[GNC] Time to Back Up

[Michael or Penny Novack]

On 2/3/2026 1:20 PM, Jerry Criswell (JC) wrote:
> I have used GnuCash for a month now, am fairly comfortable, and think 
> I will keep it.  I am running it on Linux Mint 22.3 Cinnamon 64 bit.
>
> What are the files to back up and where are they? I can use terminal 
> if I have to (too much typing) but prefer not to.
>
> Need to know anything else?
>
> JC

The answer you just got is a LITERAL answer to your question (how do I 
back up my gnucash data). But the REAL QUESTION you should be asking is 
"how do I back up ALL of my user data that I would not want lost WHEN 
(not if) my machine dies". You gnucash data is likely just a tiny subset 
of that data you should be backing up on a regular basis. If you have a 
GENERAL process backing up "all my critical user data" you will not need 
something specific to gnucash data.

For example consider this process. Mount an external drive. Create(on 
it) a directory with a name like backupyyyymmdd. Copy into this 
directory your user directory. Unmount the external drive < Ideally  you 
keep this drive in a fire box in a separate location-- mine lives in a 
fire box inside a dead fridge in the garage (a separate building) >> If 
that sounds extreme, I'm a retired pro, and smoke damage from a 2006 
house fire meant only some of my backups were readable. Of course in my 
working days backups were done for me.

Michael D Novack