the same way.
Old backups#
Backups made by early development builds in an older format can't be read. Choosing such a destination shows "Choose an empty folder to start a new backup destination. This one holds backups in an older format that this version of DunneNote can no longer read."
When something goes wrong#
A refusal shows a heading, then a line telling you what to do, then What went wrong, in detail. The detail is worth including if you ask for help. Signed-in customers can open a support ticket, and anyone else can contact us.
Related#
Something unclear or out of date? Open a support ticket.