Keep backup files private: they are readable files that can contain sensitive health information. Store them somewhere you trust and never attach one to a public GitHub issue.
Complete backup
A complete Headmon backup is a ZIP file that can include:
- Diary dates and whether a day was pain-free or intentionally skipped
- Headache, migraine and aura-only episodes with times, intensity, symptoms and notes
- Day notes, stress levels, triggers, medicines and doses
- Weather and location context saved on diary days
- The separate continuous local weather history
- Day and episode photos with their captions
- Custom trigger and medicine definitions needed to preserve your diary
Calendar backup
The smaller calendar backup is a JSON file for diary migration and manual export. It contains the diary details listed above, except photo files, photo captions and the separate continuous weather history.
What neither backup contains
- Notification schedules, app permissions, appearance, icon or other device settings
- A Headmon account, email address, advertising ID, device ID or serial number
Free-text notes and saved locations can still identify someone even though Headmon does not add account or device identifiers.
Automatic backup
Automatic backup is optional. When enabled, Headmon creates a complete ZIP backup every seven days and keeps the two newest files. Each file includes diary data, photos, captions and continuous weather history.
- Local only on iPhone and iPad: files remain inside Headmon, are excluded from automatic device backup and are deleted if the app is deleted.
- A folder you select: Headmon writes to a folder granted through the system picker. Its provider controls storage and any syncing. The Headmon developer cannot browse or receive those files.
iOS decides when background work runs. If a backup is due but iOS has not run it in the background, Headmon catches up the next time the app opens.
Export and import a backup
- Open Settings → Backups.
- Choose Complete backup, then export the ZIP file to a private location you can find again.
- On the destination device, open Settings → Backups → Import Headmon backup and select the ZIP file.
- If a date already exists, review the conflict and choose whether to keep the current day or replace it with the backup.
- Review the import summary for diary days, photos and weather history.
A backup can also be imported during first-launch onboarding. Headmon accepts complete ZIP backups, calendar JSON backups and older supported Android JSON files. Use Calendar backup in the same Settings menu when you intentionally want the smaller diary-only JSON format without photos or continuous weather history.
Move between Android and iOS
Android and iOS use the same complete backup and calendar backup formats. Export a complete backup from the old device, move the file using a method you trust, then import it on the new device. Headmon also accepts older Android backup files that have been carried forward from earlier app versions.
Why there are ZIP and JSON files
A complete backup ends in .zip because it bundles photos with structured diary and weather data. A calendar backup ends in .json because it is a smaller readable diary file. You do not need to open or understand either format to use backup and restore.
Before deleting or reinstalling Headmon
Confirm that a recent backup exists outside the app and that you can find it. Local-only automatic backups disappear with Headmon. The developer has no server copy and cannot recover a deleted diary.