Restoring application data - Revision history

MwithM: /* Restore wallet */ Link to Create_a_new_wallet_for_your_data_directory

2025-04-10T06:42:38Z

Restore wallet: Link to Create_a_new_wallet_for_your_data_directory

Huey735: Add Restore trade history section

2021-01-28T16:15:56Z

Add Restore trade history section

Huey735: /* Restore onion address */ Correct the effect of restoring the hiddenservice data

2021-01-28T16:11:13Z

Restore onion address: Correct the effect of restoring the hiddenservice data

Plebeian9000 at 16:14, 2 June 2020

2020-06-02T16:14:21Z

Plebeian9000 at 13:31, 1 June 2020

2020-06-01T13:31:34Z

Plebeian9000 at 13:30, 1 June 2020

2020-06-01T13:30:51Z

Plebeian9000: new article for restoring application data (splitting "backup & recovery" article)

2020-06-01T02:54:42Z

new article for restoring application data (splitting "backup & recovery" article)

New page

'''Restoring application data''' can be useful to bring back payment accounts, onion addresses, and other items from a [[Backing_up_application_data|backup]].

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= Restore an entire data directory =

First make sure Bisq is closed. Then copy the entire <code>Bisq</code> directory from your backup and paste it in your machine's [[Data_directory#Default_Locations|default data directory location]]. If there already is a directory called <code>Bisq</code> there, remove it (or rename it) and replace it with your backup.

Data directories work across operating systems, so you can copy a data directory created on a Mac to the appropriate location on Linux or Windows, and it will work.

Please '''do not''' run the same data directory on 2 machines at the same time, even if you don't run both instances at the same time, as data may get corrupted in strange ways.

= Restore payment accounts =

A [[Backing_up_application_data#Back_up_payment_accounts|payment account export]] only contains metadata (name, bank information, etc). For fiat accounts, this means that restoring payment accounts is a 2-step process.

== Restore payment account metadata ==

If you have a payment accounts export file, import it in <code>Account</code> > <code>National Currency Accounts</code>.

If you don't have an export file, but you do have a full backup, you can salvage your payment account metadata from <code>btc_mainnet/db/UserPayload</code> by running the <code>strings</code> utility on the <code>UserPayload</code> file (e.g., run <code>strings /path/to/backup/btc_mainnet/db/UserPayload</code> in a terminal window). The command will output a simplified version of the <code>UserPayload</code> file to your terminal. Scroll up a bit and you should see your payment account information.

Use the output to copy and paste the details into new payment accounts in Bisq, paying special attention to make sure each field is copied over with 100% accuracy (including the salt): even a 1 character difference in any field will cause the hash of the payment account to be different, which means aging and signing status will not be restored in the following step.

There are quirks. Here's an example of output from a <code>strings</code> command:

SEPA
Alice Liddell
DE89370400440532013000
DEUTDE5X*
SKzH
salt
@56655c3738ea9dea3b20f482fff048985a2757e57dff206fbd9e8c4f267f7781

From the output above:
* Be wary of extra characters at the beginning or end of a line. In the example above, the <code>*</code> character is not part of the BIC "DEUTDE5X".
* Salts are alphanumeric, so the <code>@</code> is not part of the salt "56655c3738ea9dea3b20f482fff048985a2757e57dff206fbd9e8c4f267f7781".

If you're on Windows, or cannot use the <code>strings</code> utility for some other reason, you can just open <code>UserPayload</code> directly in a text editor, but there will be more cruft to sift through since the file isn't meant to be human-readable.

It may be tempting to just replace the entire <code>UserPayload</code> file from a backup, but this is '''not recommended''', as it may contain other data that could result in data corruption in your new instance.

== Restore payment account aging and signing status ==

Once you've restored your payment account metadata, you'll see the accounts in Bisq, but they'll have no aging or signing status.

You can get aging and signing status back by replacing <code>btc_mainnet/keys/sig.key</code> from your backup.
# Make sure you have no active offers, trades or disputes; once you change <code>sig.key</code>, you will become unreachable.
# Close Bisq. Also make sure you've made a [[Backing_up_application_data|backup of your data directory]] (just in case).
# Replace <code>/path/to/data/directory/btc_mainnet/keys/sig.key</code> with the <code>sig.key</code> from your backup.

Upon opening Bisq, you should see account aging and signing status restored for your fiat payment accounts.

If you don't, double-check:
* You copied account metadata and salt correctly [[#Restore_payment_account_metadata|in the previous step]].
* The <code>sig.key</code> you copied is the correct one (i.e., the one you were using when your accounts accrued aging and/or got signed)

= Restore onion address =

Your onion address determines your [[local reputation]], so depending on your preferences, you may want to reset it or restore it over time.

If you want to restore it:
* Close Bisq. Also make sure you've made a [[Backing_up_application_data|backup of your data directory]] (just in case).
* Replace the <code>/path/to/data/directory/btc_mainnet/tor/hiddenservices/</code> folder with the <code>btc_mainnet/tor/hiddenservices/</code> folder from your backup.

When you open Bisq, your onion address will be restored.

This means:
* You will see [[Local_reputation|bubbles with trade counts]] in the offer books for any any peers you traded with.
* Those peers will see [[Local_reputation|bubbles with trade counts]] in their offer books for ''your'' offers.

= Restore wallet =

If starting a new data directory, it's generally best to just send funds from one Bisq instance to another with an on-chain transaction. Bisq wallets use the bitcoinj library, which causes wallet files to get increasingly larger with every transaction—to the point that wallet file corruption becomes increasingly likely and performance suffers (e.g., long startup times)—so it's good to start with a clean wallet every so often.

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:42, 10 April 2025
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	= Restore wallet =		= Restore wallet =

−	~~If starting a new data directory, it~~'s ~~generally best~~ to ~~just send funds from one Bisq instance to another~~ with ~~an on-chain transaction.~~ Bisq wallets use the bitcoinj library, which causes wallet files to get increasingly larger with every ~~transaction—to the point that wallet file~~ corruption becomes increasingly likely and performance suffers (e.g., long startup times)~~—so~~ it's ~~good~~ to ~~start~~ with ~~a clean wallet every so often~~.	+	It's good to start with a [[Create_a_new_wallet_for_your_data_directory\|clean wallet]] every so often, because Bisq wallets use the bitcoinj library, which causes wallet files to get increasingly larger with every transaction. Wallet corruption becomes increasingly likely and performance suffers (e.g. long startup times). If starting a new data directory, it's generally best to just send funds from one Bisq instance to another with an on-chain transaction.

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:14, 2 June 2020
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−	'''Restoring application data''' can be useful to bring back payment accounts, onion addresses, and other items from a [[Backing_up_application_data\|backup]]. You can restore an entire data directory at once, or just the parts you want.	+	'''Restoring application data''' can be useful to bring back payment accounts, onion addresses, and other items from a [[Backing_up_application_data\|backup]]—or to move your Bisq instance to an entirely new machine.
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		+	You can restore an entire data directory at once, or just the parts you want.

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← Older revision		Revision as of 13:31, 1 June 2020
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	'''Restoring application data''' can be useful to bring back payment accounts, onion addresses, and other items from a [[Backing_up_application_data\|backup]]. You can restore an entire data directory at once, or just the parts you want.		'''Restoring application data''' can be useful to bring back payment accounts, onion addresses, and other items from a [[Backing_up_application_data\|backup]]. You can restore an entire data directory at once, or just the parts you want.
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−	~~<br>~~

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← Older revision		Revision as of 13:30, 1 June 2020
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−	'''Restoring application data''' can be useful to bring back payment accounts, onion addresses, and other items from a [[Backing_up_application_data\|backup]].	+	'''Restoring application data''' can be useful to bring back payment accounts, onion addresses, and other items from a [[Backing_up_application_data\|backup]]. You can restore an entire data directory at once, or just the parts you want.
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		+	<br>

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 This means that the peers that have traded with you will see [[Local_reputation|bubbles with trade counts]] in their offer books for ''your'' offers.
 = Restore wallet =
 If starting a new data directory, it's generally best to just send funds from one Bisq instance to another with an on-chain transaction. Bisq wallets use the bitcoinj library, which causes wallet files to get increasingly larger with every transaction—to the point that wallet file corruption becomes increasingly likely and performance suffers (e.g., long startup times)—so it's good to start with a clean wallet every so often.