Manual method
Choose an account-data archive for personal history, or a project backup for restoring active projects.
Account-data archive, all plans
- Contact Todoist Support and request a copy of your personal data.
- When the export email arrives, choose Download your data. Save the ZIP within 14 days.
- Extract a working copy. Keep all numbered JSON files: large record collections can span several files.
- Inspect tasks, comments, projects and account information using a local text editor or JSON viewer.
Active-project backup
- On Todoist web or desktop, open your avatar → Settings → Backups.
- Download an existing backup, or choose Create backup if your current paid plan supports it.
- Extract the project CSV files and preserve the original ZIP.
Coverage and limitations: The JSON account archive and CSV backups have different purposes. Backups exclude completed tasks and archived projects, and attachment references may be links. New automatic backups require Pro/Business; backups made during a paid subscription remain downloadable after downgrading. Download authorized attachment files separately if you need their contents offline.
Size and time to allow
Illustrative small / central / large case: 0.001 / 0.02 / 0.5 GB (decimal GB). These are planning assumptions, not a measured average per person. 20 MB models a substantial task/comment history; downloading linked attachments can add much more and must be counted separately.
Preparation: Todoist does not give a preparation deadline for the support-requested account archive in the cited instructions; ask Support when to expect it. Its link lasts 14 days. Existing backups can be downloaded directly; generating a new paid-plan backup may take a few minutes.
For the central 0.02 GB example, network transfer alone is approximately:
| Connection | Estimated transfer |
|---|---|
| 10 Mbps | 23 seconds |
| 50 Mbps | 5 seconds |
| 100 Mbps | 2 seconds |
Assumes 70% sustained use of the stated connection. Provider throttling, many small files, retries, local extraction and copying add time. For online backup use your upload speed. These are not estimates of the provider’s preparation queue. See calculation and large-file advice.
Store and verify the archive
The example is small enough for an encrypted USB key, external drive or private cloud folder. Choose a second independent copy as well; a single USB key is easy to lose and a sync folder alone can propagate deletion.
Create todoist/YYYY-MM-DD/originals/, preserve the untouched download, and extract a separate working copy when needed. Allow extra free space for archive plus extraction; compressed text can expand far beyond twice its size. Record account/scope, export date, date coverage and missing items in a local README without passwords.
Inspect JSON date coverage and numbered parts, or CSV project names and active-task counts for a backup. Check comments and save permitted attachment originals separately. Reopen a sample from the second copy before deleting or replacing any source. Storage choices and verification.
Sources and review
Public documentation was reviewed on 27 October 2026. No signed-in export or restoration was performed. Account options and availability can change; follow the current provider instructions.