SaveDesktop: An Easy Way to Save Your Linux Desktop Environment Configuration Settings

Save your Linux desktop configuration effortlessly with SaveDesktop! Tired of losing hours of customization after accidental changes? SaveDesktop, a graphical application, provides a simple solution for backing up and restoring your Linux desktop environment settings. This is especially helpful for frequent OS reinstalls.

Table of Contents

- What is SaveDesktop?

• Installing SaveDesktop
• Saving Your Desktop Configuration
• Restoring Your Desktop Configuration
• Synchronizing Settings Between Systems
• Conclusion

What is SaveDesktop?

Maintaining a customized desktop environment can be challenging. SaveDesktop solves this! This open-source application saves your Linux desktop's configuration, including themes, icons, wallpapers, extensions, and more. It's ideal for preventing accidental data loss or easily replicating your setup on another machine. Written in Python, its source code is available on GitHub.

Key Features:

• Broad desktop environment support (GNOME, Xfce, Cinnamon, Budgie, COSMIC, Pantheon, MATE, KDE Plasma).
• Saves themes, icons, wallpapers, extensions, and all settings.
• Saves configurations to files.
• One-click configuration restoration.
• Open-source and free.

Installing SaveDesktop

SaveDesktop is available as a Flatpak package. Ensure Flatpak is installed on your system (see "How To Install And Use Flatpak In Linux" for instructions), then run:

flatpak install flathub io.github.vikdevelop.SaveDesktop

Saving Your Desktop Configuration

Launch SaveDesktop (either from the terminal using flatpak run io.github.vikdevelop.SaveDesktop or your system menu).

The interface (shown here on Debian 12 Cinnamon) is intuitive. Enter a filename in the designated box and click "Save." Choose a save location for the resulting .tar.gz archive.

Select specific items to include in the archive using the options provided and click "Apply".

This archive can be stored externally or in cloud storage for easy transfer to other machines.

Restoring Your Desktop Configuration

To restore, open SaveDesktop, navigate to "Import," click "Import from file," and select your saved configuration.

You can also choose from the list of saved configurations in the SaveDesktop directory. Log out and back in to apply the changes. Important: Restore configurations within the same desktop environment (e.g., GNOME to GNOME, not GNOME to KDE).

Synchronizing Settings Between Two Systems

Synchronize settings between two systems (both on the same network, with static IP addresses) as follows:

Prerequisites:

1. Same network connection.
2. Static IP addresses on both machines.

Steps:

1. Router Configuration (if needed): Assign static IPs in your router settings (often accessible via 192.168.1.1).
2. File Access (if needed): If using Flatseal, grant necessary file access permissions.
3. Synchronization Folder: Ensure the same folder is used for saving and synchronization on both machines.
4. SaveDesktop Synchronization Setup: On both computers:
   • Open SaveDesktop and go to the "Sync" page.
   • On Computer 1: Set up the sync file, choose a synchronization interval, and copy the generated URL.
   • On Computer 2: Use the "Connect with other computer" button and paste the URL from Computer 1.
5. Logout: Log out and back in on both computers to apply the synchronization.

Conclusion

SaveDesktop is a valuable tool for Linux users. Its simplicity and effectiveness make it a must-have for maintaining and transferring desktop configurations.

Resources:

• SaveDesktop GitHub Repository

Related Reading:

• How To Backup And Restore Application Settings Using Mackup On Newly Installed Linux System
• Backup And Restore Linux Desktop System Settings With Dconf

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