This is the raw help text for the command line interface.
## `--help`
```
Back up and restore PC game saves
Usage: ludusavi.exe [OPTIONS] [COMMAND]
Commands:
backup
Back up data
restore
Restore data
complete
Generate shell completion scripts
backups
Show backups
find
Find game titles
manifest
Options for Ludusavi's data set
config
Options for Ludusavi's configuration
cloud
Cloud sync
wrap
Wrap restore/backup around game execution
api
Execute bulk requests using JSON input
schema
Display schemas that Ludusavi uses
gui
Open the GUI
help
Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)
Options:
--config <DIRECTORY>
Use configuration found in a specific directory. It will be created if it does not exist
--no-manifest-update
Disable automatic/implicit manifest update checks
--try-manifest-update
Ignore any errors during automatic/implicit manifest update checks
--debug
Use max log level and open log folder after running. This will create a separate
`ludusavi_debug.log` file, without any rotation or maximum size. Be mindful that the file
size may increase rapidly during a full scan
-h, --help
Print help
-V, --version
Print version
```
## `backup --help`
```
Back up data
This command automatically updates the manifest if necessary.
Usage: ludusavi.exe backup [OPTIONS] [GAMES]...
Arguments:
[GAMES]...
Only back up these specific games. Alternatively supports stdin (one value per line)
Options:
--preview
List out what would be included, but don't actually perform the operation
--path <PATH>
Directory in which to store the backup. It will be created if it does not already exist.
When not specified, this defers to the config file
--force
Don't ask for confirmation
--no-force-cloud-conflict
Even if the `--force` option has been specified, ask how to resolve any cloud conflict
rather than ignoring it and continuing silently
--wine-prefix <WINE_PREFIX>
Extra Wine/Proton prefix to check for saves. This should be a folder with an immediate
child folder named "drive_c" (or another letter)
--api
Print information to stdout in machine-readable JSON. This replaces the default,
human-readable output
--gui
Use GUI dialogs for prompts and some information
--sort <SORT>
Sort the game list by different criteria. When not specified, this defers to the config
file
[possible values: name, name-rev, size, size-rev, status, status-rev]
--format <FORMAT>
Format in which to store new backups. When not specified, this defers to the config file
[possible values: simple, zip]
--compression <COMPRESSION>
Compression method to use for new zip backups. When not specified, this defers to the
config file
[possible values: none, deflate, bzip2, zstd]
--compression-level <COMPRESSION_LEVEL>
Compression level to use for new zip backups. When not specified, this defers to the
config file. Valid ranges: 1 to 9 for deflate/bzip2, -7 to 22 for zstd
--full-limit <FULL_LIMIT>
Maximum number of full backups to retain per game. Must be between 1 and 255 (inclusive).
When not specified, this defers to the config file
--differential-limit <DIFFERENTIAL_LIMIT>
Maximum number of differential backups to retain per full backup. Must be between 0 and
255 (inclusive). When not specified, this defers to the config file
--cloud-sync
Upload any changes to the cloud when the backup is complete. If the local and cloud
backups are not in sync to begin with, then nothing will be uploaded. This has no effect
on previews. When not specified, this defers to the config file
--no-cloud-sync
Don't perform any cloud checks or synchronization. When not specified, this defers to the
config file
--dump-registry
Include the serialized registry content in the output. Only includes the native Windows
registry, not Wine
--include-disabled
By default, disabled games are skipped unless you name them explicitly. You can use this
option to include all disabled games
--ask-downgrade
Ask what to do when a game's backup is newer than the live data. Currently, this only
considers file-based saves, not the Windows registry. This option ignores `--force`.
You might want to use this if you force a backup on game exit, but you sometimes restore
an older save temporarily to check something, and you don't want to accidentally back up
that old save again. (If the save file gets updated during play, it will be considered
newer.)
-h, --help
Print help (see a summary with '-h')
```
## `restore --help`
```
Restore data
Usage: ludusavi.exe restore [OPTIONS] [GAMES]...
Arguments:
[GAMES]...
Only restore these specific games. Alternatively supports stdin (one value per line)
Options:
--preview
List out what would be included, but don't actually perform the operation
--path <PATH>
Directory containing a Ludusavi backup. When not specified, this defers to the config file
--force
Don't ask for confirmation
--no-force-cloud-conflict
Even if the `--force` option has been specified, ask how to resolve any cloud conflict
rather than ignoring it and continuing silently
--api
Print information to stdout in machine-readable JSON. This replaces the default,
human-readable output
--gui
Use GUI dialogs for prompts and some information
--sort <SORT>
Sort the game list by different criteria. When not specified, this defers to Ludusavi's
config file
[possible values: name, name-rev, size, size-rev, status, status-rev]
--backup <BACKUP>
Restore a specific backup, using an ID returned by the `backups` command. This is only
valid when restoring a single game
--cloud-sync
Warn if the local and cloud backups are out of sync. The restore will still proceed
regardless. This has no effect on previews. When not specified, this defers to the config
file
--no-cloud-sync
Don't perform any cloud checks or synchronization. When not specified, this defers to the
config file
--dump-registry
Include the serialized registry content in the output. Only includes the native Windows
registry, not Wine
--include-disabled
By default, disabled games are skipped unless you name them explicitly. You can use this
option to include all disabled games
--ask-downgrade
Ask what to do when a game's backup is older than the live data. Currently, this only
considers file-based saves, not the Windows registry. This option ignores `--force`.
You might want to use this if you force a restore on game launch, but you don't always
back up on game exit, so you might end up restoring an outdated backup by accident.
-h, --help
Print help (see a summary with '-h')
```
## `complete --help`
```
Generate shell completion scripts
Usage: ludusavi.exe complete <COMMAND>
Commands:
bash
Completions for Bash
fish
Completions for Fish
zsh
Completions for Zsh
powershell
Completions for PowerShell
elvish
Completions for Elvish
help
Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)
Options:
-h, --help
Print help
```
## `backups --help`
```
Show backups
Usage: ludusavi.exe backups [OPTIONS] [GAMES]... [COMMAND]
Commands:
edit
Edit a backup
help
Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)
Arguments:
[GAMES]...
Only report these specific games. Alternatively supports stdin (one value per line)
Options:
--path <PATH>
Directory in which to find backups. When unset, this defaults to the restore path from the
config file
--api
Print information to stdout in machine-readable JSON. This replaces the default,
human-readable output
-h, --help
Print help
```
## `find --help`
```
Find game titles
Precedence: Steam ID -> GOG ID -> Lutris ID -> exact names -> normalized names. Once a match is
found for one of these options, Ludusavi will stop looking and return that match, unless you set
`--multiple`, in which case, the results will be sorted by how well they match.
If there are no matches, Ludusavi will exit with an error. Depending on the options chosen, there
may be multiple matches, but the default is a single match.
Aliases will be resolved to the target title.
This command automatically updates the manifest if necessary.
Usage: ludusavi.exe find [OPTIONS] [NAMES]...
Arguments:
[NAMES]...
Look up game by an exact title. With multiple values, they will be checked in the order
given. Alternatively supports stdin (one value per line)
Options:
--api
Print information to stdout in machine-readable JSON. This replaces the default,
human-readable output
--multiple
Keep looking for all potential matches, instead of stopping at the first match
--path <PATH>
Directory in which to find backups. When unset, this defaults to the restore path from the
config file
--backup
Ensure the game is recognized in a backup context
--restore
Ensure the game is recognized in a restore context
--steam-id <STEAM_ID>
Look up game by a Steam ID
--gog-id <GOG_ID>
Look up game by a GOG ID
--lutris-id <LUTRIS_ID>
Look up game by a Lutris slug
--normalized
Look up game by an approximation of the title. Ignores capitalization, "edition" suffixes,
year suffixes, and some special symbols. This may find multiple games for a single input
--fuzzy
Look up games with fuzzy matching. This may find multiple games for a single input
--disabled
Select games that are disabled
--partial
Select games that have some saves disabled
-h, --help
Print help (see a summary with '-h')
```
## `manifest --help`
```
Options for Ludusavi's data set
Usage: ludusavi.exe manifest <COMMAND>
Commands:
show
Print the content of the manifest, including any custom entries
update
Check for any manifest updates and download if available. By default, does nothing if the
most recent check was within the last 24 hours
help
Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)
Options:
-h, --help
Print help
```
## `cloud --help`
```
Cloud sync
Usage: ludusavi.exe cloud <COMMAND>
Commands:
set
Configure the cloud system to use
upload
Upload your local backups to the cloud, overwriting any existing cloud backups
download
Download your cloud backups, overwriting any existing local backups
help
Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)
Options:
-h, --help
Print help
```
## `wrap --help`
```
Wrap restore/backup around game execution
Arguments:
<COMMANDS>...
Commands to launch the game. Use `--` first to separate these from the `wrap` options;
e.g., `ludusavi wrap --name foo -- foo.exe --windowed`
Options:
--infer <LAUNCHER>
Infer game name from commands based on launcher type [possible values: heroic, lutris,
steam]
--name <NAME>
Directly set game name as known to Ludusavi
--force
Don't ask for any confirmation
--force-backup
Don't ask for confirmation when backing up
--force-restore
Don't ask for confirmation when restoring
--no-backup
Don't back up after closing the game
--no-restore
Don't restore before launching the game
--no-force-cloud-conflict
Even if another `--force` option has been specified, ask how to resolve any cloud conflict
rather than ignoring it and continuing silently
--gui
Show a GUI notification during restore/backup
--path <PATH>
Directory in which to find/store backups. It will be created if it does not already exist.
When not specified, this defers to the config file
--format <FORMAT>
Format in which to store new backups. When not specified, this defers to the config file
[possible values: simple, zip]
--compression <COMPRESSION>
Compression method to use for new zip backups. When not specified, this defers to the
config file [possible values: none, deflate, bzip2, zstd]
--compression-level <COMPRESSION_LEVEL>
Compression level to use for new zip backups. When not specified, this defers to the
config file. Valid ranges: 1 to 9 for deflate/bzip2, -7 to 22 for zstd
--full-limit <FULL_LIMIT>
Maximum number of full backups to retain per game. Must be between 1 and 255 (inclusive).
When not specified, this defers to the config file
--differential-limit <DIFFERENTIAL_LIMIT>
Maximum number of differential backups to retain per full backup. Must be between 0 and
255 (inclusive). When not specified, this defers to the config file
--cloud-sync
Upload any changes to the cloud when the backup is complete. If the local and cloud
backups are not in sync to begin with, then nothing will be uploaded. When not specified,
this defers to the config file
--no-cloud-sync
Don't perform any cloud checks or synchronization. When not specified, this defers to the
config file
--ask-downgrade
When restoring, ask what to do when a game's backup is older than the live data. When
backing up, ask what to do when a game's backup is newer than the live data. Currently,
this only considers file-based saves, not the Windows registry. This option ignores
`--force`
-h, --help
Print help
```
## `api --help`
```
Execute bulk requests using JSON input.
If there is a problem with the entire input (e.g., malformed JSON or an invalid top-level setting),
then this will return a non-zero exit code. However, if the problem occurs while processing an
individual request, then the exit code will be zero, and the request's associated response will
indicate its error.
Some top-level errors, like an invalid CLI invocation, may result in a non-JSON output. However,
exit code zero will always use JSON output.
Use the `schema` command to see the input and output format.
Usage: ludusavi.exe api [INPUT]
Arguments:
[INPUT]
JSON data - may also be passed via stdin
Options:
-h, --help
Print help (see a summary with '-h')
```
## `schema --help`
```
Display schemas that Ludusavi uses
Usage: ludusavi.exe schema [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
Commands:
api-input
Schema for `api` command input
api-output
Schema for `api` command output
config
Schema for config.yaml
general-output
Schema for general command output in --api mode (`backup`, `restore`, `backups`, `find`,
`cloud upload`, `cloud download`)
help
Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)
Options:
--format <FORMAT>
[possible values: json, yaml]
-h, --help
Print help
```
