Noodlesoft Forums

Hello,

How would you restore Hazel from a backup?
My MacBook just died and I'm on a spare machine. I've transferred all preferences and Application Support files, but they won't show up in Hazel.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Zettt

For its internal settings, Hazel keeps aliases to folders and such. If the folders are all replaced, it's possible that the aliases won't resolve at that point. Your rules should still be intact; check the Application Support folder for files with the .hazelrules extension.

To restore in this case, move those .hazelrules files somewhere else. Now, re-create your folder list. For each of the rules files, drag one in to see what rules they are (unfortunately, the filenames aren't easily mappable to the folder they belong to, at least for a human). Once you know which rules they are, drag those rules to the proper folder.

Post back here if you run into any problems with the above.

I saw the .hazelrules files but didn't know what happened to the folders. I was expecting to have a list of folders Hazel didn't find, but the rules to be intact. I'm getting my machine back tomorrow. Then I can share how it went.

Thanks for the help.

I wish there was a simple way of making a backup of Hazel.

With many folders&rules, this is really a burden.

It worked perfectly! Thanks.