Blogs
Jan 5, 2026
The Local Database Explained: How Duplicati Tracks Your Backups and Recovers When Needed
Duplicati’s encrypted backups are intentionally opaque, so the local SQLite database acts as the essential “map” that makes fast incrementals and restores possible. This article shows how Duplicati rebuilds that map from remote index files (or, if needed, full data scans) and explains the last-resort RecoveryTool that can salvage files even in worst-case disasters. 
Duplicati’s encrypted backups are intentionally opaque, so the local SQLite database acts as the essential “map” that makes fast incrementals and restores possible. This article shows how Duplicati rebuilds that map from remote index files (or, if needed, full data scans) and explains the last-resort RecoveryTool that can salvage files even in worst-case disasters. 
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Duplicati’s encrypted backups are intentionally opaque, so the local SQLite database acts as the essential “map” that makes fast incrementals and restores possible. This article shows how Duplicati rebuilds that map from remote index files (or, if needed, full data scans) and explains the last-resort RecoveryTool that can salvage files even in worst-case disasters. 
