Safe Updates, Backups, and Recovery

Make one usable backup before updating, reinstalling, resetting, or changing release channels.

The Safe Rule

  1. Export settings first. Keep the exported file somewhere outside the app or unpacked-extension folder.
  2. Do not uninstall the browser extension just to update it. Uninstalling removes that extension installation's stored settings.
  3. Keep one working copy. Do not overwrite your only backup while troubleshooting a damaged setup.
  4. After updating, reload the source pages. Reopen generated dock/overlay links and refresh saved OBS Browser Sources when their URLs changed.

Browser Extension Backup

  1. Open Social Stream Ninja and go to Global settings and tools.
  2. Open Export / import.
  3. Select Export to disk and keep the resulting .data file.
  4. Use Import settings to restore that file later.
Social Stream Ninja Export and import section showing Reset all settings, Export to disk, Import settings, and the dock-link recovery helper
The current Export / import panel. Export before using Reset all settings.

Manual unpacked update: download and extract the new build, replace the old extension files, then select Reload on chrome://extensions. Keep the unpacked folder in place and reload open chat tabs. See manual installation.

Desktop App Backup

BackupMenuUse It For
Settings Backup File → Settings Backup → Export Settings… Normal updates, settings moves, and first-line recovery. Imports through Import Settings….
Full Session Transfer File → Advanced Full Session Transfer Moving or preserving the whole desktop profile, including local sessions and sign-in state. It creates an encrypted .ssappbk file.

The normal settings export is the right choice for most updates. Full Session Transfer is larger and replaces the target profile during restore; the app first keeps a pre-restore-* copy of the current profile.

Automatic app updates should preserve the existing profile. Still export before manually reinstalling, moving between portable and installed builds, changing channels, or trying a reset.

If Settings Already Disappeared

  1. Stop resetting and reinstalling. More changes can overwrite the best recovery copy.
  2. If the app or extension still has useful state, export it before doing anything else.
  3. Import the newest known-good .data or .json settings backup.
  4. For a desktop whole-profile backup, use Advanced Full Session Transfer.
  5. If only the desktop source list is damaged, try Clear All Sources. It is narrower than Full Reset and is designed to preserve sessions, cookies, and settings.
  6. Use Full Reset only after making a backup or after accepting a complete local cleanup.

If you have no export but still have an old dock URL, the dock-link recovery helper can rebuild the session ID, password, and URL-driven settings found in that link. It cannot recreate settings or source accounts that were never present in the URL.

What A Normal Settings Backup Covers

The current desktop settings-transfer test verifies a round trip for the cached Social Stream state and selected app settings. The browser extension export includes its session ID, optional password, state, and settings object.

  • Source and global settings represented in the saved state.
  • The Social Stream session ID and optional session password.
  • Selected desktop preferences used by the app.

A normal settings export is not a complete copy of every browser cookie or site login. Use Full Session Transfer when the entire desktop profile must move.