Restoring Files

Restoring your files from an Arq backup set is straightforward:

  1. If the storage location of your backup records isn’t already configured in Arq, pick New Storage Location… from Arq’s File menu and configure the storage location.

  2. Expand the storage location in the Arq main window under the “RESTORE” section to see a list of backup sets.

  3. Expand the backup set to see backup records (dates/times).

  4. Click on a date/time to see the files within that backup record.

  5. Select a file or folder on the right; then click the Restore button and choose the destination. Or, drag and drop a file or folder to the Desktop or a Finder window to restore to that location.

Alternatively, you can search the backups for the active backup plans. Type a filename or fragment into the search field to see matches from all backup records related to the backup plans listed on the left under “BACKUP”.

Restoring from Glacier

If your backup data are stored in AWS Glacier, restoring can take several hours because of the way Glacier works. Arq must first request that the needed objects be made “downloadable”. This can take 3-5 hours or more. As objects become downloadable, Arq will restore (download) the data.

Restoring from an Active Backup Plan

If you want to find the latest backup record for an active backup plan:

  1. Click on the backup plan under “BACK UP” in the main window.

  2. Click the Restore… button on the right.

Arq will automatically expand the nodes under “RESTORE” in the main window, and select the latest backup record. The files and folders will be shown on the right.

Restore Options

Drag and Drop

Drag a file or folder from the backup-record view onto your Desktop or a Finder window. Arq will automatically restore the file/folder to that location.

Click the Restore… Button

Select a file or folder in the backup-record view and click the Restore… button on the bottom right.

Arq will ask where you would like to restore the files to, and whether you would like Arq to overwrite existing files.

If you check the “overwrite existing files” checkbox and choose a restore location that already contains a folder matching your selection, Arq will overwrite any existing files within the folder that do not have the same modification time and file size as the backup record.