Backup, Updates & Migration

Make a backup before every update.

Back up and restore

Open Settings → Basic Settings → Backup and Restore. To create a backup, tick the parts you want under Create Backup (all are ticked by default), click Create Backup... and choose where to save the .thrbackup file.

Part	What it contains
Profiles (groups and proxies)	Groups, subscriptions and profiles.
Routing profiles	Routing profiles and their rules.
Settings	All settings, including DNS, TUN, WARP and inbounds.
OTP profiles	The OTP Manager entries.
IP lists and scans	The lists and results of the IP scanner.
Custom icons	Custom tray icons.

A backup does not contain traffic history, logs, the core's cache, or whether Tun Mode or System Proxy was on.

To restore a backup:

1. Click Restore from Backup... and choose a .thrbackup file. Throne shows when and on which device it was created.
2. Tick the parts to restore and click Restore. Each part replaces your current data, which cannot be undone.
3. Throne restarts.

• Backups from older versions restore normally. A backup from a newer version can fail with "Unsupported backup format version": update Throne first.
• Routing rules with conditions that your version does not support are left out, and Throne says how many.
• If you restore only one of Profiles (groups and proxies) and Routing profiles, groups with their own routing profile go back to the default one.

For a headless Throne, see thronectl.

WebDAV backups

Throne desktop and Throne for Android can keep backups on a WebDAV server, such as Nextcloud, a NAS or Yandex Disk, and each app restores what the other uploaded. On the desktop, set up the server with WebDAV Settings... in Backup and Restore, then click Upload to WebDAV to upload the parts ticked under Create Backup. Throne never uploads on a schedule or deletes old backups by itself.

WebDAV settings

Field	What it does
Server URL	The WebDAV address, starting with http:// or https://, such as https://cloud.example.com/remote.php/dav/files/me/ for Nextcloud.
Username, Password	Your login, sent with HTTP basic authentication, so unencrypted over http://.
Folder	The folder below the server URL (default Throne, subfolders separated with /). Throne creates missing folders.
Device name	The name that the backup list shows for this computer (default: the computer's name).
Connect through the proxy	Sends the requests through Throne's local proxy. A profile must be running.

Test tries the values before you Save them. These settings belong to this computer: backups never contain them.

Without Connect through the proxy, WebDAV requests go out directly unless Use proxy or System Proxy is on (see Network requests). Throne checks the server's TLS certificate unless Ignore TLS errors is on.

Restore or delete a backup

1. Click Restore from WebDAV.... Throne lists the backups, newest first, with their device, platform, version and parts.
2. Select a backup and click Restore (or double-click it).
3. Continue from step 2 of Back up and restore.

Throne checks each download against the backup list. Files that are not in the list, such as ones you copied there yourself, show "Unknown device" and cannot be checked. To delete a backup, select it and click Delete.

Message	What to do
"Wrong username or password."	Check Username and Password. Services with a two-step login often need an app password.
"Permission denied."	The account may not write to this Folder. Choose another one, or check the rights on the server.
"The server redirected to …; check the server URL."	Enter the address from the message as Server URL.
"The server's folder listing could not be read."	Server URL is not a WebDAV address, for example the web page of your storage.
"The server did not answer in time."	Check the connection, or try Connect through the proxy.
"Request with proxy but no profile started."	Start a profile, or turn off Connect through the proxy, Use proxy and System Proxy.

WebDAV on Android

In Throne for Android, open Settings → Backup & restore (or Tools in the drawer). The WebDAV backup card has Back up to WebDAV, Restore from WebDAV and WebDAV settings. To share backups with the desktop, enter the same server and folder: the desktop's Folder is Backup path here. Back up to WebDAV uploads the parts ticked in the Local backup card.

Android has no proxy option for WebDAV: in VPN mode, the requests go through the VPN like other apps' traffic. It never ignores TLS certificate errors.

Move between desktop and Android

The desktop app and Throne for Android use the same backup format, so you can move your data both ways, as a file or through WebDAV.

From the desktop to a phone:

1. Create a backup on the desktop and copy the .thrbackup file to the phone.
2. On the phone, open Settings → Backup & restore, tap Restore and choose the file (or open it from a file manager).
3. Tick the parts to restore and confirm.

From a phone to the desktop: on the phone, open Settings → Backup & restore, tick the parts and tap Create backup (Share sends the file to another app). Copy the file to the computer and restore it.

A desktop backup changes a few things when you restore it on Android:

Item	On Android
OTP profiles, IP lists and scans, Custom icons, and the Server Address of groups	Not restored.
Settings that both apps have	Take the backup's values. For example, the TUN MTU becomes 1500 (Android default: 9000).
Allow connections from the LAN	Turned off, with a warning, if the backup allows other devices to connect but your phone did not.
Routing rules with conditions that Android does not support	Skipped, with a warning.
Raw routing profiles	Kept, but read-only and unused. If one was active, the first usable routing profile becomes active.
OpenVPN and OpenConnect endpoints of a routing profile	Kept, but they do not run.
Tailscale and Extra Core profiles	Restored, but they cannot be started.

In the other direction, rules that match Android apps and the per-app proxy settings have no effect on the desktop.

Update the desktop app

An update keeps your profiles and settings (they live in the data folder), but create a backup first.

1. Open Program → Check For Update (before 1.4.0: Tools → Check For Update).
2. If there is a newer version, the Update window shows what changed. Click Update.
3. When Throne asks to restart, click Yes. The updater installs the new version.

The one-click Update works only for ZIP copies and the Windows installer's default install for the current user, and not while a background Throne runs from the same installation. Other installs update like this:

Installed with	How to update
ZIP file	Update, or replace the program files with the new ZIP. Keep the config folder.
Windows installer, current user (default)	Update, or run the new installer.
Windows installer, all users	Run the new installer.
.deb or .rpm package	Install the new package.
Linux install script	Run the script again.
macOS	Replace Throne.app with the new version. See Installation.
WinGet, Scoop, AUR, Nix, Homebrew, or the APT or RPM repository	Use the package manager. See Package managers.

If you reinstall with the Windows installer, answer No when the uninstaller asks whether to also delete your profiles, settings and logs.

Some antivirus programs flag the updater because it replaces program files. If the update fails, check that Throne is not inside your Downloads folder (#1109) and try again, or download the new version from the download page.

Beta versions

Beta versions (pre-releases) get features and fixes first, but can have more bugs. Make a backup before you install one.

• Desktop: tick Settings → Basic Settings → Miscellaneous → Allow updating to beta versions (in Simple mode, under Network Settings on the Common tab).
• Android: turn on Settings → General → Allow updating to beta versions. See the in-app updater.

To go back, turn the option off. The updater only offers newer versions, so you stay on the beta until a newer stable release comes out.

Old versions

• Throne desktop older than 1.1.0: 1.1.0 moved all data into throne.db and does not convert older configurations. Add your subscriptions and profiles again, or try the community scripts in #1202. Backups from 1.1.3 or later restore in newer versions.
• Nekoray or NekoBox: see Coming from Nekoray / NekoBox.
• Throne for Android older than 2.0.0: 2.0.0 is signed with a new key, so uninstall the old app first. 2.0.0 starts empty and cannot restore old backups (throne_backup_*.json or WebDAV .zip files), only .thrbackup files. Note your subscription links before you uninstall, or move everything with a desktop backup. See Installation & Upgrade.