How to back up and export your workspace
Protect workspace data before major changes.
Take a copy before anything structural. Exports are cheap, and the moment you want one is usually the moment it is too late to take it.
Open Settings as an Admin or Owner
Workspace-level export is an administrative action, so you need Admin or Owner. If you are planning a large restructure and do not hold that role, arrange it before you start rather than midway.
Choose Export workspace
This produces a portable copy of the workspace data. Take one before bulk changes such as restructuring stages, deleting projects, or a migration, because those are the changes that are painful to reverse by hand.
Store the Trellis JSON file securely
The export contains client work, so treat it like any other client data. Put it somewhere access-controlled with your other business records rather than leaving it in a downloads folder.
Use project CSV or PDF for reporting needs
If you only need numbers for a report or an archive of one engagement, export at project level instead. A full workspace export is the wrong tool for a monthly client update.
Test restore only through the validated administrative flow
Restore is an administrative operation and is available on Agency and above. Confirm who holds that authority before you need it, because working that out during an incident is the worst possible time.
What success looks like
- A recent export exists, is stored somewhere controlled, and the people who could restore it are known in advance rather than identified in an emergency.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Taking the first export only after something has gone wrong.
- Leaving exported client data in an unsecured location.
- Assuming restore is self-serve on any plan, when it requires Agency and an administrative role.
Questions about this workflow
Automatic scheduled backups and restore are available on Agency and above. Project export is available from Studio.
Owners and Admins, on a plan that includes restore.
Related how-tos
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