Back up and restore your thoughts

A backup is one file that ends in .thoughtreps. It holds all your thoughts, with their tags, tag colors, blocks, images and attached files. It also remembers if each one is pinned or archived. It does not hold your app settings, like the default interval and reminder time.

Make a backup

1. Tap on the Timeline to open Settings.
2. In the "Backup" section, tap "Export…". A progress bar shows while the file is built.
3. The iOS share sheet opens. Save the file to Files or iCloud Drive, AirDrop it, or send it anywhere you like.

The file is named like ThoughtReps-export-2026-10-05.thoughtreps, with the date you made it. A big library with lots of images or files can take a while to export, so give it a moment.

Restore from a backup

1. In Settings, under "Backup", tap "Import…". Then choose "From a File…" and pick your .thoughtreps file.
2. Thought Reps checks the file and shows a summary, like "12 thoughts · 3 images — 5 new, 2 newer, 5 already up to date".
3. Tap "Import". When it is done, you see how many thoughts came in.

You can also open a .thoughtreps file from Files or AirDrop and choose Thought Reps. That starts the same steps. If you have an export link instead of a file, choose "From a Link…". See Move to a new phone with an export link.

How importing merges

• Thoughts that are new to this phone are added.
• If a thought is already on this phone, Thought Reps keeps the newest change to each part: the text, the schedule, and pinned or archived. It also keeps the higher view count.
• An import never deletes anything on your phone. Importing the same file twice changes nothing.
• Imported thoughts bring their schedule, pins and archive state.

Good to know

• Thought Reps can only import its own backup files, not files from other apps.
• Only one export or import can run at a time.
• If an import stops early, run it again. It picks up what is missing.