Backups & CSV transfer

Backup passphrase (export): A separate passphrase — distinct from your master password — that protects the exported backup file. Keep it somewhere other than alongside the backup itself. Show or hide it with the adjacent visibility button.
Choose destination and export: Opens a save dialog and writes a portable encrypted backup, protected by the passphrase above, to the chosen location.
Choose encrypted backup: Opens a file dialog to select a previously exported backup file to preview or restore.
Backup passphrase (restore): The passphrase the selected backup file was exported with. Show or hide it with the adjacent visibility button.
Preview: Authenticates the selected backup with the passphrase and shows its Ring ID, creation date, schema version, and size before you commit to restoring it.
Restore previewed backup: Replaces the current Ring with the previewed backup and locks QiRing immediately afterward. Stays disabled until a preview succeeds. A recoverable safety snapshot of the current Ring is always taken first.
Automatic snapshots: Local safety copies of the Ring, still protected by the Ring's own encryption (not a separate passphrase), created automatically when enabled in Settings.
Refresh: Reloads the list of available automatic snapshots from the configured backup directory.
Restore (snapshot): Replaces the current Ring with that snapshot and locks QiRing. QiRing refuses to restore a snapshot that does not belong to this Ring.
Save import template: Creates a header-only, Excel-compatible UTF-8 CSV with QiRing's canonical columns. Tags, security questions, and custom fields use JSON arrays inside CSV cells so repeated values remain structured.
Export plaintext CSV: Exports every Qi without encryption for spreadsheet use, trusted printing, migration, or offline cold storage. QiRing warns for confirmation first. The export excludes icons and password history, but includes current passwords, TOTP secrets, answers, custom fields, and notes.
Choose CSV: Selects a UTF-8 CSV file through the system dialog. Native XLSX files are not accepted; save an Excel workbook as CSV UTF-8 first.
Validate and map: Checks quoting, encoding, headers, row widths, size limits, and row count before showing a source-column mapping. Familiar headers are suggested automatically, but Qi Name must always be mapped.
Append unmapped columns to Notes: Preserves non-empty values that do not fit QiRing's model as labeled lines in Notes instead of silently dropping them.
Structured columns: Tags accept either comma-separated text or a JSON string array. Security questions require objects with question and answer. Custom fields require label, value, and optional concealed fields. Download the template or export existing Qi to see the exact format.
Import validated rows: Validates every mapped row before changing the Ring, then adds all rows in one operation. It never replaces or merges existing Qi; any invalid row aborts the entire import.