> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.doviconvert.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Backup & Restore
> Create space-efficient archives and restore original Profile 7 files
When you convert a Profile 7 file to Profile 8.1 or HDR10, the Enhancement Layer is discarded. The backup feature lets you save this Enhancement Layer as a compact `.dovi` archive before conversion. Later, you can combine this archive with your converted file to rebuild the original Profile 7 file.
## Why Back Up?
By default, `convert` renames the original file to `.bak.dovi_convert` as a safety backup. This works, but it doubles your storage - a 60 GB movie creates a 60 GB backup.
A `.dovi` archive stores only the Enhancement Layer, typically 10-25% of the original size. With this archive, you can delete the large `.bak.dovi_convert` file and still restore the original Profile 7 later.
**Typical archive sizes:**
| FEL Type | Archive Size | Example (60 GB source) |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------ | ---------------------- |
| MEL (Minimal Enhancement Layer) | Very small | 1 GB - 2 GB |
| FEL (Full Enhancement Layer) | 10-25% of original | 6 - 15 GB |
## Creating Backups
You can create a backup either as a standalone operation or during conversion.
### Standalone Backup
Create an archive without modifying the source file:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-latte","dark":"catppuccin-macchiato"}}
dovi_convert backup movie.mkv
```
This creates `movie.dovi` in the same directory as the source.
To save the archive elsewhere:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-latte","dark":"catppuccin-macchiato"}}
dovi_convert backup movie.mkv --output /backups/
```
The `backup` command works on single files only. For batch operations, use `convert --backup` instead.
### Backup During Conversion
Create a backup automatically when you convert:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-latte","dark":"catppuccin-macchiato"}}
dovi_convert convert movie.mkv --backup
```
This creates `movie.dovi` before converting to Profile 8.1. The archive is saved in the same directory as the source file. You can combine this with the `--output` flag, which moves both the converted file as well as the backup archive to the specified output folder.
The `--backup` flag works with both single files and batch mode (directories):
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-latte","dark":"catppuccin-macchiato"}}
dovi_convert convert /movies --recursive --backup
```
Batch backups can consume significant disk space. For example, backing up 50 movies creates around 500 GB of archives. Make sure you have enough free space before running batch operations with `--backup`.
### Combining with `--delete`
If you want to remove the original file after conversion but still have a way to restore:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-latte","dark":"catppuccin-macchiato"}}
dovi_convert convert movie.mkv --backup --delete
```
The `.dovi` archive is preserved even when `--delete` removes the `.bak.dovi_convert` backup.
With `--backup --delete`, your only way to restore the original Profile 7 file is through the `.dovi` archive. Make sure the archive was created successfully before relying on this workflow. Verify before trust.
## Restoring Files
The `restore` command rebuilds a Profile 7 file from a converted file and its `.dovi` archive.
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-latte","dark":"catppuccin-macchiato"}}
dovi_convert restore movie.mkv
```
The command:
1. Locates `movie.dovi` in the same directory
2. Extracts the Base Layer from your current file
3. Detects whether the file is Profile 8.1 or HDR10
4. Sanitizes the Base Layer (removes any injected RPU if present)
5. Rebuilds Profile 7 using the Enhancement Layer from the archive
6. Remuxes with all original audio and subtitle tracks
7. Verifies the result is valid Profile 7
The output is saved as `movie.restored.mkv`. The converted profile 8.1 file is not modified or deleted - you can remove it manually after verifying the restoration.
\*\*Restore is a multi-step remux that processes a substantial amount of data. It can take several minutes, even on fast SSDs (and much longer on HDDs)
### Using Archives from Another Location
If you moved your `.dovi` archive to a backup drive:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-latte","dark":"catppuccin-macchiato"}}
dovi_convert restore movie.mkv --source /Volumes/Backups/movie.dovi
```
### What Gets Restored
The restore process works on both Profile 8.1 and HDR10 files:
| Current File | Process |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Profile 8.1 | Strips injected RPU from Base Layer, then rebuilds with original EL |
| HDR10 | Rebuilds directly with original EL (no sanitization needed) |
The `restore` command works on single files only. There is no batch restore mode.
## Archive Format
The `.dovi` archive is an uncompressed TAR file containing a single `el.hevc` file (the Enhancement Layer). The format is intentionally simple:
* No compression overhead (the video is already heavily compressed)
* Fast extraction
* Standard format readable by any TAR tool
## Troubleshooting
### Missing Backup Error
If the archive can't be found:
```
No backup found.
Expected: /path/to/movie.dovi
Hint: Use --source to specify an alternate backup location.
```
Use `--source` to point to the correct location.
### Verification Failure
If restore completes but verification shows the file is not Profile 7, the archive may be corrupted or from a different source file.
## Next Steps
Full command reference for creating archives
Full command reference for restoring files