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Prest

Backups and data

What is stored where

Section titled “What is stored where”
What Where
Songs, setlists, the show library folder, the current song, network settings On the host computer, in one catalog file. Shared by every device.
Text size, song-list settings, theme, and, in Prest and the next release, views, appearance, and lock In each device’s browser.
Projects, audio, and, in Prest and the next release, attachments In the show library folder. Prest Server never changes the project files.

The catalog file:

Host Catalog file
REAPER prest.pb in the UserPlugins folder of REAPER’s standard resource folder: ~/Library/Application Support/REAPER/UserPlugins on macOS, %APPDATA%\REAPER\UserPlugins on Windows, ~/.config/REAPER/UserPlugins on Linux. A portable REAPER uses the same place.
Ableton Live, 0.1.x Prest/prest.pb in Live’s User Library at its standard place: ~/Music/Ableton/User Library on macOS, Documents\Ableton\User Library on Windows.
Ableton Live, later releases Prest Server/prest.pb in the same User Library.
Prest Prest Server/prest.pb in Prest’s own folder. See Where Prest keeps things.

Each host has its own catalog: REAPER, Live, and Prest on one computer do not share songs and setlists.

Back up

Section titled “Back up”
  1. Open Setup.
  2. Under Data, Export Backup, choose Download Backup. The badge shows how many songs and setlists it holds.
  3. The browser saves a file named like prest-backup-2026-10-07T19-30-00.000Z.rpbak, and the page reads Downloaded.
  4. Keep it with the show’s other files.

A backup holds the songs and setlists, with every song’s name, length, project, tempo, notes, and, in Prest and the next release, key. It does not hold the show library folder setting, network settings, device settings, projects, audio, or attachments. Only Prest Server reads it.

Restore

Section titled “Restore”
  1. Download a backup of the current catalog first.
  2. Under Data, Import Backup, choose Import Backup and pick the .rpbak file.
  3. Wait for Imported and the message Imported 12 songs and 2 setlists., with the backup’s numbers.

Import adds the backup’s songs and setlists to the catalog. It does not replace or delete anything.

  • Every imported setlist is a new setlist, so importing the same backup twice lists its setlists twice.
  • In 0.1.1, every imported song arrives as a new song. When Editor next opens, it merges the copies of a song that is a project of its own; a song from a project with several songs stays listed twice.
  • In Prest and the next release, a song linked to a project is matched to the same song already in the catalog and updated, so it is not listed twice. Songs without a project are always added.

If the file is not a Prest Server backup, the page reads Import Failed with Backup file is not a valid Prest backup. A file without the .rpbak extension is refused with Select a Prest backup file (.rpbak).

Move to another computer

Section titled “Move to another computer”
  1. Put the show library on the new computer.
  2. Install Prest Server there, or open Prest, and set the show library folder in Setup.
  3. Download a backup on the old computer and import it on the new one.

Start over

Section titled “Start over”

Setup, System, Wipe App Data deletes every song and setlist on the host and clears the show library folder setting. Download a backup first. See Wipe App Data.

Clearing a browser’s data for the site resets only that device’s settings and first-run guide.