iOS Safe Zone: Backup Rules and Recovery Limits
Available on iOS / iPadOS.
Safe Zone keeps recent saved states of your projects in Files ▸ On My iPad / On My iPhone ▸ Resprite ▸ _safezone. For the recovery steps, see recover a recent version on iOS.
When are backups created?
When a save replaces an existing project file, Resprite moves that previous file into _safezone. Manual and automatic saves use the same mechanism. Safe Zone does not need a separate switch and does not depend on scheduled auto-save being enabled.
If a save writes a file that does not exist yet, there is no previous file to back up. A backup records a previously saved state, not each editing action or unsaved change.
The folder retains up to 20 recent backups in total across all projects. When a new backup takes the total over that limit, the oldest backups are removed. Saving other projects can therefore remove an older backup of the project you are trying to recover. There is no fixed retention period in days or a separate quota of 20 versions per project.
What do the backup filenames mean?
The filename contains a numeric timestamp, the original project name, and a short identifier, followed by the project extension. Its structure is timestamp-project-name-short-id.resprite.
The timestamp marks when the backup was created by moving the old file into Safe Zone. It is not necessarily when that old content was originally saved. Use the project name to find candidates, then inspect copies in Resprite; you do not need to convert the timestamp to recover a file.
Restore a saved version
Copy candidate backups into the parent Resprite folder with filenames different from your current project. Open the copies in Resprite to check their contents before continuing to edit. See the step-by-step recovery guide.
Copy candidates out of Safe Zone before making further saves to the original. To retain a particular version, keep it outside Safe Zone so automatic cleanup cannot remove it. Do not delete _safezone or other internal folders whose names begin with _.
Why is a backup missing?
| Situation | What to check |
|---|---|
| The folder is empty or no backup matches the project | Check the project name and location. A previous version exists only after a save has replaced an existing project file. Enabling auto-save alone does not create a history of earlier edits. |
| Older versions are missing | They may have been removed by the shared 20-backup limit, including through saves to other projects. Check any independent copies you kept. |
| A recent edit is absent from every backup | The edit may never have been saved, or it may still be in the current project and not yet in a previous saved copy. Inspect a copy of the current project as well. |
| A backup exists but will not open | Keep the backup unchanged. Contact Resprite support with your device, app version, and what happens when you open a copy. |
Safe Zone cannot recreate edits that were never saved or backups that have already been removed. The copies still available determine what can be recovered.
Keep independent backups
Safe Zone is stored with the app's local files and is intended for recent recovery. Keep important .resprite copies in a separate location, using the project backup and restore guide. That guide also explains why project copies do not include separately stored timelapse recordings.