Data safety
Back up Parson, restore it, and move a library to another computer.
What to back up
Stop Parson before copying %LOCALAPPDATA%\Parson. Back up the entire folder when possible.
| Data | Default location |
|---|---|
| Accounts and core library registrations | Database\parson-core.db |
| Catalog, playlists, likes, history, queues, metadata overrides | Database\parson-music.db |
| Verified database recovery snapshots | Beside parson-music.db |
| Artwork and catalog cache | Cache and artwork folders under the data directory |
| Lyrics cache | Cache\Lyrics\lyrics.db |
| Session signing key | Secrets\session.key |
| Library roots and settings | Inside the data directory and databases |
Your audio files are separate. Back them up with your normal music-library backup.
Restore
- Install the same or a newer compatible Parson version.
- Make sure Parson is stopped.
- Restore the saved data folder to
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Parson, or setPARSON_DATA_DIRto the restored folder. - Start Parson and verify that accounts and the library load.
Keep session.key private. Restoring it preserves the signing identity; omitting it forces new credentials and can invalidate devices.
Move to a new computer
- Install Parson. Use the current installer on the new machine.
- Restore Parson data. Stop Parson and copy the backed-up data folder into place.
- Point it at the music folder. If the drive letter or network path changed, update the registered root in Settings.
- Verify the library. Refresh and test several albums, artwork, playlists, likes, history, and lyrics.
- Reconnect devices if necessary. Saved local addresses may point to the old machine. Discover the new host or enter its new address.
Recovery snapshots
After a successful catalog-changing import, Parson creates a verified SQLite snapshot in the background and normally keeps the newest three. If startup reports a failed database integrity check, stop Parson, preserve the failed database, and restore the newest healthy parson-music.db.snapshot-*.db file in its place.