Your Data, Updates & Backups

Your library, settings, database and access token are kept in one data folder, separate from the program:

Next to it, an app folder holds the unpacked web app. XianScan recreates it whenever needed, so you never need to back it up.

If XianScan runs as a Windows service under the SYSTEM account, its data is under C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Roaming\XianScan\data instead.

Settings -> About & Diagnostics -> Check Updates tells you when a new release is available.

• Windows, macOS, Linux: stop XianScan, download the new archive, and replace the old program files with the new ones. Your data folder is never touched by an update. On the next start, XianScan unpacks the new web app automatically.
• Docker: docker pull ghcr.io/arbenapura/xianscan:latest, then remove and recreate the container with the same -v xianscan-config:/config volume (or docker compose pull && docker compose up -d).

After updating, also update the Browser Importer if a new version was released with it. Mihon updates its extension from the repository by itself.

1. Stop XianScan.
2. Copy the whole data folder somewhere safe.
3. To move to another computer, install XianScan there, start it once, stop it, and replace its data folder with your copy.

The copy includes the access token, so paired devices keep working if you move to a machine with the same address.

Delete the program folder, then delete the XianScan folder that contains data and app (one level above the data folder in the table). In Docker, remove the container and the xianscan-config volume.

To only start over with an empty library, use Settings -> Storage & Data -> Clear All Data instead.