Ultra-safe backups of encrypted notes

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1

Hi all,
I've been experimenting with Joplin for a couple of months now, and am enjoying it a lot.
Well done to all the devs for building this great software :star_struck:
In fact I'm liking it so much that it's now become my primary tool on which I do my PhD work - so I'm storing loads of notes that are of vital importance to me, and that I absolutely do not want to lose.

So I'd just like to make sure I understand how to not lose any data. I've browsed through conversations on the topic of data backups in this forum, but am still feeling a bit fuzzy about some stuff... Please forgive me if these questions have been answered already.

Right now, I'm using E2EE with one master key. I'm syncing the encrypted notes via my personal Nextcloud server between my laptop (running Ubuntu) and my Android smartphone, and it's working like a dream. I am not using the command line interface version of Joplin - and I'd rather not use it, as I've gotten so used to the desktop GUI.

Am I correct in understanding that:

  • the best way to safely backup my data is to use some 3rd-party software to regularly copy the contents of my local Nextcloud folder to some other destination (e.g. external hard drive)?
  • in case my computer dies on me, I will still be able to decrypt these notes as long as my smartphone's Joplin is still up and running?
  • in case both my laptop and smartphone are stolen or lost, I just need to reinstall Joplin on some new device, connect that new install with my Nextcloud and/or external hard drive (to import the notes), and Joplin will ask me for the password to the master key - and then everything will be safely decrypted?

If I'm mistaken about any of these issues, please do let me know!! I really don't want to get any of this wrong :sweat_smile:

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What I do is an export all to a JEX file, then use 7Zip to compress it to a 7Z file with a password, it does not compress much. I put the 7Z files on my Google drive. This would be infeasible for notebooks with massive amounts of notes and attachments.

I use the Joplin portable version on my computers to keep the program and data together. I periodically back up all the data on the encrypted data drive including Joplin and my other data to encrypted USB drives using a sync tool called Syncback Pro.

1 Like
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Thanks!
Clarifying questions: Do you automate the export-to-JEX process somehow? Or do you just remind yourself to do so regularly? And why would this be infeasible for notebooks with many notes?

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I just do it manually, it takes just seconds. I suppose one of these when I have 30 minutes to fool with it I'll automate it from the export to the 7z creation.

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Understood, cheers. I think I'll give it a try.