1. To back up your Zotero library you will need to locate the Zotero data directory where your Zotero data is stored on your computer. To do this click on the actions button (gear icon) in the Zotero toolbar and select preferences:
2. Next, after the Zotero preferences window opens, select the Advanced tab in the preferences window:
3. Now select the button Show Data Directory:
Your Zotero data directory will now be open:
4. Reduce, but do not close, the data directory window:
5. Now close Zotero and Firefox:
6. Go to the Zotero data directory that you reduced in step 5 and move to the next higher level in the file directory:
7. On the next level of the directory find the folder Zotero_library and copy it:
8. Now paste the Zotero_library folder to another data location such as a flash drive:
9. Once the data directory has copied to a new location you will have successfully backed up your Zotero library:
1. First open Zotero. In the example below there is an empty Zotero library. To recover the lost data for you Zotero library go to the Zotero data directory by clicking on the actions button (gear icon) in the Zotero toolbar and selecting preferences:
2. Next, after the Zotero preferences window opens, select the Advanced tab in the preferences window:
3. Now select the button Show Data Directory:
The Zotero data directory will now be open:
4. In your Zotero data directory copy the storage folder and the zotero.sqlite file:
5. Paste the storage folder and the zotero.sqlite file into a temporary folder on your desktop:
6. Now go to your backed up Zotero directory which you have stored somewhere else on your computer or on a remote storage device:
7. Open your backup Zotero data directory and select the storage folder and the zotero.sqlite file and copy them:
8. Paste the storage folder and zotero_sqlite file that you just copied from your backup data directory into the current Zotero data directory. Click the Yes to all button when asked if you want to replace the current files:
9. Now reopen Firefox and open Zotero. Your Zotero library should be restored to the backed up version:
Some content from this guide was created by Jason Pucket and licensed by Georgia State University Library under a Creative Commons Noncommercial 3.0 United States Licence.
Special thanks, also, to Kristin Koob and Harvard Library. Some content from this guide was created by Harvard Library under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.