Backups

A q.e.d. site is a folder, and every site folder is a git repository: q.e.d. records each version there (see the Versions tab). So a backup is a copy of that repository, and the best copy is one on another computer, made with git push. It holds not just today's state but every version, and you can bring any of them back.

Setting up a backup

Once per site, create an empty repository somewhere else: on Codeberg or GitHub (a private repository is fine), or on your own server (git init --bare /var/git/my-site.git). Then, in the Versions tab under Push and pull:

1. Add the repository's SSH address (on Codeberg or GitHub: the “SSH” address under Clone), for example git@codeberg.org:me/my-site.git.
2. Make a key, copy it and add it on the server: in the repository's settings as a deploy key with write access, or on your own server in ~/.ssh/authorized_keys. The private key stays in your computer's keychain.
3. Push. The first time, q.e.d. shows the server's key fingerprint; trust it if it matches what the server's owner publishes.

Making a backup

Push in the Versions tab. It closes the open version first (with the note in the Save a version field, if you typed one), so the latest changes are part of the backup. Publishing closes the open version too, so pushing after each publish is a good habit.

Two computers

On the second computer, choose Get a site from git… in the site menu (or on the start screen), enter the same address and make a key there too (one key per computer). q.e.d. copies the site with all its versions. From then on: push when you're done on one computer, pull before you start on the other. When a site opens, q.e.d. asks the remote whether it has new versions and offers to pull them.

If you edited on both computers without pulling in between, Pull merges the versions as long as different files changed. If the same page changed on both, nothing changes and q.e.d. names the files: keep one side, or fix it with git.

Restoring

On any computer, Get a site from git…, or on the command line:

git clone git@codeberg.org:me/my-site.git my-site

Open the folder in q.e.d. and it's all there: pages, media, files to download, static files, fonts, settings and the full version history.

With git on the command line

The remotes are git's own, so git remote add backup … and git push backup main work as well and show up in the app. q.e.d. pushes and pulls only sites that are a git repository of their own; for a site folder inside a larger repository, use git there.

What isn't in the backup

• Publish targets (targets.toml) are deliberately not part of the history. After restoring, set up the targets again under Publishing. They only hold server names and folders, nothing secret.
• Passwords and SSH keys live in your computer's keychain, never in the site folder. Back them up the way you back up your other passwords, or make a new key on a new computer and add it to the server.
• The built site (_site/) and q.e.d.'s image cache (.qed-cache/) are left out on purpose: the next build makes them again.

Without git

Copying the whole site folder (including the hidden .git folder) to a backup drive works too, and keeps the history as well. It's just easier to forget than a push after publishing.