The Backups window snapshots your entire reMarkable account - every document, index and content - to a local, network, or external folder, and lets you browse and restore any past snapshot. Mac only.
Creating a backup requires Pro. Restoring one does not. This asymmetry is deliberate: a backup already left your account once, possibly under a license that has since lapsed, so getting it back should not be blocked by a license you no longer have. reMarkable Connect is never required for either.
Taking a backup
Open the Backups window (or Settings). Click Back Up Now for a manual snapshot, or set up automatic backups. A snapshot is incremental - only documents whose index changed since the last one are re-fetched, so repeat backups are fast.
Automatic backups
Choose exactly one trigger:
- On a schedule - pick an interval. If a scheduled backup was missed (the app was closed), choose whether it catches up right away the next time you open the app, or waits for the next scheduled time.
- Whenever the account changes - a backup runs shortly after your reMarkable content changes.
Manual backup is always available no matter which automatic trigger you choose. An automatic backup never prompts for a password if the store is locked - it simply pauses with a banner explaining why until you unlock it manually. Only Back Up Now can prompt for a password.
Retention
Keep every snapshot (the default), or automatically prune to the last N snapshots and/or the last N days. Pruning also cleans up now-unreferenced content.
Browsing a backup
The document browser mirrors your reMarkable's real folder structure. Searching switches to a flat, breadcrumb-annotated result list. Trashed documents and folders stay hidden.
Select several documents (or right-click one outside your current selection) and choose Restore... or Export... from the context menu. A batch restore is gate-checked once for the whole batch, all-or-nothing, before anything is queued.
Restoring a document
Restoring uploads the document back into your live account as a new document - it never overwrites the original. It is named with the snapshot's date by default, and you can edit that name before restoring a single document (not available for a batch restore).
Restoring requires only a paired reMarkable account. It is never gated by a Pro license.
Optional password encryption
Set up encryption per backup store from the Backups window or Settings. A password (plus a one-time recovery code - either one unlocks) protects the encryption key. The app can remember the unlocked key in your Mac's Keychain so scheduled backups keep running unattended after your first manual unlock.
An encrypted store keeps its snapshot contents, document names, and sizes out of the clear - only a minimal file with a random store ID and the key material needed to unlock it is left unencrypted.
To turn encryption off on an existing store, use Turn Off Encryption... in the store's Manage menu. This converts it to plaintext in place, preserving its whole snapshot history, and requires re-entering your current password or recovery code first - being merely unlocked is not enough. If interrupted mid-conversion, it resumes automatically on the next attempt.
Exporting from a backup
Any backed-up document, or a multi-document selection, can be exported to PDF/PNG/SVG/Markdown/Highlights straight from a past snapshot - see the Exporting Files from reMarkable page. It works without a paired account, but is blocked while its backup store is locked.
Adopting an existing backup store after a reinstall
If you point the destination picker at a folder that already holds a backup store this install has no local history for - for example after reinstalling the app, or losing local settings - you will see a "Can't Use That Folder" alert. Choose Use This Backup... to adopt it: the app reads every readable snapshot on disk and reconstructs local history for it (decrypting it first if it is encrypted).
Adopting a store is not license-gated and does not require pairing - it is purely local and creates nothing. Taking a new backup into the adopted store afterward still requires the normal Pro-plus-paired gate.
A folder is checked before every snapshot - if it already holds a store for a different backup (another install, or another reMarkable account), the snapshot fails immediately with a clear error rather than silently writing into it.
Troubleshooting
Scheduled backups have stopped:
- Check that the store is not locked and waiting for a password - unlock it manually once and the Keychain will remember it.
- Check your Pro license is still active.
"This folder already contains a different backup store":
- Choose a different destination folder, or use "Use This Backup..." if this really is your own store from a previous install.