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Backup & Restore

Back up your configuration before flashing new firmware, before major tuning changes, and periodically once you have a working setup.

From the Configurator

The Firmware Flasher wizard has backup and restore built in, and this is the easiest route around a firmware update:

  • On the Backup step (before flashing) you can capture your settings from the connected board over the CLI. The backup type defaults to Dump (the complete configuration) rather than Diff. A Diff backup starts by replaying the board's defaults, which on current firmware can produce a spurious parse error in the CLI output, so a full dump is the more dependable choice. Diff is still selectable, and you can turn the backup off entirely.
  • The backup is held in memory and offered for restore on the Restore step once the new firmware boots, so you don't have to do anything by hand. Saving a copy to a file is optional but recommended in case something goes wrong.
  • If the board isn't currently running WingFlight, the backup is still captured and saveable, but it isn't offered for automatic restore -- another firmware's settings aren't guaranteed to carry over.
  • Backup and restore need a normal serial connection; a board flashed over DFU alone can't be backed up this way. If the connection drops after the board reboots mid-restore, the wizard retries and offers a Select Port option to reconnect.

You can also save a dump/diff snapshot to a file from the CLI tab at any time.

Via the CLI

The most portable backup is a CLI dump:

diff all

This prints only the settings that differ from firmware defaults -- compact, and easy to review by eye. To capture a complete configuration regardless of defaults, use:

dump all

Save the output to a text file. To restore, paste the same commands back into the CLI followed by save.

Tip

A diff all backup is the most useful format for sharing a tune with someone else or asking for tuning help, since it only shows what you've actually changed.