Comma
How-to Guides

Move Comma to another device

Carry your vault to a new phone, or run the same data on a phone and a laptop at once.

Old phone
on your device
Your Google Drive
yours, optional
New phone or laptop
on your device
One Google account on both devices and the vault flows across. The backup file is the offline fallback — and importing one replaces the target vault.

Connecting two devices to the same Google account is the whole job. Your data flows between them automatically, and because your profile syncs too, the new device comes up already configured — there is no setup wizard to repeat.

On each device: Settings → Data → Cloud Sync → Connect Google Drive, signing in with the same Google account on both.

The new device pulls down files it can't read yet and asks for your backup password — the vault is always encrypted, so enter the same password you set on the first device. Enter it once and both devices are aligned. If it says the password is wrong, sync pauses instead of forking your data; if you no longer have the password, use Forgot your password? on a device that still has your data to rebuild the cloud copy. See Encryption.

To a new phone

  1. Install Comma on the new phone — see Install Comma.
  2. On the welcome screen, choose Restore or sync existing data instead of Get started.
  3. Connect the same Google account you used on the old phone.
  4. Enter your backup password when asked — it's the same one you set on the old phone.
  5. Wait for the first pull to finish. Your shifts, expenses, goals, and profile arrive together.

If the new phone reports "No synced data found yet", the old phone hasn't pushed recently. On the old phone: Settings → Data → Cloud Sync → Sync now, then retry.

Between phone and laptop

  1. Open comma-psi.vercel.app and, optionally, install the PWA — see Install Comma.
  2. Settings → Data → Cloud Sync → Connect Google Drive, using the same Google account as the phone.
  3. Enter your backup password when the web app asks — the same one you set on the phone.
  4. The web app pulls your vault down and stays in step from then on.

The full mechanics are in Cloud Sync.

The alternative path: a backup file

If you would rather not use Cloud Sync, you can move a vault by hand:

  1. On the source app, export a backup file.
  2. On the target app, import it.

The backup is a single JSON file holding your whole vault; if you want to know exactly what it contains, see Backup file format.

Two cautions before you do:

  • The phone and web apps use different backup file formats. A file exported on one will not import into the other — use Cloud Sync to cross between phone and web.
  • Importing REPLACES the target vault. Whatever is on the target device is overwritten by the file's contents, so import into a fresh or expendable vault, never one that still holds data you need.

Which path to choose

Cloud SyncBackup file
OngoingBoth devices stay in stepA one-time snapshot
Phone and webWorks across bothFormats differ — not portable
SetupSign in on bothExport, then import
On the targetChanges mergeThe vault is replaced

For most moves, Cloud Sync is the answer. Reach for a backup file when you specifically want a manual, offline transfer.

  • Cloud Sync — how the sync underneath this works
  • Encryption — the password prompt on a new device

Try Comma with demo data

Explore a fully populated Comma without entering any of your own records.

Import shifts and expenses from a spreadsheet

Bring existing records into Comma from a CSV file.

On this page

The recommended path: Cloud SyncTo a new phoneBetween phone and laptopThe alternative path: a backup fileWhich path to chooseRelated