Move to a new PC without losing your Dalamud setup. XIV Vault backs up the portable part of your XIVLauncher / Dalamud configuration (plugin settings, Dalamud settings, the plugin database) into a plain ZIP in a folder you choose, such as OneDrive, Dropbox, a NAS or an external drive. On a fresh PC you install XIVLauncher, open XIV Vault and restore.
XIV Vault is a Windows desktop app and a command-line tool built on one engine. Every backup is hash-verified, and every restore takes a safety backup first.
Download the latest release from Releases:
xiv-vault-setup-win-x64.exe: installs the app for your Windows user, with no administrator prompt, adds it to the Start menu and keeps it up to date. Uninstall it from Windows Settings → Apps; your settings and backups stay.xiv-vault-desktop-win-x64.zip: the same app as a portable copy. Unzip it anywhere and runXIV-Vault.exe. A portable copy doesn't update itself.xiv-vault-cli-win-x64.zip: the command line. Unzipxiv-vault.exeinto a folder on yourPATH. Keep it out of the app's folder: Windows seesxiv-vault.exeandXIV-Vault.exeas the same name.
All three are self-contained: no .NET install is needed. Check downloads against SHA256SUMS on the release page. The builds are not code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen may ask you to confirm the first run. The .nupkg and releases.win.json files on each release are what installed copies download to update.
| Overview | Whether your setup is protected, the last backup, and Back Up Now. |
| Backups | Every backup with its size, plugin count, type (Manual, Scheduled, Pre-Restore) and integrity. Inspect, restore, show in Explorer or delete. |
| Restore | A four-step wizard: choose a backup, review what changes, run safety checks, restore. In the review you can restore just some plugins, or leave Dalamud settings as they are. Nothing on disk changes before the last step. |
| Schedule | Automatic backups through Windows Task Scheduler: daily, weekly or at Windows login. |
| Diagnostics | Checks for XIVLauncher, Dalamud, the backup folder and scheduling, plus a report you can paste into an issue. |
| Settings | Backup folder, how many backups to keep, the UI layout option, compression, and the XIVLauncher folder. |
- On the new PC, install XIVLauncher and start it once.
- Make your backups available: sign in to OneDrive or Dropbox, or plug in the drive. Backups that stay in the cloud are fine: XIV Vault lists them without downloading them.
- Install XIV Vault with Setup and open it. If the backups are in
OneDrive\XIV Vault, XIV Vault finds them on its own. Otherwise choose the folder in Settings, or pick a backup file in the restore wizard. - Open Restore, choose the newest backup, review it, and let the safety checks run. XIVLauncher and FFXIV must be closed. A backup that is still in the cloud downloads first, and XIV Vault shows its size before it starts.
- Select Restore Configuration, then open XIVLauncher. Dalamud downloads your plugins again and they pick up their restored settings.
xiv-vault backup # back up now
xiv-vault backup --quiet # print nothing unless it fails
xiv-vault backup --destination D:\Backups
xiv-vault list # backups in the backup folder; --verify checks every one
xiv-vault status # is the setup protected?
xiv-vault status --json
xiv-vault doctor # health checks; --report for a shareable copy
xiv-vault restore # choose from a list
xiv-vault restore latest # asks before it changes anything; --yes for scripts
xiv-vault restore latest --plugin Artisan # only that plugin; repeat --plugin, add --dalamud-settings
xiv-vault schedule weekly --day Sunday --time 18:30
xiv-vault schedule status
xiv-vault schedule remove
xiv-vault config # show settings; config set <key> <value> to change one
xiv-vault versionconfig set takes destination, retention, include-ui, compression (fast, balanced, maximum) and source (the XIVLauncher folder, or auto). Add --verbose to any command to see each step.
Exit codes are stable, so scripts can rely on them:
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Success |
| 1 | Unexpected failure |
| 2 | Invalid arguments or configuration |
| 3 | XIVLauncher not found |
| 4 | Backup validation failure |
| 5 | Restore validation failure |
| 6 | XIVLauncher or FFXIV is running |
| 7 | Backup folder unavailable |
Turning on automatic backups creates one Windows scheduled task, XIV Vault Scheduled Backup, that runs as you with normal permissions. XIV Vault doesn't need to stay open, and there is no background service. If the PC was off at the scheduled time, the backup runs when it next starts. If FFXIV is running, the backup waits for the game to close (up to 6 hours) instead of copying files the game has open.
The task runs the program that set it up: XIV-Vault.exe --scheduled-backup (no window) or xiv-vault backup --scheduled. Updates keep the installed app in the same place, so the task keeps working, and uninstalling XIV Vault removes it. If you move a portable copy to another folder, set the schedule again; Diagnostics warns when the task points to a missing program.
An installed copy asks GitHub for the latest release each time it opens. When a newer version exists, the sidebar says so, and Settings → Updates → Update and Restart downloads it, closes XIV Vault, installs it and opens it again. Nothing installs until you choose it, and your settings and backups are not touched.
An update waits while a backup or restore runs, or while a scheduled backup or another XIV Vault window is open, because installing closes every running copy. To update by hand instead, turn off Check for updates when XIV Vault opens in Settings.
A backup is only as safe as the place it lives. Good choices:
- A folder synced by OneDrive, Dropbox or Google Drive. XIV Vault uses
%OneDrive%\XIV Vaultby default when OneDrive is set up. When backups are kept online only (OneDrive Files On-Demand), XIV Vault lists them without downloading them and downloads only the one you restore. - A NAS or network share.
- An external drive, if you remember to plug it in.
A folder on the same drive as XIVLauncher protects against mistakes, but not against that drive failing. Diagnostics points this out. XIV Vault never talks to cloud services itself: it writes files, and your sync client does the rest.
From the XIVLauncher folder (%AppData%\XIVLauncher, or its dalamudUserData folder when that is where Dalamud keeps its files):
| Item | What it is |
|---|---|
pluginConfigs\ |
Every plugin's settings, including plugins' own subfolders |
dalamudConfig.json |
Dalamud's settings, including your custom plugin repositories |
dalamudVfs.db |
Dalamud's plugin database |
dalamudUI.ini |
Window positions and sizes. Off by default, because layouts rarely transfer well between monitors |
Inside pluginConfigs\, temporary files and logs/cache folders are skipped, and links are not followed.
- Plugin binaries (
installedPlugins\). XIV Vault does not copy or install plugins. Dalamud downloads them again on the new PC. - Dalamud's runtime and hooks (
runtime\,addon\), logs, caches and anything downloaded. - XIVLauncher's own settings and your game files.
- Allowlist. XIV Vault reads and writes only the items above. It never archives the whole XIVLauncher folder.
- Verified backups. Each archive is written as
*.zip.tmp, read back, and checked against the SHA-256 of every file before it is renamed. A failed backup never looks like a finished one, and old backups are only removed after a new one is verified. XIV Vault also checks the latest backup when it opens, and the backup being restored;xiv-vault list --verifychecks them all. - Guarded restores. Before anything changes, XIV Vault checks the manifest and every hash, refuses while XIVLauncher or FFXIV runs, and takes a pre-restore safety backup (the newest 3 are kept). The safety backup holds everything a full restore would replace, even when you restore only some plugins. The archive is unpacked into a temporary folder and checked again, never extracted over XIVLauncher. Files the backup doesn't contain are never deleted. If a restore fails part-way, every file it changed is put back.
- Hostile archives are refused: paths with
.., absolute or drive paths, files outside the allowlist, files the manifest doesn't list, manifests that misdescribe their files, and checksum mismatches. - No links. Backups don't follow links (junctions or symlinks) inside the XIVLauncher folder, and restores refuse to write through them.
- One operation at a time. A scheduled backup and the app never write to the backup folder at the same time.
- Nothing is executed from a backup, and nothing about you leaves your PC: no accounts, no telemetry. The only network call is the installed app's update check, which reads the public release list from GitHub, sends nothing about you or your backups, and can be turned off in Settings.
- Logs and diagnostic reports hold paths, counts and results, never configuration contents.
The archive format is documented in docs/backup-format.md. Backups open in any ZIP tool.
- Windows only.
- Plugins are reinstalled by Dalamud on the new PC; XIV Vault restores their settings, not the plugins.
- Some plugins keep data outside
pluginConfigs\; that data is not included. - Restoring replaces settings for the plugins in the backup. Plugins configured after the backup return to their earlier settings; the restore review lists them, and the safety backup keeps today's values.
- Builds are not code-signed yet.
See docs/troubleshooting.md. Start with Diagnostics (or xiv-vault doctor), and attach its report to any issue.
dotnet build
dotnet test
dotnet run --project src/XivVault.Desktop
dotnet run --project src/XivVault.Cli -- status
./scripts/smoke-test.ps1 -Cli src/XivVault.Cli/bin/Debug/net10.0/xiv-vault.dllRequires the .NET 10 SDK. docs/architecture.md explains how the code fits together, and ROADMAP.md records what is planned and the decisions behind it.
Apache-2.0. Bundled fonts and icons are listed in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md. XIV Vault is not affiliated with Square Enix, XIVLauncher or Dalamud.