---
title: Export your vault | Relic Help
description: Write every item to a plain JSON file, with copies of the images and files on this computer, so anything else can read them.
canonical: https://relic.space/help/export
source: https://relic.space/llms.txt
---
Backups and data

# Export your vault

Write every item to a plain JSON file, with copies of the images and files on this computer, so anything else can read them.

Updated 10 September 2026 · Windows, Mac, Linux

## [What an export is](#what-it-writes)

An export is a plain copy of your items that anything can read. Relic makes a new folder named for the day and time, and puts two things in it:

* vault.json holds the items themselves: their titles, notes, tags, text and file names, and the day each one was copied.
* blobs holds copies of the images and files that are on this computer, one file each.

The row says the important part itself: [Settings › Vault and storage › Export vault](https://relic.space/help/settings-vault-and-storage#export).

Export vault

Write every item to a plain JSON file (plus copies of local images and files). Readable by anything, so keep it somewhere you trust. For an encrypted copy, use automatic backup below.

Settings › Vault and storage › Export vault: button: Export….

Nothing here is encrypted

An export is readable by any text editor, and so is anyone who finds the folder. Keep it somewhere you trust, or delete it once you have moved the data where it was going. For a copy that is safe to leave lying around, use [automatic backups](https://relic.space/help/automatic-backups) instead.

## [Exporting](#export-it)

1. Press Export
Open Settings with the gear, go to **Vault and storage**, and press **Export…** on the **Export vault** row. A picker opens titled _Choose where to export your vault_. Pick the folder to write into. Relic makes its own folder inside it.
2. Decide about secrets
A panel opens showing where the export will go and a switch labelled **Include secret contents (otherwise secrets are exported redacted)**. Leave it off and anything Relic masked is written without its text, so an API key or a card number does not end up in a plain file. Turn it on when the point of the export is to move everything somewhere else.
3. Press Export again
The line under the row counts up while it works, for example _Exporting… 40 / 128_. When it finishes it reads _Exported 128 items (14 files)_ and an **Open folder** button appears beside it.

## [Export or backup](#sealed-or-plain)

Relic can make two kinds of copy and they are for different jobs.

* **Export** when you want to read the data yourself, feed it to a script, or move it into another app. It is plain, so treat it like any other folder of your own files.
* **A backup** when you just want a copy that is safe if something goes wrong. It is one encrypted file, it happens every week without you, and only your backup passphrase opens it, so a cloud folder is a fine place to keep it.

Both come back through the same row. See [Restore from a backup](https://relic.space/help/restore), and [Settings: Vault and storage](https://relic.space/help/settings-vault-and-storage) for the rest of that pane.

Related

[Automatic backupsBackups and data](https://relic.space/help/automatic-backups)[Restore from a backupBackups and data](https://relic.space/help/restore)[The VaultKeep and organise](https://relic.space/help/the-vault)[Settings: Vault and storageSettings reference](https://relic.space/help/settings-vault-and-storage)