I’ve been working on a large non-fiction book on school leadership and making steady progress, though I’ve struggled to choose between Scrivener and Ulysses. My preference for writing on the iPad keeps me leaning toward Ulysses, which is far better on the iPad than Scrivener.
In the past, I’ve shared concerns about Ulysses sync issues. Recently, I discovered how to protect my work if something goes wrong. Ulysses stores its library locally on each device, and while it syncs via iCloud, it is not backed up to iCloud. Without an external backup, you could lose everything in a worst-case scenario.
Because I write primarily on the iPad, I explored how to back up my Ulysses library without using a Mac. I developed a reliable iPad-only backup strategy that preserves all sheets and their hierarchy. I shared the details in a Ulysses forum thread, and in fairness to the community and developers, I’m posting this update.
Bottom line: I can now back up my Ulysses library externally and recover it if needed—safely and reliably—using only the iPad.
This is probably more than you want to know, but for those interested, here is the thread on the Ulysses forum:
My Planned Backup Strategy
I plan to export my complete Ulysses library once weekly to a dedicated iCloud folder (location shown in attached screenshot). This would create regular backup snapshots that I could use to restore my library if needed.
My Questions:
- If I export my library to this iCloud folder location weekly, will I have a reliable restoration method if my Ulysses library becomes corrupted, I need to erase/reset an iPad, or I purchase a new iPad?
- Will these weekly iCloud exports preserve everything, including my books and all content structure?
- Are there any limitations or potential issues with this approach that I should be aware of?
My Complete Backup Plan
Weekly Backup Routine
- Primary Backup:
- I’ll export my complete Ulysses library to a dedicated iCloud folder
- Secondary Backup:
- I’ll also export the same library to a Dropbox or Google Drive folder
- This provides redundancy if iCloud experiences issues
- Additional Backup:
- I’ll copy the backup library zip file to an external drive and/or additional online storage.
- This creates a third backup location for maximum protection.
Does this approach sound solid, or are there additional suggestions you’d recommend for an iPad-only workflow?
Note, only the Library Backup Zip files would be exported to “3b Ulysses Library Backup Archive.” The other folders are in Ulysses as external folders that I can drag work into from the Ulysses library. I have also copied the backup file from Finder on the iPad to Google Drive on the iPad as shown on the screenshot.
István Göblyös] AdminUlysses Team
Hi Dr. Barrett Mosbacker,
The issue is that using a complete library export as a backup means the library hierarchy will be lost. When you export your library, you will get a large single document. That can’t really be used as a backup.
Since you would only backup once a week, you can copy the Ulysses backup file (which stores all your files and library hierarchy) to another storage location.
Although there is a potential feature request between your lines, which is having a shortcut to export the latest backup. That would definitely make backups more useful. Would that be helpful later on?
Dr. Barrett Mosbacker
This is extremely helpful and much appreciated. Thank you! A shortcut like this would be wonderful, and I suspect others would value it as well. Given that a small minority of users, myself included, have lost data in Ulysses due to syncing issues, it would offer an added measure of reassurance and confidence—certainly for me. Thanks again for redirecting me; I was headed down the wrong path. However, on the iPad, I don’t see a way to copy the backup. On the iPad, is there a way to copy the backup?
Will this copy and save the backup and preserve the sheets and hierarchy?
I long-pressed the backup, chose export, and Save to Files. Here is what I now have in an iCloud folder:
Is the .ulbackup.zip file in my Backup Archive folder a true Ulysses backup file that:
- Preserves my entire library hierarchy (groups, subgroups, and individual sheets),
- Retains keywords, notes, attachments, and metadata, and
- Can be fully restored through Ulysses › Settings › Backup › Import from Backup?
I just want to make sure that if the worst happens, I have a method to restore my library with sheets and hierarchy preserved.
Sorry to be dense, but I want to make sure I understand this. Thanks much!
István Göblyös AdminUlysses Team
Dr. Barrett Mosbacker Yes, what you did is perfect. Exporting a backup instance to a folder is copying it in a way. These instances, as you wrote, contain all the necessary library hierarchy and all the other elements of your Ulysses library. The ulbackup.zip is Ulysses’ backup extension, which you can import either by directly opening it or using the “Import from Backup” option inside Ulysses. And absolutely no worries of “being dense“. This is an understandably important topic, and I can assure you that you got things right!
I also want to add that sync is working much more reliably. Perhaps the above information will be helpful to others here.