Data Management

Data Management is where you protect your PrimeTask work. It handles backups, restores, imports from other tools, exports to portable formats, scheduled automatic backups, and a handful of repair utilities for when something looks off. Every critical action runs through a guided wizard - you don't need to remember steps, the wizard asks you what you want and handles the rest.

Back up before anything big

Any time you're about to do something that could lose data (deleting a Space, bulk-editing hundreds of tasks, importing from another tool, changing where your data lives), create a backup first. It takes under a minute and it's your only rollback path.

What you can do

Create a backup

of everything or a single Space, with or without a password

Restore a backup

merge it into your current data, or replace everything with it

Import data

from Todoist, ClickUp, or any CSV file

Export data

to portable formats for use elsewhere

Schedule automatic backups

daily, with automatic cleanup of old ones

Move your data

to a different folder or drive

Scan and repair

your data files if something seems off

Find ghost tasks

tasks that appear in counts but not in lists

Re-open recent backups

with one click

How to open Data Management

Sidebar (default): Open Settings from the sidebar, then expand the Data Management card.
Settings search: Open Settings and type backup, restore, import, export, or data.
Command palette: Press ⌘+K (or Ctrl+K), type backup or data, and pick the entry.

Things worth knowing

Backup and export are not the same thing

They look similar but serve different goals:

A backup is a full snapshot designed to go back into PrimeTask exactly as it was. It preserves every detail - tasks, projects, CRM records, attachments, relationships. Use backups as a safety net.
An export is a portable file designed to be read by other tools (spreadsheets, other task managers, reporting tools). It's easier to read elsewhere but may not round-trip perfectly back into PrimeTask. Use exports to share data.

When in doubt: backups are for recovery, exports are for sharing.

Merge vs Replace when restoring

When you restore a backup, the wizard asks how you want to merge it in:

Merge - keep your current data and add what's in the backup on top. Safer. Use this unless you have a specific reason not to.
Replace - wipe your current data and put the backup in its place. Irreversible.

Replace is destructive

Replace mode permanently deletes everything currently in PrimeTask before restoring the backup. There's no undo. If there's any doubt, create a fresh backup of your current state first so you can roll back if Replace gives you an unexpected result.

Encrypt any backup that leaves your computer

If you're uploading a backup to cloud storage, emailing it to yourself, or handing a file to a teammate, set a password in the backup wizard. Without a password, anyone who gets hold of the file can read every task, note, and contact inside.

Passwords aren't recoverable

PrimeTask does not store the password for your encrypted backups. If you forget it, the backup file becomes permanently unreadable. Keep passwords in a password manager.

Auto-backup runs in the background

Turn on auto-backup to have PrimeTask create a backup automatically every day. You choose:

Time of day - when the backup runs
Retention - how many to keep (older ones are deleted automatically)
Destination - where the files land
Scope - everything or just one Space
Contents - whether to include attachments, images, and avatars
Encryption - optional password on each auto-backup

You can also click Run Now to trigger a backup immediately without waiting for the scheduled time.

Keep retention reasonable

If you never delete old auto-backups, the folder grows forever. A retention of around 10 daily backups is a good default - about a week and a half of history with minimal disk impact. Increase it if you need longer history.

Recent Backups is the fastest way to restore

PrimeTask shows your most recent backup files in a list inside Data Management. Click any row and the Restore wizard opens with that file pre-selected - no need to dig through folders. This is the one-click path to rolling back a mistake.

Moving your data to a different folder or drive

The Storage Location section lets you see where PrimeTask keeps its data on this computer, open that folder directly, move the data to a new location, or reset back to the default. Typical reasons to move it:

A faster SSD
An external drive or mounted volume
A network-attached storage share
A folder that's backed up by Time Machine or another external tool

For multi-device sync, use File Sync instead

Moving the storage location is for changing where on this computer your data lives. If your goal is to share a Space between several computers, use File Sync - it has safeguards the raw folder move doesn't. See File Sync Settings.

Data Recovery is an emergency toolkit

If PrimeTask starts behaving oddly - task counts not matching, records showing in the sidebar but not in any list, lingering ghost tasks after an import - the Data Recovery section has tools to scan and fix things:

Scan & Repair - walks through your data files, finds orphaned records and broken relationships, and offers to fix them.
Ghost Scanner - finds tasks that appear in counts but not in lists, and lets you remove them or re-attach them to the right Space.

Create a backup before any repair

Repair tools modify your data files in place. If a scanner misidentifies something as broken, the change has already happened. A fresh backup beforehand is your rollback.

Common questions

"I want to back up everything before making a big change."

1. Open Data Management and click Create Backup. 2. In the wizard, pick Everything. Leave the include options on their defaults. 3. If the backup is going to leave your computer (cloud, email, USB stick), set a password. 4. Save the file somewhere safe. Done.

"I want PrimeTask to back itself up every night automatically."

1. Open Data Management and find the Auto-Backup option. 2. Turn the master switch on. 3. Pick a time (something like 02:00 is a common choice). 4. Set the retention count, destination folder, and include options. 5. Save the settings. Click Run Now if you want the first backup immediately.

"I want to restore from a backup I made last week."

1. Open Data Management. Check the Recent Backups list - your backup is probably there. 2. Click the row - the Restore wizard opens with that file pre-selected. 3. If it's not in the list, click Restore Backup and browse to the file. 4. Choose Merge (safer) or Replace (wipes current data), confirm, and let it run.

"I'm moving to a new computer and want my data to come with me."

You have a few options:

"I'm importing data from another tool and I'm not sure how."

Open Data Management → Import / Export → Import. The wizard walks you through picking the source tool, uploading the file, previewing the data, mapping columns to PrimeTask fields, and doing a final review before the import runs. Supported sources today are Todoist, ClickUp, and any CSV file you can produce from a spreadsheet. You'll see a progress bar while it imports and a summary when it's done.

"I imported data and now I have duplicates everywhere."

1. Open Data Recovery → Scan & Repair - it can detect some duplicate records automatically. 2. For anything it misses, use bulk-delete from the relevant list page. 3. Before any cleanup sweep, create a fresh backup first.

"Some tasks show up in the sidebar counts but I can't find them anywhere."

That's exactly what Ghost Scanner is for. Open Data Recovery → Ghost Scanner, let it scan, review the findings, and pick a resolution (remove or re-attach). Restart PrimeTask after the sweep so every view reloads cleanly.

"How do I move my data to my NAS?"

Open Storage Location in Data Management, change the path to a folder on the NAS, and let PrimeTask migrate. Make sure the NAS is mounted and writable before you start. Don't rename or remove the old folder until the move finishes.

"I forgot the password on an encrypted backup."

PrimeTask can't recover it. The password is yours - the backup is useless without it. If you have an older backup with a different password you still remember, use that. Otherwise the data in that file is gone, but anything currently live in PrimeTask is fine.

"Do I need to save a backup manually if auto-backup is on?"

For routine safety, no - the daily backup covers you. For anything unusual (a major import, a bulk delete, moving your storage location, restoring an older backup), create a manual backup first anyway. Manual backups go wherever you tell them; auto-backups go to the configured destination.

Where to go next

If you want to…	Read this
Sync a Space between computers or with a teammate	File Sync Settings
Manage your Spaces	Spaces Settings
Reset or delete everything	Danger Zone Settings
Customise tags, statuses, priorities, and fields	Category Management Settings
Browse all settings cards	Settings Overview