Restoring App Data

It's been over a decade since I started developing the HTTP Shortcuts. A lot has changed under the hood, but I've always tried to keep updates backwards compatible, so that you can install new versions without problems. Unfortunately, this is not always possible.

As of version 3.29.0, I had to make a big change to the way the app stores its data internally. This means that your data will be automatically migrated for you when you install a new version of the app. Unfortunately, this migration logic is hindering further development on the app, and it also makes the app unnecessarily large. Therefore, I knew that at some point I would have to remove this migration again. This moment is now, with version 4.0.0. Unfortunately, this means that anyone who had a version installed older than 3.29.0 and then skipped all the versions up to 4.0.0 will now have an app which can no longer access its internal data, as support for the old format was removed and no migration logic remains.

Since you ended up on this page, I assume that you are one of the unfortunate people in this situation. I would like to apologize for the inconvenience but also thank you for your long time use of my app. Fret not, your data is not lost (I hope). Below you will find how you can restore it.

Instructions

These instructions assume that you are seeing a screen in the app that tells you to open this page, with a number of buttons below.

To restore your app's data, here's different approaches you can try:

A. Automatic Restore with Restore App (recommended)

  1. Download the APK for the "Restore Shortcuts" app from GitHub.
  2. Install the app from the APK. You might have to allow installation from unknown sources.
  3. Open the HTTP Shortcuts app.
  4. Click the "Restore Data" button. If you don't see the button, try closing and reopening the app.
  5. Your data should now be restored and you can uninstall the "Restore Shortcuts" app again. If you don't see the "Restore Data" button even after restrating or if restoring fails somehow, continue with step 4 of approach B below instead.

B. Manual Restore with Restore App

  1. Download the APK for the "Restore Shortcuts" app from GitHub.
  2. Install the app from the APK. You might have to allow installation from unknown sources.
  3. Open the HTTP Shortcuts app.
  4. Click the "Export Data" button. Select where to export your data to.
  5. Open the "Restore Shortcuts" app.
  6. Click the "Import from File" button.
  7. Select the file you exported in step 4.
  8. Click the "Export to File" button. Select where to export your data to.
  9. Open the HTTP Shortcuts app.
  10. Click the "Import Data" button.
  11. Select the file you exported in step 8.
  12. Your data should now be restored and you can uninstall the "Restore Shortcuts" app again. If restoring fails somehow, continue with step 3 of approach C below instead.

C. Downgrading

  1. Open the HTTP Shortcuts app.
  2. Click the "Export Data" button. Select where to export your data to.
  3. Uninstall the HTTP Shortcuts app. Please note that uninstalling the app will mean that you need to re-place shortcuts and widgets on the home screen. It is also recommended to first verify that the file exported in step 2 really contains all your data.
  4. Install app version 3.33.0, either from GitHub or from F-Droid
  5. Open the newly installed HTTP Shortcuts app.
  6. Go to "Import / Export"
  7. Click on "Import from File". Select the file you exported in step 2.
  8. Your data should now be restored.

D. Deleting your Data

You can click the "Delete Data" button if you choose to not restore your data and start again from scratch. Naturally, this means all your data will be lost, so make sure this is really what you want.

Troubleshooting

I hope you won't have any problems with this restoration process, but if you do, please contact me with details.

Building the Restore app yourself

If installing the APK of the "Restore Shortcuts" app does not work for you, or if you'd like to build it yourself from source, you can do so from the data-restorer branch.