Back up everything in one file

Capture the whole Budgie database as one compressed file, locked with your PIN when you set one, and put it back on another device. No account, no upload.

Get the app when it opens

Free, no account
Works offline
Source-available

Budgie settings screen, Data Management section, listing the Import CSV, Export CSV, Import Database and Export Database rows

Where a server would be, there is a file

Settings keeps Export Database and Import Database as two neighbouring rows. Between them they do everything a hosted account would have done.

One file holds the database
Export Database copies the whole file behind the app — every transaction, account, category, tag and setting — then hands it to the system share sheet as a compressed, dated backup file. Set a PIN and that same PIN is what the file is encrypted with.
Restore replaces what is there
Import Database sits directly above it. Pick the file and Budgie warns you that it will replace all current data and cannot be undone; confirm and it swaps everything in and restarts. A PIN-locked backup asks for the PIN it was made with first, and it becomes the app PIN on the restored data. A backup made by an older version of Budgie cannot be restored.
Your file, your storage
The share sheet is the last step Budgie takes part in. Send the file to Files, iCloud Drive, a Drive folder or a USB stick, and keep as many dated copies as you want — the name carries the date and time, so exports never collide.

Writes the whole database
Restore from a backup file

Small enough to carry anywhere

One

file holds everythingTransactions, accounts, categories, tags and settings travel together.

accounts neededExport on one phone and import on the next, no upload in between.

Dated

name on every backup fileEach copy carries its date and time, so none overwrites another.

Back up and restore in Settings

Export Database and Import Database sit side by side in Settings.

Export on one phone, import on another

Locked with your PIN when you set one

Read the source

Budgie Settings Data Management section with the Import Database and Export Database rows

What you get

Everything in one file

One compressed file holds every transaction, account, category, tag and setting on your phone

Locked with your PIN

Set a PIN and the backup is locked with it — no vendor format, no conversion step

Move to a new phone

Move to a new phone by exporting on the old one and importing on the new one — no account on either side

Everything included

Restore from the same Settings list: pick the file, confirm the destructive replace, the app restarts on it
The export leaves through the system share sheet — Files, iCloud Drive, Drive, Dropbox or a USB stick

The details

For when you want to know exactly how it behaves.

Why a backup file beats a vendor backup

Cloud apps do “backups” by holding all your data on their servers. Budgie does backups by handing you the database file. Where you put it is your business.

Restore lives in the same Settings list as the export. Pick the file, confirm the warning that it replaces everything, and the app restarts on the restored database. No account is involved on either side.

Guides on the blog

Questions

How do I restore on another device?

Install Budgie, open Settings and tap Import Database in the Data Management list. Pick the backup file and confirm the warning. If the backup is PIN-locked, Budgie asks for the PIN it was made with and keeps it as the lock on the restored data; a backup made without a PIN restores with no PIN set. Backups made by an older version of Budgie cannot be restored.

Is the backup file safe to upload to a cloud?

If you have set a PIN, yes: the backup is locked with that PIN, so a provider sees unreadable data rather than your transactions. Without a PIN nothing is locked, so set one before the file leaves your device.

Can I have multiple backups?

Yes — every export is written with the date and time in its name, so files never overwrite each other. Snapshot before a risky import or migration and keep the file around for rollback.

Does Budgie auto-backup?

No. Exports are manual only — Budgie never writes a backup file on its own, and there is no scheduler and no reminder to turn on. Nothing is written until you tap Export Database.