Redline’s vault is local to a browser profile. It is not automatically synchronized or backed up by Redline.
Redline All data JSON is the importable vault-record backup
An All data JSON export includes Redline’s schema version, export time, app version, pages, annotations, dossiers, tags, link records, claims, evidence relations, every source capture, and settings. It is the only format that restores Redline’s full vault-record structure, including readable witness history and capture-to-annotation associations; browser-bookmark import is a one-way migration into new Page and dossier records. A scoped JSON backup includes captures associated with the Pages in that scope, while non-JSON formats do not include full normalized capture text.
- Open the full Library and select Exports.
- In Export Builder, choose Scope → All data.
- Choose Format → JSON backup.
- Choose Export and save
redline-backup.jsonoutside the browser profile.
Create a fresh JSON backup before:
- uninstalling or reinstalling Redline;
- clearing browser, site, profile, or extension data;
- resetting or replacing a browser profile;
- moving research to another supported browser or computer;
- running a large import or merge;
- making operating-system or browser changes that could affect the profile.
Import and restore vault records
- Back up the destination vault first with Exports → All data → JSON backup → Export.
- In the full Library, select Imports. Under Import Redline backup, choose a Redline All data JSON file.
- Choose a Duplicate strategy and review the Import preview, record counts, and duplicate-normalized-URL count.
- Choose Apply Import.
- Review a few important pages, annotations, and dossiers before deleting older backups.
| Duplicate strategy | Actual behavior | Review afterward |
|---|---|---|
| Skip duplicate normalized URLs | Incoming Pages whose normalized URL already exists are excluded. Other incoming entity types still merge by ID. | Confirm the annotations and dossier relationships you expected are present. |
| Merge incoming over existing | All incoming records are accepted; an incoming record overlays an existing record only when their IDs match. | Pages with the same normalized URL but different IDs can remain as separate duplicates. |
The preview checks for a supported schema version and the required pages, annotations, dossiers, links, tags, claims, evidence-relations, and—where required by the schema—source-captures arrays. It is not a deep audit of every record field. If validation rejects a file, keep the original untouched and see Import problems.
Move from browser bookmarks
Redline accepts Chrome-family bookmarks HTML and Firefox Bookmark Backup JSON in either build, turning an existing bookmark collection into the beginning of a working research library.
- Prepare the source file: in Chrome, Chromium, Edge, Brave, or another compatible Chrome-family browser, open the bookmark manager and choose Export bookmarks to create an
.htmlfile. In Firefox’s bookmark manager, choose Import and Backup → Backup to create a.jsonfile; for this route, do not choose Export Bookmarks to HTML. - Open Redline’s full Library and select Imports.
- Under Import browser bookmarks, select the bookmarks
.htmlfile or Firefox Backup.jsonfile. - Review the counts for bookmarks found, new Pages and dossiers, duplicate URLs, and unsupported URLs.
- Choose Import Bookmarks, then add the notes, tags, status, importance, annotations, and dossier context that make the sources useful.
| Bookmark data | Redline result |
|---|---|
| HTTP or HTTPS URL and title | A new Page, using the bookmark date when available |
| Full nested folder path | A dossier named with that full path, such as Bookmarks Toolbar / Project / Sources |
| The same new URL in several folders | One Page connected to each corresponding dossier |
| A URL already saved in Redline | Skipped without changing the existing Page |
javascript:, data:, chrome:, place:, view-source:, or another non-web scheme | Reported as unsupported and skipped |
Choose the right export
| Format | Best use | Importable by Redline? |
|---|---|---|
| JSON backup | Complete or scoped vault-record backup, including related source captures, claims, and evidence relations | Yes |
| Source Witness JSON | One capture’s manifest, normalized text, and integrity limitations; created from the stored witness | No |
| CSV bundle | Tabular analysis; redline-csv-export.zip contains pages, annotations, dossiers, links, tags, claims, and evidence-relations CSV files | No |
| Redline XML | Structured interchange with grouped claims and evidence relations | No |
| Markdown | Readable source packs with claim conclusions, grouped evidence, quotes, sources, and rationales | No |
| BibTeX | LaTeX and reference workflows | No |
| RIS | Reference-manager interchange | No |
| CSL JSON | Standards-oriented citation data and a practical Zotero import path | No |
| EndNote XML | EndNote-oriented citation interchange | No |
| Academic Markdown | Annotated bibliography, citation-key source pack, or footnote-ready list | No |
| Plain bibliography | Convenient readable citation lines | No |
Understand export scope
Evidence-aware scopes preserve the complete trail. A selected claim brings its relations, annotations, and source pages; an included annotation brings its connected claim and the rest of that claim’s evidence. This closure keeps a focused export from separating a conclusion from the passages used to assess it.
In Library → Exports, Scope can be All data, Dossier, Tag, Domain, Pages only, or Annotations only. Scopes preserve useful relationships: Pages only also brings annotations on those pages, and Annotations only also brings their source pages. Dossier, tag, and domain exports likewise include related records rather than acting as strict single-table filters.
The sidebar’s Export tab is a faster all-data route with JSON, CSV, XML, and MARKDOWN buttons. Use the full Library’s Exports builder when you need a particular scope or a citation format.
Citation metadata
Redline can read citation-related metadata from the current page, including common citation meta tags and structured data. Extraction happens locally and the fields remain editable.
Many websites provide incomplete, inconsistent, or incorrect metadata. Review author names, dates, titles, publication details, identifiers, and generated citation keys before using an export in formal work.
What Redline cannot recover
If the local browser vault is removed and no JSON backup exists, Redline has no server-side copy to restore. A Markdown, CSV, XML, or citation export may preserve useful content, but the current importer cannot read those formats.
If data appears missing, first confirm that you are using the original browser profile. Do not uninstall, clear data, or overwrite the profile while investigating.