When upgrading your Unity3D projects or performing risky uncertain actions it is always recommended to back up your Unity project. Backing up your project can be done in various ways and there is no ‘right’ way to go when it comes to backing up your project except you typically want the following:
- A weekly backup of your vital projects
- Stored on local hard drive separate to your live project, preferably on another hard drive disk such as a portable hard drive, NAS or even a USB.
- Recommended: If you don’t have #2 as an option to store your backups in 2 places online such as on a GoogleDrive, OneDrive, DropBox or a FTP server.
Simple Unity3D Project Backup #
Backing up on MacOS #
Backing up Unity3D projects is an important aspect of game development, as it ensures that you can recover your work in the event of data loss or corruption. In this tutorial, we will show you how to back up your Unity3D projects on a typical filesystem for both Mac and Windows.
Step 1: Locate your Unity3D project folder
The first step in backing up your Unity3D project on Mac is to locate the project folder. The default location for Unity3D projects on Mac is ~/Documents/Unity, but the location may vary depending on where you saved the project.
Step 2: Copy the project folder
Once you have located your project folder, simply make a copy of the entire folder by selecting it and pressing Command+C. Then, go to the destination folder where you want to store your backup and press Command+V to paste the folder.
Step 3: Verify the backup
To verify that the backup was successful, open the copied project folder and make sure that all of the files and subfolders are present. You can also open the project in Unity3D to ensure that it is functioning correctly.
Backing Up on Windows #
Step 1: Locate your Unity3D project folder
The first step in backing up your Unity3D project on Windows is to locate the project folder. The default location for Unity3D projects on Windows is C:\Users\Username\Documents\Unity, but the location may vary depending on where you saved the project.
Step 2: Copy the project folder
Once you have located your project folder, simply make a copy of the entire folder by right-clicking on it and selecting Copy. Then, go to the destination folder where you want to store your backup and right-click and select Paste.
Step 3: Verify the backup
To verify that the backup was successful, open the copied project folder and make sure that all of the files and subfolders are present. You can also open the project in Unity3D to ensure that it is functioning correctly.
Best Practices for Backing Up Unity3D Projects
Here are some best practices to follow when backing up your Unity3D projects:
- Backup your project regularly: It’s a good idea to back up your project at least once a day, especially if you’re making frequent changes to the project.
- Use version control: Consider using a version control system such as Git or SVN to keep track of changes to your project over time.
- Use an external hard drive or cloud storage: Storing your backups on an external hard drive or cloud storage service provides an extra layer of protection against data loss or corruption.
- Keep multiple backups: It’s a good idea to keep multiple backups of your project, in case one backup becomes corrupted or lost.
- Test your backups: Before relying on your backups, test them to make sure that they are functioning correctly and that you can recover your work.
Backing up your Unity3D project is a crucial step in game development. By following the steps outlined in this tutorial, you can ensure that your project is protected against data loss or corruption. Remember to back up your project regularly, use version control, and store your backups on an external hard drive or cloud storage service for added protection.
Compressing & backing up your files #
Windows comes with a default zip tool and typically there is some sort of compression tool already. If you are using MacOS instructions specific can be found here.
https://www.macinstruct.com/tutorials/how-to-compress-zip-files-and-folders
Note: You can usually select your folder(s) and right-click and select Winrar, 7Zip or WinZip.
If you don’t see any of the following options I recommend you download 7-Zip: https://www.7-zip.org/download.html
In the example above: The contents of the Unity project folder minus the Library folder allow for optimal backup storage. If I ever had to restore my project, I would need to let the library re-generate. Not backing up this directory reduces backup size.
Cobian Backup #
I use Cobian backup personally as it gives me the flexibility to automate and schedule the folders I want to backup and exclude directories and files if needed. I also maintain a history of backups so I can store multiple backups that get rotated while maintaining the flexibility to run backups manually.
Installing 7-Zip on Windows #
Also recommended methods of backup #
There are several backup solutions available for Unity3D projects, ranging from simple file copy methods to more advanced version control systems. Here are some backup solutions to consider:
- File Copy: (See the basic backup guide from before) This is the simplest backup solution for Unity3D projects, where you copy the project folder to an external hard drive or cloud storage service. While this method is straightforward, it requires manual effort and can be time-consuming. However, it is an effective way to create a snapshot of your project at a particular point in time.
- Incremental Backup: Incremental backup is an automated backup method that only backs up files that have been modified since the last backup. This method saves time and disk space by only copying files that have changed, reducing the backup time and storage requirements. There are several backup software solutions that offer incremental backup options for Unity3D projects.
- Version Control: Version control is a more advanced backup solution that tracks changes to files over time. It allows you to revert to an earlier version of your project if necessary and helps you collaborate with other team members by providing a centralized location for storing project files. Git and SVN are popular version control systems that can be used for Unity3D projects.
- Cloud Backup: Cloud backup services provide an automated and secure way to back up your Unity3D projects to the cloud. These services offer features like incremental backups, file versioning, and remote access, making it easy to store and access your project files from anywhere. Some popular cloud backup services for Unity3D projects include Google Drive, Dropbox, and Amazon S3.
- Automated Backup Solutions: There are several automated backup solutions available that can be customized to meet the specific needs of your Unity3D project. These solutions offer advanced features like scheduling, email notifications, and cloud integration, making it easy to ensure that your project files are backed up regularly and securely.
Cobian Backup – https://www.cobiansoft.com/
GitHub – https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/archiving-a-github-repository/backing-up-a-repository
Restoring your backup #
Simply right-click on the compressed .rar, .zip etc file and you will see an option to uncompress. Uncompressing doesn’t remove your compressed file and simply creates an uncompressed directory containing your files.
