Automatic Database Backups1
Everything you set up in WebSSH lives in one database: connections, private keys, snippets, settings, State Bar items. Since WebSSH 32.2 that database is backed up automatically, so a bad restore, a deleted connection or a sync gone wrong can be undone without a Mac and without a restore from a device backup.
Automatic backups are enabled by default, on iPhone, iPad and Mac, in the FREE and PRO versions alike.
When a backup is made
WebSSH checks at launch, when it comes back to the foreground and once an hour while it stays open. When the last backup is 24 hours old or more, a new one is written. One backup a day, no more, whatever you do with the app in between.
An automatic backup is taken after the app has migrated its database to a new version, not before.
Where to find them
Open Settings ▸ Maintenance ▸ Database Backup. The screen lists the backups, newest first, with their date, time and size, and holds the Automatic backups switch.
The files are regular files in the backups folder of WebSSH, the same folder used by the mashREPL command below:
- on iPhone and iPad, in the Files app, under On My iPhone (or On My iPad) ▸ WebSSH ▸ backups
- on the Mac, in the app container:
~/Library/Containers/com.itimeteo.webssh/Data/Documents/backups
Each file is named after its creation time, 20260612_221406_webssh.db for a backup made on June 12, 2026 at 22:14:06. Copy a file from there to keep it somewhere else, or to move your setup to another device.
Backups are not synced through iCloud. iCloud Sync keeps the records of your devices in step; it is not a backup, which is exactly what these files are for.
How long they are kept
WebSSH thins the folder out each time it writes a backup:
- every backup of the last 7 days is kept,
- one per week is kept for the 3 weeks before that,
- one per month is kept for the year before that,
- older files are deleted.
A year of history is about twenty small files. There is no size cap. Backups made by hand with mashREPL live in the same folder and follow the same rotation.
Back up now, restore, delete
- Backup Now, at the top right of the screen, writes a backup immediately, even when automatic backups are off.
- Restore: long press a backup (right click on the Mac) and choose Restore. The backup replaces the current database; nothing is merged. Quit and relaunch WebSSH afterwards for the restored data to load.
- Delete: same menu. Deleting a backup cannot be undone.
Restore and iCloud
If iCloud Sync is enabled, disable it and enable it again after a restore, so that the restored data is pushed to your other devices. Connections that exist on iCloud and not in the backup are merged back, not deleted.
Take a backup before a risky change
Before cleaning up dozens of connections, importing keys or restoring something else, tap Backup Now. The file waits in the list for a week at least.
Turning it off
Switch Automatic backups off on the same screen. The existing files are left in place and are no longer rotated; Backup Now still works.
From mashREPL
The mashREPL commands predate the automatic backups and use the same folder and format:
webssh database backup
webssh database restore 20260612_221406_webssh.db
See Database Backup and Database Restore.
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Available since WebSSH 32.2 ↩