Since there’s always a possibility that a device could be lost, stolen, or broken, you should back up your data with services provided by Apple:
- iPad, iPhone, and Vision backups are done via iCloud or iTunes.
- Mac backups are done via Time Machine.
When using Time Machine with its default settings on the Mac, Things’ data will also be backed up as part of that process. When using iCloud or iTunes with mobile devices, it’s likely that Things’ data will also be backed up as part of that process.
There are also several ways to back up your Things data so that you can restore it independently of a full device backup. Below we explain these methods.
Store your to-dos in Things Cloud
The easiest way to keep a backup of your to-dos is to create a free Things Cloud account. This will allow you to quickly restore your data to a new or existing device by simply logging back into your account.
Unlike traditional backup solutions, Things Cloud only stores a current snapshot of your data, mirroring what you can see on your devices. It’s not build to roll back to previous versions of your to-dos or selectively restore a particular task.
Back up your to-dos locally
In addition to Things Cloud, which stores your to-dos on a remote server, you can create a local backup.
Mac
Things automatically stores daily backups of your entire database from the last ten days. Learn more.
You can also manually back up your current database with these steps:
- On your Mac, quit Things.
- In your Dock, click Finder.
- In the menu bar at the top of your screen, click Go → Go to Folder.
- Paste the following path into the sheet that appears:
~/Library/Group Containers/JLMPQHK86H.com.culturedcode.ThingsMac/ - Hit the Return key.
- Open the folder
ThingsData-xxxxx. - Copy
Things Database.thingsdatabaseto your backup drive. Don’t move the original file, as this will cause problems.
If you’re running the beta version of Things, the file path in step 4 will be slightly different. Instead of com.culturedcode.ThingsMac it will be com.culturedcode.ThingsMac.beta.
iPad & iPhone
You can export Things’ database from iPad or iPhone. You’ll need a Mac and Things Cloud to restore this backup to an iOS device. Learn more.
Vision
In Things for Vision, please follow the same steps as described in the iPad & iPhone tab above.