Privacy and control
Encrypted backup and restore
One file, one passphrase, and no way back if you lose it.
What it does
One encrypted file holds your whole history. It is the answer to a new Mac, a clean install, or simply wanting an archive that is not sitting live in the app.
The crypto, plainly
AES-256-GCM for the content, with the passphrase stretched by PBKDF2-SHA256 over 210,000 iterations before it becomes a key. That stretching is what makes a guessable passphrase expensive to attack rather than instant.
No recovery, stated up front
There is no escrow. Nobody holds a copy of your key, so nobody can reset it, including us. Write the passphrase down in a password manager at the moment you create the backup, not later.
Tips
- Test a restore once, on purpose, while you still remember the passphrase. An untested backup is a hope.
- Keep the file off the same disk as the app. A backup that dies with the machine has not backed anything up.
Back up your history
- 1 Start the export
Open Settings and export your history. Backup and restore run without freezing the window, so a large history does not lock the app.
- 2 Choose a passphrase
Pick a strong passphrase and store it in your password manager now, before you finish the export.
- 3 Keep the file somewhere safe
The export is a single encrypted file: AES-256-GCM, with the key stretched by PBKDF2-SHA256 over 210,000 iterations.
- 4 Restore when you need it
Restore from the same file with the same passphrase. Vault items are the exception: they are encrypted with keys that never leave the Mac that made them, so they can only be read again on that Mac.
Frequently asked questions
Can support recover my passphrase?
No. There is no escrow and no recovery. The passphrase never leaves your Mac and nobody can reset it, which is the point, and which means a lost passphrase is a lost backup.
Can I restore a backup on a different Mac?
Ordinary clips restore. Vault items do not, because their keys never leave the Mac that created them.
Does exporting slow the app down?
Backup and restore run without freezing the window.
