You can even replay log files, see
2.5. Backing Up and Recovering Data
<https://www.gnucash.org/docs/v5/C/gnucash-guide/basics-backup1.html>
for more.
Wm
On 2026-06-19 18:29, Ken Pyzik wrote:
Not sure this made it the first time. Sorry if it's a duplicate.
________________________________
From: Ken Pyzik<[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2026 8:20 AM
To: Paul Kroitor<[email protected]>;[email protected]
<[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [GNC] Logs and Backups
Excellent analysis - everyone. So, out of curiosity, I took a look at one of
the logs. While a little difficult to fully decipher, they are indeed, just a
log of transactions entered during that particular session. I did not look at
the backup gnucash files - my assumption is that they are just a snapshot of
the gnucash file at the point in time immediately before or after those session
transactions were posted.
So - what this tells me - is that these log files are "backup snapshots" to
provide an effective audit trail for someone to go back and re-create the situation as it
was at a point in time. In other words, today I discover that one of my accounts is out
of whack. Effectively (and theoretically), I could use the logs to trace back every
transaction that happened and possibly (and probably if I am a good forensic IT/Audit
person) could figure out what caused the account to get out of whack.
So technically, as Paul pointed out - these really are NOT backups in the sense
of a catastrophic situation. They are merely snapshots to use for forensic
investigations (i.e., can use them to trace back where you may have screwed
something up).
Therefore, if someone wants to - they could effectively change the value to 0
if they are doing backups and did not care to trace back old transactions. On
the reverse side, you could keep them forever, particularly if you are using
them for company books and need to keep them for regulatory purposes (some
business jurisdiction requirements).
Thanks for the discussion. Learned something today!
Ken
________________________________
From: gnucash-user<[email protected]> on behalf of
Paul Kroitor<[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2026 7:43 AM
To:[email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [GNC] Logs and Backups
As an IT person for more than 50 years, a copy of the data on the same
device as the original (or even online in the same attached network) is
NOT A BACKUP. It's a restore point, rollback snapshot, or something
along those lines.
If you take inventory of the possible risks to a live database, only
three are mitigated by such copies:
- erroneous / mistaken updates (eg. bad imports, trainee entry mistakes)
- data corruption due to software / logic issues
- data corruption due to (very) local hardware flaws (eg unrecoverable
disk sectors)
Half a dozen other risks aren't mitigated at all, including disk
failure, loss of access due to credential issues (eg. full disk
encryption lockout), equipment loss (eg. theft, fire, earthquakes),
ransomware attacks, malfeasance, etc.
A backup is what you use when you don't have your usual daily tools to
do your tasks, be it your current data file, OS, login, computer, or
even your building.
Paul
On 2026-06-19 10:05 a.m., Michael or Penny Novack via gnucash-user wrote:
I realize people are treating THESE backups as satisfying the need to
back up your data. But better to think of these as "session backups"
and not replacement For your general backup procedure.
Michael D Novack
On 6/18/2026 9:48 PM, Ken Pyzik wrote:
OK - I think I may have found the answer to my own question. In the
EDIT>>Preferences>>General, there is a setting to Retain Logs/Backup
files with three options - Never, For X number of days or Forever.
The default appears to be 30 days. Now this is interesting.
If this is true - which I believe it is - this means that if you go
into Gnucash every day, you can end up with up to 30 or 31 logs and
backup files. So, someone could assume that they could just change
it to 3 days and that would be fine. However, if you do NOT open
Gnucash everyday - but instead open it up once a week, you would need
keep the logs for 21 days in order to have 3 backups. By the same
token, if you are someone who only opens Gnucash once a month - or
only once every couple of months, you would need to keep the files
for up to 60 or 90 days in order to get 3 full backups.
I am guessing that this is the behavior and that it has probably been
this way forever. I am also guessing that if you only want 3 backups
definitively - you have to adjust the days accordingly to the way you
use the system - i.e., how often you open and work with the files.
And if you go into the system multiple times a day - you could end up
with A LOT of backups and logs files.
Is this behavior correct? If yes, would changing it to be a
definitive number be difficult? I assuming it is, otherwise I would
have thought it would have been changed by now.
Ken
________________________________
From: gnucash-user
<[email protected]> on behalf of Ken
Pyzik<[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2026 6:05 PM
To: Gnucash Users<[email protected]>
Subject: [GNC] Logs and Backups
This may have been mentioned in the past - and if so - sorry for the
repeat. However, I noticed today 10 ".log" and 10
".<<date>>.gnucash" files. So, I am assuming that gnucash is keeping
10 transaction and log file backups. Is this correct? If so, is
this the default and if it is the default, can this be changed to
only 2 or 3? Thanks for the reply.
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