Backup & Sync Logseq Plugins and their Settings Between Devices

Questions & Help Documentation
1

Logseq Plugins are per device. They intentionally do not sync between devices with Logseq Sync.
To backup or transfer Logseq plugins and their settings between devices, follow the steps outlined below:

  • Locate the .logseq directory. This directory contains all Logseq plugins and settings. The location varies depending on the operating system:

    • Linux :penguin:: $HOME/.logseq
    • macOS: $HOME/.logseq
    • Windows: %USERPROFILE%/.logseq

:warning: Warning :warning:
Do not include the folder .logseq/graphs in your backup or transfer. Do at your own risk.

  • Backup the directory. Copy the .logseq directory without the graphs sub-folder to your backup location.

  • Transfer the backup to the new device. To use your plugins and their settings on another device, copy or sync the .logseq directory without the graphs sub-folder between your devices.

Please note, this process does not transfer the actual pages or blocks of your Logseq graph or graph settings. To backup and transfer your Logseq graph, additional steps are required. This guide solely focuses on plugins and their settings.

5 Likes
2

I wonder why those settings re kept in the local folder instead of the graph folder where they would be synced…

3 Likes
3

Most likely an early design decision. Early design decisions can be very difficult to change.

4

its because they work across graphs. Plugins aren’t per-graph they are per-device.

5

Am not sure what this :arrow_up::arrow_up::arrow_up: means. Do you mind explaining, @Bader?

6

Exclude the folder named ‘graphs’ located inside the directory .logseq from your sync/backup

1 Like
7

What exactly is the .logseq/graphs directory tho? It seems to contain .transit files, which look like some sort of state information.

8

Because they are state information, it may cause issues. It’s just a warning no known issues.

2 Likes
9

Shouldn’t .logseq/graphs and .logseq/plugins be added to .gitignore when using git sync then?

10

Is your .logseq directory under revision control? On my system git sync applies only to the folder in which the graph’s datafiles (journals, pages, assets, etc.) are kept.

11

I don’t know how common it is, but I have a preferences.json file in the .logseq directory. For me, this file contains path-specific plugin information that would need to be updated as appropriate for the target machine.

1 Like
12

@gyro It would be great to have more of a detailed walkthrough on your preferences.json setup, because that seems to be the solution to this problem.

1 Like