AndroidIRCX Backup and Recovery Guide

AndroidIRCX backups are local files you manage yourself; they are not cloud synchronization. A backup can include enough account and conversation data to be sensitive, so selection, encryption and storage location matter as much as pressing Export.

What can be included

Open Settings > Backup & Restore. Quick presets include All Data, Settings Only, Minimal and Clear All, or you can choose categories individually:

Networks & Servers
App Settings
Encryption Keys
Identity & Connection Profiles
Channel Favorites
Channel Notes & Bookmarks
Highlights & Notifications
Open Tabs
Message History
Activity Logs

Message history and activity logs exist locally on the device and are optional. A smaller configuration-only backup has less privacy risk than a full archive.

AI provider keys are a deliberate exception: they live in the Android device Keychain and are excluded from backup exports. Re-enter them after recovery. This limits the damage if a copied backup leaks. Do not assume that optional “Encryption Keys” means every third-party API credential is exported.

Create a backup

Choose the smallest preset or category set that meets your goal and tap Generate Backup. If it contains passwords, tokens, keys or private history, choose Encrypt & Export and use a strong, unique password. Save the result to a location you control. Copy to Clipboard is convenient but exposes data to clipboard history and other software, so prefer a file for sensitive archives.

Keep the backup password separately. Encryption cannot help if the password is stored beside the file, and recovery cannot bypass a forgotten strong password.

Restore safely

Open Restore from Backup, load the file or paste the JSON, enter its password when encrypted and review the confirmation. Restore overwrites existing data, so create a fresh backup of the current installation first if it contains anything valuable. Restart the app after the restore as instructed.

Then verify, in order:

Identities, nick/ident/real name and alternative nick.
Network hostnames, ports and TLS verification.
SASL/NickServ setup and client certificate presence.
Favorites and auto-join rooms.
Notification/highlight rules.
Scripts, their enabled state and protected secrets.
AI providers, whose keys must be entered again.

Test on one network before reconnecting everything. An old auto-join list or automation rule can otherwise affect many rooms at once.

A useful backup rotation

Maintain at least two encrypted generations: a recent backup and a known-good older one. Create a backup before large script, identity, certificate or network changes. Occasionally restore into a controlled test installation if available; an untested backup is only a hope.

Do not edit encrypted backups. If a plain JSON backup must be inspected, work on a copy, avoid online formatters and validate its structure before restore. Never publish it in a bug report. For diagnostics, use AndroidIRCX's recovery-log export, which is designed to contain counters and errors without channel names, nicks, hostmasks, URLs or message text.

Common recovery mistakes

Restoring over newer settings without first exporting them.
Assuming cloud storage automatically makes a backup private.
Forgetting the encryption password.
Expecting AI keys to return.
Reusing an expired EXTERNAL certificate without updating NickServ.
Restoring message history when only configuration was needed.
Immediately enabling every script before checking compatibility.

The current category list and workflow are maintained in the AndroidIRCX App Features wiki. Treat backups as portable copies of your IRC identity—not ordinary preference files.