💡 Tips & How-To · Practical Checklist
The Files You Must Never Leave Without a Backup — and Where Most People Forget to Include Them
After 10 years handling data recovery cases, these are the 10 file types that cause the most distress when lost — and the ones people most commonly forget to include in their backup scope. Most backup tools protect only what you tell them to. This is the list of what to tell them.
Most people back up their Documents folder. Few back up the things that actually matter most when something goes wrong.
Backup tools protect what you put in scope. These 10 file types are almost always left out — until the day they’re gone.
The biggest misconception about backups is that if a backup tool is running, everything is safe. That is not the case. Every backup tool—such as Time Machine, Softyz Inc, or Backblaze—backs up only what you instruct it to. Default folder selections usually cover the main locations, but they rarely include every single location.
Based on ten years of conversations regarding post-disaster recovery, I have observed that people who believed they were safe often lose these ten types of files. Including most of them in your backup routine takes just three minutes. Failing to include them can result in the loss of years of hard work that simply cannot be recovered.
78%
Of data recovery cases involve at least one file type that was outside the backup scope
3 min
Time to add any of these file types to your Softyz backup scope — once you know where to look
0
Of the 10 file types below are covered by default in iCloud Drive or Google Drive
ℹ️ How to use this article
Read through all 10 file types and check whether each one exists on your device. For each one that exists and isn’t currently in your backup scope, add it before you finish reading. The “Where to find it” section for each file type tells you exactly which folder to add to Softyz (or your backup tool of choice).
The 10 files — all of them, with exactly where to find them
1
Most email clients — Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail configured with local storage — keep a local copy of your entire email history on your device. This is not automatically in the cloud. Losing this file means losing years of client communication, supplier agreements, sent invoices, and conversation history. I’ve seen this happen to sales teams who lost every client contact and email thread from the last 5 years in a single hard drive failure.
📍 Where to find it
Outlook (Windows):
Outlook (Mac):
Thunderbird:
Apple Mail:
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook (Mac):
~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Thunderbird:
~/Library/Thunderbird/Profiles/Apple Mail:
~/Library/Mail/
✅ Is it already covered?
iCloud: ❌ No · Google Drive: ❌ No · Time Machine: ✔ Yes (full Mac) · Softyz default: ❌ Not unless you add the library folder explicitly
Add to Softyz: Preferences → Folders → Add folder → navigate to the path above for your email client → Add. For Mac: you need Full Disk Access granted to Softyz to access Library folders.
❌
Years of email history · Cannot be re-downloaded if lost · Entire client communication record at risk
2
Your browser bookmarks represent years of curated resource organisation — client portals, tools, supplier sites, reference documents, research. Your saved passwords in a local password manager or browser are the keys to every service you use. Losing them means spending days reconstructing access to dozens of services. If you use a cloud-synced browser (Chrome with Google account, Safari with iCloud), bookmarks are synced — but a local password manager database is not.
📍 Where to find it
Chrome bookmarks:
Firefox:
1Password local:
Bitwarden local: Export manually to encrypted file · store in Documents
~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/BookmarksFirefox:
~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/1Password local:
~/Library/Group Containers/2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits/Bitwarden local: Export manually to encrypted file · store in Documents
✅ Is it already covered?
iCloud: ⚠ Safari bookmarks only · Google Drive: ❌ No · Time Machine: ✔ Yes · Softyz default: ❌ No (Library path required)
Best practice: Use a cloud-synced password manager (1Password, Bitwarden cloud) so credentials are independent of any single device. Export bookmarks monthly to a file in your Documents folder — then Softyz backs it up automatically.
3
Creative professionals are particularly vulnerable here. Adobe apps (Premiere, After Effects, Lightroom catalogues), Logic Pro projects, DaVinci Resolve databases, and dozens of other creative tools store their project data in app-specific directories that are rarely in the default Documents folder. A graphic designer who loses their Lightroom catalogue loses years of photo organisation, ratings, edits, and collections — even if the original RAW files are safe somewhere else.
📍 Critical paths to add
Lightroom catalogues:
Logic Pro projects:
Final Cut Pro libraries: wherever you saved them (check Final Cut)
DaVinci Resolve DB:
Adobe presets/settings:
~/Pictures/Lightroom/Logic Pro projects:
~/Music/Logic/Final Cut Pro libraries: wherever you saved them (check Final Cut)
DaVinci Resolve DB:
~/Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/Adobe presets/settings:
~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/
✅ Is it already covered?
iCloud: ❌ No · Google Drive: ❌ No · Time Machine: ✔ Yes (full Mac) · Softyz default: ❌ No — Library and application-specific paths must be added manually
Action: Open each creative app you use and find where it stores its project library or database. Add that exact path to Softyz. This is a one-time action that protects years of accumulated project organisation.
4
SSH keys are the keys to servers. Losing them doesn’t mean you lose the server — but it means you lose access to the server, and depending on how access was configured, regaining access can range from “change the authorized_keys file” (if you still have another way in) to “rebuild the server from scratch.” For freelancers and small dev teams, losing SSH keys at a critical moment can mean client downtime, emergency server rebuilds, and significant billable time spent on avoidable recovery work.
📍 Where to find it
SSH keys (Mac/Linux):
GPG keys:
AWS credentials:
.env files: wherever your project repos are stored
~/.ssh/ — this folder contains id_rsa, id_ed25519, and any other key pairs, plus config and known_hostsGPG keys:
~/.gnupg/AWS credentials:
~/.aws/.env files: wherever your project repos are stored
⚠️ Security note
SSH keys in backup should be encrypted. Softyz uses zero-knowledge AES-256 encryption — your backup is encrypted before it leaves your device, meaning even Softyz cannot read your private keys. This is a strong reason to prefer zero-knowledge backup for credentials.
Add to Softyz: Preferences → Folders → Add folder → navigate to
~/.ssh → Add. The . prefix makes it a hidden folder — press Cmd+Shift+. in Finder to show hidden files, or use the terminal path directly in the folder picker.5
Many freelancers, developers, and small business owners run local databases — PostgreSQL or MySQL for client projects, SQLite for personal tools, or a local WAMP/MAMP setup for web development. These databases contain the actual data of applications — often including client data, transaction records, or product catalogues that took months to accumulate. The database files are almost never in Documents or any obvious location.
📍 Where to find it
PostgreSQL (Mac via Homebrew):
MySQL:
SQLite files: wherever your app stores them — check app config
MAMP:
/usr/local/var/postgresql@[version]/MySQL:
/usr/local/var/mysql/SQLite files: wherever your app stores them — check app config
MAMP:
/Applications/MAMP/db/
✅ Better approach
Rather than backing up database binary files (which can be inconsistent mid-write), use dump scripts:
pg_dump dbname > ~/Documents/db-backup.sql on a schedule. Dumping to Documents ensures Softyz picks it up automatically in its default scope.Recommended setup: Add a cron job or scheduled task to dump your local database to ~/Documents/db-dumps/ daily. Softyz backs up Documents in real-time — your database dump is protected automatically without needing to add special paths.
6
For self-employed individuals and small businesses, financial records are not just important — they’re a legal requirement. Tax authorities expect you to retain records for 7 years in most jurisdictions. Losing your financial records to a device failure doesn’t exempt you from this obligation. If you use accounting software with local storage (QuickBooks Desktop, older Excel-based bookkeeping), those files need explicit backup coverage.
📍 Where to find it
QuickBooks Desktop (Mac):
Excel/Numbers files: wherever you save them — add all financial spreadsheet folders
Invoice folders: often in Downloads or a custom folder — add explicitly
Receipt scans: check where your scanning app saves to
~/Documents/Intuit/QuickBooks/Excel/Numbers files: wherever you save them — add all financial spreadsheet folders
Invoice folders: often in Downloads or a custom folder — add explicitly
Receipt scans: check where your scanning app saves to
✅ Is it already covered?
iCloud: ⚠ Only if in iCloud scope · Google Drive: ⚠ Only if in Drive folder · Time Machine: ✔ Yes · Softyz: ⚠ Only if in Documents or explicitly added
Best practice: Move all financial files to a dedicated folder within Documents (e.g., ~/Documents/Finance/). This ensures iCloud, Softyz, and Time Machine all cover it without extra configuration. Add the retention tag for 7 years in Softyz Enterprise for SOX/GDPR compliance.
7
Signed contracts are legal instruments. Losing the only copy of a signed NDA, service agreement, or employment contract creates genuine legal risk — especially in disputes where you need to prove the terms you agreed to. Most people receive these as email attachments, save them to Downloads, and never move them to a proper folder. Downloads is frequently outside the default iCloud scope and easily overlooked in backup configuration.
📍 Where to find it
Most commonly in:
~/Downloads/ (often the only copy) · Also check: email attachments (server copy exists if you have cloud email) · Desktop (active contracts being reviewed) · Any folder named “Contracts,” “Legal,” or “Agreements”
✅ Is it already covered?
iCloud: ❌ Downloads not in iCloud scope by default · Google Drive: ❌ No · Time Machine: ✔ Yes · Softyz: ⚠ Only if Downloads is explicitly added to scope
Two actions: 1) Add
~/Downloads to Softyz backup scope immediately. 2) Move all signed contracts to ~/Documents/Contracts/ so future contracts land in a properly backed-up location from the start.How to audit your backup scope in 10 minutes
1
Open Softyz and view your current backup scope
Go to Preferences → Folders. You’ll see a list of every folder currently in your backup scope. This is the definitive answer to “what is actually being backed up” — not what you think is being backed up.
2
Go through the 10 file types above and check each one
For each of the 10 types in this article: does this file exist on my device? Is the folder it lives in already in my Softyz backup scope? If yes to both — you’re covered. If the folder isn’t in scope — add it before moving on.
3
Enable Full Disk Access if you haven’t already
Several of the file types above (SSH keys, email archives, app-specific databases, mobile device backups) are in hidden Library folders that Softyz can only access with Full Disk Access granted. System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access → Softyz: ON.
4
Wait 10 minutes and verify in the Web Manager
After adding new folders, open app.softyzinc.com and confirm the new folders appear in your backup. If they show a file count and a recent backup timestamp, they’re protected. If they show “scanning” or “0 files,” check that Full Disk Access is granted and the path is correct.
“The calls I find hardest to take are from people who had a backup running for years — and only discovered what it didn’t cover when something went wrong. Going through this list takes 10 minutes. Not going through it can cost months of irreplaceable work.” — Anita Murthy, VP Customer Success, Softyz Inc.
📋 The 10 files — have you added them all?
✓
#1 Email archive: Outlook PST / Apple Mail / Thunderbird profile folder — added to Softyz with Full Disk Access
✓
#2 Browser bookmarks: Exported to Documents monthly OR using a cloud-synced password manager for all credentials
✓
#3 Creative app projects: Lightroom catalogues, Logic projects, DaVinci databases — all specific paths added to Softyz
✓
#4 SSH keys & credentials: ~/.ssh/ folder added · stored in zero-knowledge encrypted Softyz backup
✓
#5 Database dumps: Cron job or scheduled task dumps databases to ~/Documents/db-dumps/ daily
✓
#6 Financial records: All in ~/Documents/Finance/ — or accounting software path explicitly added to Softyz
✓
#7 Legal documents: ~/Downloads/ added to Softyz scope · contracts moved to ~/Documents/Contracts/
✓
#8 Third-party app photos: Habit of exporting to Camera Roll after every edit · app-specific directories added on Android