Should I close Chromium before I back it up?

RichardB1 · 12-10-2021, 01:26 AM

I started making daily backups of my .config/chromium/default folder about a week ago, but then started wondering if I should close the browser before doing that. I'm able to copy the folder without closing the browser, but maybe as a result I'm not getting everything I should be. Or maybe I'm copying more stuff (like temporary files) than I need to. Thanks

ondoho · 12-10-2021, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardB1

I started making daily backups of my .config/chromium/default folder about a week ago, but then started wondering if I should close the browser before doing that. I'm able to copy the folder without closing the browser, but maybe as a result I'm not getting everything I should be. Or maybe I'm copying more stuff (like temporary files) than I need to. Thanks

Tricky.
Chromium seems to be doing some caching in both ~/.cache and ~/.config/chromium.
Altogether there's a lot of stuff, and my guess is yes, you should close Chromium before doing the backup.

A quick search does not reveal anything either.

Why not make a test:

start Chromium, log into your favorite site
backup the folder
close Chromium
move the folder to your current Chromium folder
open Chromum in a terminal, to catch all messages
log into your favorite site

computersavvy · 12-10-2021, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardB1

I started making daily backups of my .config/chromium/default folder about a week ago, but then started wondering if I should close the browser before doing that. I'm able to copy the folder without closing the browser, but maybe as a result I'm not getting everything I should be. Or maybe I'm copying more stuff (like temporary files) than I need to. Thanks

In general (applies to all backups) the directory/files being backed up should be idle so there are no changes while the backup is being performed. This means files should be closed and no changes of any kind ---> implies you should close chromium while backing up.