Backing Up, Moving, and Restoring a Database

Backing Up, Moving, and Restoring a Database

Where is the Excire Foto database located?

The Excire Foto default database is located here:

  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Excire Foto (equivalent to C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Excire Foto). The easiest way is to type %APPDATA%\Excire Foto into the address bar of Windows Explorer.
  • Mac: /Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/excire-foto. In Finder, open the folder via "Go" → "Go to Folder…" (Shift+CMD+G). Alternatively, show hidden folders with CMD+Shift+. (period).

If you created a database in a folder of your own choice, it is located in that folder.

The database consists of these files and folders:

  • 1to1.exfoto
  • previews.exfoto
  • thumbnails.exfoto
  • excire_foto.local.db (plus .db-shm and .db-wal, if present)
  • backend.db (plus .db-shm and .db-wal, if present)
  • database_os (if present)
Note: Besides the database, the default folder also contains program files (logs, cache, settings). Do not modify or delete individual files there.

Backing up the database

Option 1 – Directly in Excire Foto (recommended)

  1. Select File → Manual backup from the menu.
  2. Select a destination folder for the backup, e.g. on an external hard drive.
  3. Optionally, you can exclude thumbnails and previews from the backup ("Exclude thumbnails and previews from the backup"). This saves time and disk space. If you use the backup later, the previews must then be rebuilt (see "Restoring a backup").

Excire Foto creates a complete database folder in the destination folder.

Option 2 – Manually

Quit Excire Foto and copy all files and folders listed above together into one folder in a safe place (e.g. an external hard drive).

Important before an upgrade: When you update to a new major version, the database is migrated on first start. After that, it can no longer be opened with the older version. Therefore, create a backup beforehand.

Moving the database

Excire Foto 2027

  1. Select File → Database actions → Move current database from the menu.
  2. Select the destination directory in the dialog.
  3. The next time you start the program, the database will be opened from this location.

Please choose a directory for the database that is separate from the program directory and from your image directories.

Excire Foto 2025 and earlier

  1. If you are not using the default database, first switch to it via File → Open database folder → Open default database.
  2. Quit Excire Foto.
  3. Open the database folder mentioned above.
  4. Move all files and folders listed above together to the desired location.
  5. Start Excire Foto and open the moved database via File → Open database folder → Select database folder.
Tip: If you are unsure, copy the files first and delete the originals only after a successful test.

Restoring a backup

A backup is a complete database folder. You simply open it as a database:

  1. Copy the backup folder to the desired location, ideally a fast internal drive. Do not work directly with the backup so that it remains intact as a backup.
  2. Open the copied folder:
    Excire Foto 2027: File → Open database → Select database folder
    Excire Foto 2025 and earlier: File → Open database folder → Select database folder
  3. Excire Foto restarts briefly and opens the restored database.

The database you were using before remains unchanged. You can switch back to it at any time using the same menu command.

If you excluded thumbnails and previews from the backup: Rebuild the previews. To do this, select the photos and choose "Build previews for photo(s)" from the context menu, or right-click a folder and choose "Build previews".

Requirement: Your photos must be accessible under the same paths as at the time of the backup. Folders that cannot be found appear with a red cross and can be reassigned via right-click → "Relocate".