Holdbound

Backup and restore

Last updated: 2026-08-26

Where your data actually is

Holdbound keeps everything in your browser's built-in database (IndexedDB), keyed to the location of the HTML file you opened. Nothing is on a server, so nothing can be recovered from one either. The data is gone if:

The JSON backup is the only copy of your data that lives outside the browser. It is also how you move to another computer or browser.

Making a backup

Settings → Download backup (JSON). The file is named Holdbound-backup-YYYY-MM-DD.json and contains all transactions, transfer decisions, notes, manual prices, settings and your license key. Put it somewhere that is not the browser: a cloud-synced folder, an external drive, or both.

The app reminds you when a backup is due (default every 7 days; change the interval in Settings) and can download one automatically on start-up when due. Say yes to the first reminder; it is the single best habit with this tool.

The backup is plain JSON. You can open it in a text editor, and a future version of the app will always be able to read an older backup (each file carries a format version and the app upgrades it on the way in).

Restoring

Settings → Restore from backup…, choose the file. The app shows how many transactions the file holds and how many you have now, then offers:

Restoring a backup made by an older version upgrades it to the current format automatically and tells you so; take a fresh backup afterwards.

Moving to a new computer or browser

  1. On the old machine: Settings → Download backup.
  2. Copy the HTML file and the backup to the new machine.
  3. Open the HTML file there, go to Settings → Restore → Replace everything, choose the backup.
  4. Your license key comes along inside the backup; nothing to re-enter.

Safari and files opened directly

Tested, and it works: macOS Safari with default settings, August 2026 — imported data was still there after quitting Safari completely and re-opening the file. So this is not a "Safari doesn't work" page; it is a "here is the one thing that can go wrong, and how you would know" page.

What can go wrong is browser-wide, not Safari-specific: when a page is opened directly from disk (the address bar starts with file://), a browser may refuse to give it a database, or hand one over and then fail on write. Strict privacy settings and private windows are the usual causes, and Safari is the browser where people hit it most.

You do not have to test for this yourself. Holdbound checks at start-up and, if storage is unavailable, says so on the first screen: "This browser would not let the page store data (IndexedDB unavailable on file://)." No message means storage is working. In that state the app still works for the session but keeps nothing between sessions. If you do see that message:

Whichever browser you use, keep the JSON backups: browsers do evict storage they consider unused, and that is what the weekly reminder is for.

Private / incognito windows

Private windows throw away site data when closed. Don't use the app there unless you export a backup before closing.

What a backup does not contain

Fetched CoinGecko prices older than your manual overrides (they are re-fetched), and the browser's own cache. Everything you entered or imported is in the file.

If data disappeared and you have no backup

Before doing anything else, check whether you opened the file from a different folder than before (look at the address bar) or in a different browser. If the file was moved, move it back and open it again; the database is still attached to the old location until the browser cleans it up. If it is truly gone, the exchange exports can be re-imported; notes and manual pairing decisions cannot be reconstructed, which is exactly what the backup is for.