What this does
Bookshaper protects each project with two independent safety nets. Cloud Sync uploads your project after each save, keeps the ten most recent synced versions, and lets you open your projects on another computer by signing in. Auto-Backup writes timestamped ZIP archives of the whole project to a folder on your computer on a schedule. Both are on by default for every project. You can also export a project archive by hand, and restore any backup or archive ZIP with File > Restore from Archive….
Prerequisites
You need a Bookshaper account and must be signed in; the app shows the sign-in screen until you are. You can sign in with email and password, with Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, LinkedIn or X, or with a passkey (fingerprint, face or device PIN). Cloud Sync also needs an internet connection; Auto-Backup and archive export work offline. How much cloud storage you have depends on your account.
Turn on Cloud Sync and sign in
Cloud Sync is on for new projects, so most of the time there is nothing to do. After each save Bookshaper packages the project, encrypts it on your device before upload, and uploads it in the background while you keep writing. Only files that changed since the last sync are uploaded, and if nothing changed (checked by SHA-256 content hash) the upload is skipped. Uploads are coalesced to at most one a minute during rapid editing. Click Sync in the status bar to sync straight away; this also pulls changes from your other devices. Bookshaper also checks the cloud when you open a project and when you switch back to the app window. Closing a project uploads your latest edits first, with a "Syncing to cloud…" screen while it finishes. Your projects are stored encrypted. Signing in on another computer with the same account is enough to open them there.
- Sign in with email and password, a social account, or Sign in with a passkey.
- To add a passkey, open Preferences… (Cmd+, / Ctrl+,), choose the App tab, then Account, and click Add a passkey under Connected accounts. Your browser opens to finish setup.
- Open a project.
- Open Settings, choose the Project tab, then Cloud Sync.
- Make sure Enable Cloud Sync is checked.
- Save your work. Watch the status bar: it shows Syncing… while the upload runs, then Sync.
Resolve a sync conflict
A conflict happens when this computer and the cloud have both changed since this device last synced, for example after editing on two computers. Bookshaper first tries to merge the two automatically: if the changes are in different files, it combines them and no dialog appears. If the cloud simply moved ahead and you have no local edits, it downloads the newer copy. Only when both sides changed the same file does the status bar show Resolve and the Cloud Sync Conflict dialog open. Whichever side you pick, Bookshaper first saves the side you did not keep to your Backups folder as a ZIP with conflicted-copy in its name. These copies are never removed by backup retention. If that copy can't be saved, nothing is overwritten and the conflict stays open. Automatic uploads pause until the conflict is resolved.
- Click Resolve in the status bar, or wait for the Cloud Sync Conflict dialog to open.
- Click Keep Local Version to upload this computer's copy and replace the cloud copy, or Use Cloud Version to download the cloud copy and replace your local files.
- Read the confirmation: it names the conflicted-copy ZIP saved to your Backups folder.
- To recover anything from the side you didn't keep, open that ZIP with File > Restore from Archive… into a separate folder and copy across what you need.
- To decide later, close the dialog. Resolve stays in the status bar until you choose.
Revert to or copy an earlier cloud version
The cloud keeps the ten most recent synced versions of each project; older ones are removed oldest first. Open Cloud Projects from File > Cloud Projects… or the cloud button in the app bar. Clicking the download button on a project fetches its current version.
- Open File > Cloud Projects….
- Click the Version history (clock) button on the project.
- To go back to an earlier version, click Revert beside it and confirm. If the project is open, your current version is saved to your Backups folder first, then replaced. If it isn't open, you pick a folder and Bookshaper downloads that version there and opens it. Either way it becomes the current version everywhere the project syncs.
- To keep the current project as it is, click Save a copy instead. Pick a folder; the version is saved as a separate project with the version number added to its folder name, and it does not sync with the original.
- To remove a project from the cloud entirely, click Delete cloud copy (the bin button). This deletes every stored version of that project from the cloud. It does not ask for confirmation, and the copy on your computer is not touched.
Set up Auto-Backup
Auto-Backup saves a complete ZIP of the project: chapters, scenes, front and back matter, characters, locations, notebook entries and all project settings. The first backup runs about ten seconds after a project opens, then on your chosen schedule (every 30 minutes by default). Files are named like my-novel_backup_2026-03-28_14-30-00.zip, with the time in UTC. Backups go to ~/Documents/Bookshaper Backups/ unless you choose another folder. They are kept separate from your project, so moving or deleting the project doesn't touch them. Once a project has more than the maximum (10 by default), its oldest backups are deleted automatically. The first time you open a project, Bookshaper asks where backups should live. Bookshaper also saves a one-off snapshot before you delete a chapter or scene that has content, even when Auto-Backup is off.
- Open Preferences… (Cmd+, / Ctrl+,) and choose the App tab, then Backups.
- Under Backup Location, click to choose a folder, or leave the default Bookshaper Backups folder.
- Choose a Backup Frequency: every 15 minutes, 30 minutes, hour, 2 hours or 4 hours.
- Set Maximum Backups (1–100).
- To turn backups on or off for one project, open the Project tab, then Auto-Backup, and check or clear Enable Auto-Backup.
- To send one project's backups to a different folder, choose it under Backup Location on that same page. Click Use the global backup folder to undo the override.
Restore from a backup ZIP
Use this to recover from an auto-backup, a conflicted copy or an exported project archive. Each one restores the full project.
- Choose File > Restore from Archive…, or press Cmd+Shift+O (Mac) / Ctrl+Shift+O (Windows/Linux).
- Under Archive (.zip), browse to the ZIP. Auto-backups are in your backup folder (default ~/Documents/Bookshaper Backups/), and their timestamped names sort with the newest last.
- Under Restore Location, choose the folder to restore into. Bookshaper suggests the project's original location if it still exists on this computer.
- Check the path shown under Restores to. If a folder with that name already exists there, pick another location.
- Click Restore. Bookshaper extracts the archive and opens the restored project.
Export a project archive
A project archive is a single ZIP of the whole project, for sharing or keeping your own backup. It leaves out the chat search index, which is rebuilt the next time you use chat.
- Choose File > Export Book… (Cmd+Shift+E / Ctrl+Shift+E).
- Click Project Archive.
- Choose where to save the ZIP and click Save.
- To open it later, use File > Restore from Archive….
Restore on a new computer
If your computer is lost or replaced, your synced projects are waiting in the cloud.
- Install Bookshaper and sign in with the same account.
- Open File > Cloud Projects…, or click the cloud button in the app bar.
- Click the download button on the project you want.
- Choose a folder. Bookshaper creates the project folder inside it.
- Wait while Bookshaper downloads, decrypts and extracts the project. It then opens it. You don't need to set anything up for decryption: Bookshaper fetches the encryption details it needs from your account.
- Open Preferences… > App > Backups to set this computer's backup folder, schedule and retention.
What you get
Three layers of recovery: up to ten synced versions of each project in the cloud, a rolling set of timestamped ZIPs in your backup folder, and conflicted-copy ZIPs whenever you resolve a conflict.
The status bar shows the sync state for the open project (it is hidden when Cloud Sync is off for that project):
- Offline: you're offline. Changes sync when you reconnect.
- Syncing…: the project is uploading, downloading, or being checked against the cloud copy.
- Resolve: another device made edits that conflict with yours. Click to choose which version to keep.
- Sync: click to sync now. Hover to see when it last synced, whether you have unsynced changes, or why the last sync failed.
Settings reference
Open Settings with Preferences… (Cmd+, / Ctrl+,). Backup location, schedule and retention apply to the whole app on this computer. The Enable toggles are set per project.
App tab > Backups
- Backup Location: ~/Documents/Bookshaper Backups/ by default
- Backup Frequency: every 30 minutes by default; also 15 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours or 4 hours
- Maximum Backups: 10 by default (1–100). Older backups are removed automatically
Project tab > Auto-Backup
- Enable Auto-Backup: on by default
- Backup Location: optional override for this project; otherwise the global folder
Project tab > Cloud Sync
- Enable Cloud Sync: on by default
- Encryption: encrypted on your device before upload and stored encrypted
- Trigger: after each save, at most one upload a minute. Click Sync in the status bar to sync now
- Version history: ten most recent synced versions per project
App tab > Account
- Add a passkey: sign in with fingerprint, face or device PIN
Common problems
The status bar shows Offline. Bookshaper can't see a network connection. Keep writing; your changes sync automatically when you reconnect.
Sync is red and the tooltip says "Couldn't reach the cloud". Check your connection, then click Sync to retry.
The tooltip says "Cloud storage is full". Your account's cloud storage limit is reached. Delete projects you no longer need from File > Cloud Projects… to free space.
The tooltip says "Sync didn't finish" or "Sync hit a temporary file conflict". Click Sync to retry.
Nothing uploads and the status bar shows Resolve. Automatic uploads pause while a conflict is open. Click Resolve and pick a version.
"Couldn't save a backup of the other version, so nothing was changed." Bookshaper refuses to overwrite either side until the conflicted copy is saved. Check your connection and that your backup folder is writable, then try again.
"Overwrite existing project?" when downloading from Cloud Projects. A folder with that name already exists where you're downloading. Choose Cancel and pick another folder, or Overwrite if you're sure. Any local changes that haven't synced will be lost.
Restore is greyed out in Restore from Archive. A folder named after the archive already exists at the Restore Location. Choose a different location.
A warning says the location is inside a cloud-sync service. Folders managed by services such as Dropbox or iCloud can make project operations much slower. Choose a local-only folder if you can.
Version history says "No earlier versions retained yet." The project hasn't synced any versions yet. Save and let it sync.
"Archive export failed." The ZIP couldn't be written. Choose a different save location and try again.