Before You Start

Decide where you want to store your Roon backups—on a local folder, an external USB drive, a network share (NAS), or Dropbox. Make sure the destination is always accessible from your Roon Server, and avoid folders that are being watched for music.

Manual Backup (“Backup Now”)

Backup Now

Step 1: Open Roon Settings

1. Launch the Roon app and connect to your Roon Server

2. Click or tap the cogwheel menu () in the top-left corner > Backups
   

Step 2: Start a Backup

1. Find Backup Now and select ‘Backup’

2. Click the Select Location option.

   1. This will give you a list of available locations to save your Backup.

3. Click the Start button to begin your Backup process.

Step 3: Wait for Completion

1. The backup status will show progress.

   • Note: Music playback will pause during the backup.

   • Once finished, you’ll see “Last successful backup at [time]” under Backup Status.

Automatic Backups (“Scheduled Backups”)

Step 1: Set up your location

1. Click “View” under Scheduled Backups.

2. Click “Add” to create a new scheduled backup location.

3. Choose your preferred backup location (you can select the same location you just performed your first Backup to, if you’d like - you’ll be able to choose the frequency of your automatic Backups in a few steps.) Backup locations typically fall under:

   • Local storage (e.g., an external drive)

   • Networked storage (e.g., NAS)

   • Dropbox (if you've linked your account)

Note: Make sure the destination you select is:

• Always accessible when Roon is running
  

• Not inside a RoonWatched folder

• Not subject to aggressive cleanup (like temporary folders)

Step 2: Set the Backup Schedule

Once you've selected the backup location:

1. Choose a Frequency: Daily, Every 4 days, Weekly, etc.

2. Select a Time of Day: Roon will attempt to back up at this time.

3. Set Number of Backups to Keep:

   • Roon will automatically prune older backups.

   • Recommended: Keep at least 10+ versions.

4. Once you’ve confirmed your settings above, click Save. You’ll now see your backup schedule listed. Roon will display the next scheduled backup time and logs of recent backups.

A few Best Practices around Backups in Roon:

• Store backups on a drive separate from your Roon Server.
  

  • If your Roon database is on hard drive A, do not store your backups on hard drive A. Use an external USB drive and or NAS.
    

• Don’t use folders that are also being watched for music.

• Back up before and after major Roon updates or library changes.

• Keep multiple backup copies and rotate between at least two locations if possible.

• Dropbox is slow, but good since the cloud provides redundancy, use it as a last resort