Backup and recovery: match the recovery file to the failure

VaultPilot has two recovery files. Quick Recovery is a browser-encrypted package that restores a profile and its accessible non-file records. The Backup Tool archive is the full VaultPilot server backup.

Quick Recovery: Browser-encrypted profile package
Full backup: Backup Tool ZIP
Maintenance backup: One category, JSON
Uninstall: Data directory stays in place

Illustration of a protected recovery package

Quick Recovery restores a profile

An Owner, under Server Settings > General, generates a separate recovery key in the browser and builds a .vpr.json package encrypted with that key. The key has 40 characters and disappears from the screen after five minutes. The package carries the profile, the accessible vaults, and the non-file records. Its purpose is to bootstrap an empty server profile, and a successful import ends every session. File records, record history, audit history, the license, server settings, and service logs stay out of the package.

Backup Tool and Log Collector

The Backup Tool runs on the Windows server as Administrator and produces a full-server recovery ZIP. The archive can hold encrypted vault data, configuration, and certificate material. Because the ZIP itself has no password, keep it offline with restricted access and never attach it to a support request. An Owner downloads both the Backup Tool and the Log Collector from the General tab; the download works only when the packaged tool exists on the server.

Importing a server backup

Import server backup sits on the General tab and only an Owner can run it. It accepts a Backup Tool ZIP or an encrypted JSON export. The import replaces the organization, users, vaults, encrypted records, files, and audit history in one step; nothing is merged. Once it succeeds, imported 2FA bindings are cleared and all active sessions close. Unlock with the master password from the backup profile.

Back up and clear maintenance records

The Maintenance & Logs tab offers one cleanup mode, Back up & clear, for one category at a time: audit log, Discovery, or executions. VaultPilot first writes a JSON backup of that category on the server, records its count and SHA-256 digest, and then clears it. A restore replaces only that category, and records created after the backup can change or be lost.

Uninstall, data retention, and rollback

A normal uninstall removes the Windows service, the firewall rule, and the installed server files, and leaves the data directory in place. Deleting that directory can permanently remove encrypted vault data, wrapped keys, audit metadata, license state, server settings, and certificate material. Rollback is a controlled recovery action, separate from the normal update flow.