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Storage and Backup

Storage Locations

Achew writes to three locations: Settings, Transcription Model Cache, and Temporary Data.

Settings

Directory location

  • Windows/Linux/macOS: path/to/achew/backend/app/config/
  • Docker: /achew/app/config

Contains user config/settings data:

  • Audiobookshelf URL and key
  • LLM provider settings
  • Transcription preferences
  • Editor settings
  • Custom Instructions for AI Cleanup
  • Chapter Search rules and cached library data

API keys are stored in plain text

app_config.json contains your Audiobookshelf and LLM API keys. Treat backups of it accordingly: encrypt off-site copies and do not commit to public repositories.

Transcription Model Cache

Directory location

  • Linux/macOS: ~/.cache/huggingface/hub
  • Windows: C:\Users\<Username>\.cache\huggingface\hub
  • Docker: /root/.cache/huggingface/hub

Contains the models used for transcription (Whisper/Parakeet). These are downloaded on first use and cached for subsequent runs. This directory is safe to delete; Achew will re-download anything it needs.

Temporary Data

Directory location

  • Linux/Docker: /tmp/achew
  • Windows: Typically C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local\Temp\achew, but can vary.
  • macOS: /var/folders/xx/xxx.../T/achew

Contains transient data for the current session:

  • Book audio files
  • Chapter source files
  • Audio segments used for detection and transcription

Back up

A backup of the Settings directory is enough to restore Achew settings on a new install.

Docker users

The Docker examples in this page assume the default ./config:/achew/app/config mapping from docker-compose.yml. If you've changed the host-side path, substitute it for config/ in the commands below.

cd path/to/achew # Directory containing your Docker compose file
tar czf ~/achew-backup.tgz config/

cd path/to/achew
tar czf ~/achew-backup.tgz -C backend/app config

cd path\to\achew\backend\app
Compress-Archive -Path config -DestinationPath "$HOME\achew-backup.zip"

Restore

Stop Achew, replace the current config/ with the backup, and start Achew again.

cd path/to/achew # Directory containing your Docker compose file
docker-compose down
mv config config.old
tar xzf ~/achew-backup.tgz
docker-compose up -d

Stop the running ./run.sh first (Ctrl+C in its terminal), then:

cd path/to/achew/backend/app
mv config config.old
tar xzf ~/achew-backup.tgz
cd ../..
./run.sh

Stop the running run.bat first (Ctrl+C in its terminal), then:

cd path\to\achew\backend\app
Move-Item config config.old
Expand-Archive -Path "$HOME\achew-backup.zip" -DestinationPath .
cd ..\..
.\run.bat

Reset all data

Stop Achew, delete config/, and restart. You will land on first-run setup and need to re-enter your API keys and preferences.

cd path/to/achew # Directory containing your Docker compose file
docker-compose down
rm -rf config/
docker-compose up -d

Stop the running ./run.sh first (Ctrl+C in its terminal), then:

rm -rf path/to/achew/backend/app/config
cd path/to/achew && ./run.sh

Stop the running run.bat first (Ctrl+C in its terminal), then:

Remove-Item -Recurse -Force path\to\achew\backend\app\config
cd path\to\achew; .\run.bat