How to backup the Excire Search database?

How to backup the Excire Search database?


A backup of the Excire Search database is automatically performed before and during each major initialization.

Excire Search stores the data of the initialized photos in its own database, which is located next to the Lightroom catalog. 
The backup also resides in the same directory as the Lightroom catalog.

If Excire Search detects corruption of the database, the user is given the option to restore the backup of the database.

If the backup is also corrupted, there is an additional option to create a new, empty database.

The Excire Search database and the backup both have the name of the Lightroom catalog, but additionally have the extensions "Excire.excat" and "Excire.excat.bak" respectively.

The Excire Search database is not automatically included in the Lightroom database backup.

When performing a backup of the Lightroom catalog, it is copied to a separate backup directory. By default, this is a subfolder called "Backups". 
However, the Excire Search database will not be copied as well.

If such a backup is opened directly, Excire Search will not find its own database, as it expects the database to be next to the catalog. In this case, Excire Search issues a corresponding message and creates a new, empty database next to the catalog backup.

Therefore, before opening a backup directly, we recommend copying the Excire Search database next to the backup of the Lightroom catalog. 

Alternatively, to restore a Lightroom catalog, the backup can be copied to the catalog's original directory, replacing the current catalog with the backed up catalog. Since the Excire Search database is already in this directory, it can now be used seamlessly with the restored catalog.
    • Related Articles

    • How can I delete the Excire Foto database?

      To delete the Excire Foto standard database, follow these steps: Navigate to the Excire Foto application data directory. You can find this under "%APPDATA%\Excire Foto" (Windows 10) or under "/Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/excire-foto" ...
    • How can I create a backup of the database and import it?

      To create a backup of your database, go to Excire Foto's menu and select "Help" → "Manual backup" Alternatively, you can perform the backup manually by copying the database files and associated folders. You can find the necessary information here: ...
    • Excire Foto or Excire Search?

      We have two different products on offer: 1. Excire Foto, our standalone version, which offers additional features such as Excire Analytics. 2. Excire Search, our plugin for Lightroom Classic, which integrates automatic keywording and advanced search ...
    • How does the update to Excire Search 2024 work?

      When updating your Lightroom Classic catalog from a previous version to Excire Search 2024, the steps described below are performed. It is recommended that you back up both the Lightroom Classic catalog and the Excire Search database before updating. ...
    • Download Excire Search 2

      This release includes the following enhancements: Fixed an issue that prevented file formats that require a background export from initializing since Lightroom Classic 11.4. Fixed an issue with special characters in file paths that caused display ...