Backups & Recovery

Holy Resource is local-first, so backup discipline is part of your operational routine.

Where to manage data safety

Use Settings → General:

• Database tab for backup target, auto-backup behavior, and database-level storage settings
• Sync tab for choosing the sync mode, pairing devices, or connecting this device to a remote sync server when sync is enabled for your license and branch
• Maintenance tab for full export/import, backup now, cache cleanup, queue cleanup, and recovery-oriented housekeeping

Exporting Data

We recommend performing a full backup at least once a week.

Automated Backups

You can configure backup behavior in Settings → General → Database.

• Backup target can be local, Postgres, or HTTP endpoint depending on your environment.
• Auto backup and backup interval are configurable.

Restoring Data

Restore/import is available in Settings → General → Maintenance.

If Recovery Mode appears right after an app update, use Restore Latest Upgrade Backup from the Recovery Mode screen before attempting any manual file replacement.

If you are manually copying the live SQLite database into Holy Resource's app-data folder instead of using the normal restore flow, keep the whole database snapshot together:

• copy holy_resource.db
• copy holy_resource.db-wal and holy_resource.db-shm too when those files exist
• keep Holy Resource fully closed while replacing those files
• if Recovery Mode appears afterward, review the findings and only reset the integrity baseline when you have confirmed that this exact database state is the one you want to keep using

The Recovery Mode restore action is only for rolling back the last startup migration backup. It is not a replacement for the normal import/preview flow in Settings → General → Maintenance.

Use the normal Maintenance import flow when you are restoring a planned export, a hand-carried backup file, or a reviewed SQLite snapshot. Use the Recovery Mode action only when the last upgrade itself is the event you are undoing.

Adopting Free-Mode Data Into A Paid Church

There is a separate workflow for people who started on Free mode, later joined someone else's paid church, and need to bring over only the safe local records.

Use Settings → General → Maintenance → Adopt Free-Mode Backup after you have already joined the paid church and selected the branch that should receive the imported data.

• This flow only accepts backups created from Free mode.
• Imported records are remapped into the current active branch.
• Holy Resource previews ID and unique conflicts first and blocks the adoption if those conflicts would create ambiguity.
• Church identity, users, permissions, branch definitions, payment gateways, sync settings, and other license-scoped settings are intentionally excluded.

Current adoption support includes:

• people data such as families and members
• ministry, event, attendance, volunteer, and announcement records
• donation categories and receipt templates
• expense categories, budgets, expenses, recurring expenses, and financial goals
• communication automation templates
• schedule templates, content patterns, and category scheduling rules

Use the normal import flow only for a same-church restore. Use Adopt Free-Mode Backup only when you are moving free-mode records into a different paid church after joining it.