Skip to main content
Importing restores a backup file into a Collection that already exists. Open Settings → Admin → Backup & restore → Manage backup, pick an import mode, then choose the .json file. A confirmation step lists what will happen before anything is written. There are two modes and they are not variations on a theme — one is additive, the other deletes data.

​
Merge — additive

Merge compares the backup’s fields against the Collection’s and adds only the fields that are missing. Fields the Collection already has are left exactly as they are: same type, same labels, same allowed values, same defaults. Nothing is overwritten and no Item data is touched. What Merge does not leave alone is the page design. If the backup contains a page template — and it almost always does — that template replaces the Collection’s current one. The confirmation step says as much (“Update page template if included”), and it is easy to skim past. If you only want the fields, export a backup of the current page design first so you can put it back. Collection details — name, description, cover image, Items label — are untouched by Merge.

​
Replace — destructive

Replace overwrites the Collection from the backup: details, the entire field schema, and the page template. You have to type REPLACE to confirm it, and it cannot be undone. It also deletes every Item in the target Collection, along with their per-Item page overrides. The in-app note beside this option says Items are not affected. That note is wrong: the Items in the Collection you are importing into are deleted before the backup is restored. The backup itself carries no Items to put back in their place (see Exporting a Collection Backup), so the practical result is an empty Collection with the backup’s structure. Two consequences to take seriously before you type REPLACE:
  • Export your Items to CSV first. It is the only copy of them you will have.
  • Deleted Items do not release their Links. Deleting an Item or a whole Collection through the normal path releases its Link back to your unassigned pool so printed codes keep working. This path does not — a Link attached to one of these Items goes with it. If the Collection has codes in the field, do not use Replace; import into a new Collection instead.
If what you actually want is “this backup, as a fresh Collection,” use Creating a New Collection From a Backup. It is safe by construction — nothing existing is involved.

​
What both modes tell you afterward

A summary reports what changed: whether the Collection’s settings were updated, how many new fields were added, and whether the page template was replaced. Warnings appear in the same dialog rather than silently — the ones worth reading are:
  • A version mismatch, if the file came from an older export format. The import still runs.
  • Overrides that found no matching Item. Per-Item page overrides are matched by Item identifier, so an override whose Item does not exist in the target is skipped and named.
  • Skipped rows, in the rare case a hand-edited backup carries an items array and one of those Items collides with an existing Item ID. The rest still import.
Only .json files are accepted, and a file that is not a valid backup is rejected before anything is written.