Help Index → Opening, saving, and protecting your data → Use case 6
Full Live Save Backup creates a verified ordinary directory copy of the live NMS tree before you try an edit. It protects the files currently on disk, including other account folders under that NMS root; it is not a snapshot of the editor workspace.
Before you start
- Close No Man’s Sky and stop other tools from writing its files.
- Check the source folder through File > Open NMS Save File first. If necessary, use Pick Folder... and approve the folder-preference write. You do not have to load a slot to request a backup.
Steps
- Choose File > Full Live Save Backup. (control reference)
- Read the proposal’s complete source path. A selected Steam st_* or GOG DefaultUser account folder expands to its containing NMS directory, so the scope includes the other accounts there and is broader than one loaded slot. (control reference)
- Review the new destination path, proposed disk usage and remaining free space. Backups are timestamped directories under Full NMS Save Backups in the application root. (control reference)
- Choose Save only if the source and destination are correct. Choose Cancel to create no backup output. (control reference)
- Wait for Backup complete and verified. Record the exact resulting destination and preserve that directory before editing. (control reference)
Expected result
- The backup preserves the source’s relative files and directories without decoding or re-encoding saves. Each copied file is checked against the source.
- The loaded model, retained save target, unsaved edits and saved-data light are not changed by the backup.
What changes, and when to save
Save in this backup dialog writes a new backup directory only. It does not write editor changes into live saves, and it does not mark those changes saved.
Check the result
- Check the completion notice’s exact path; a proposal or progress message is not success.
- If an error reports an incomplete destination, do not treat that directory as a verified backup. Preserve earlier good backups.
Important details and recovery
- Do not save unwanted edits first just to make this backup; the operation intentionally copies the pre-existing on-disk state.
- Restore is manual and destructive, not the inverse of an automatic Restore button.