How To Back Up Your Arcade Folder When Reinstalling

In rare cases while troubleshooting a bug, you might need to reinstall Arcade completely. This article details how to back up your Arcade folder to preserve your Custom and Factory content, so you won't need to re-download it following reinstallation.

The easiest way to do so is by compressing your Arcade folder into a .zip file. This will make a copy of your Arcade folder and compress it as a .zip file, while leaving your existing Arcade folder in it's current location.

Note: This article does not apply to users who store their Arcade content on an external hard drive/SSD. Before backing up, you must first move your Content Folder to the original, default location using the "Move To New Folder," button in Settings in the Arcade App. This will copy the Content Folder on your external drive and overwrite the existing folder that was left in the default location.

If you have used imported samples in a custom Kit, you will need to find reimport those sample on your new computer when you restore your content folder. 

Zipping your Arcade folder:

1. Navigate to the file location of your Output products folder:
• Mac: HD/Library/Application Support/Output 
• PC: C:/ProgramData/Output
  • Program Data is a hidden folder. Make sure to enable the ability to view hidden folders in File Explorer to access it. 
    
    • To access hidden folders in Windows please check out this guide: Access Hidden Folders
2. Right-click on the ‘Arcade’ folder and choose either:

• Mac: Compress "Arcade"   
• PC: Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder

Restoring your Arcade folder from a .zip file

1. Delete the existing Arcade folder in the Output directory
2. Extract files by doing the following:
   • Mac: Double click and select Extract All
   • PC: Right click and select Extract All

This will restore all the Custom and Factory Kits you had downloaded at the time of your last backup. If you have used imported samples in a custom Kit, you will need to find reimport those sample on your new computer when you restore your content folder.