REPO Save Backup Guide: Backup & Restore Your Save File
R.E.P.O. saves are fragile — corrupted files, crashed hosts, and Steam Cloud mishaps have wiped plenty of runs. This guide shows four reliable ways to back up your save folder and walks through restoring it when something breaks.
Quick Answer
To back up your REPO save, close the game, open %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\semiwork\Repo, and copy the saves folder to OneDrive, Google Drive, or an external drive. Rename the copy with today's date. To restore, disable Steam Cloud for REPO, delete the broken saves folder, paste the backup back, and rename it to saves. For automatic backups, use the free Repo Save Manager tool or a Windows scheduled task.
REPO Save File Location
Before you can back up anything, you need to know where REPO stores its save data. The folder lives inside the hidden AppData directory, which File Explorer hides by default.
C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\LocalLow\semiwork\Repo\saves%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\semiwork\RepoTip: Each in-game run has its own subfolder under saves. To back up everything, copy the whole saves folder rather than individual run folders.
4 Ways to Back Up Your REPO Save
Pick the method that matches your comfort level. All four are safe and reversible.
Manual copy to cloud drive (easiest)
Copy the whole Repo save folder to OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox. No tools, no scripts, works on any machine. Rename the copied folder with today's date so you can tell backups apart later.
Repo Save Manager (recommended)
A lightweight open-source tool by armand0e built specifically for REPO. One-click backup, restore, and optional save editing. Windows and Linux supported. Backups land in %LOCALAPPDATA%\RepoSaveManager\backups by default.
Symlink the save folder to OneDrive
Move the Repo save folder into your cloud-synced directory, then create a symbolic link at the original location pointing back to it. Every in-game save writes straight to the cloud. Advanced but fully automatic.
Windows Task Scheduler (set & forget)
Run a tiny PowerShell or Robocopy task every day that copies the save folder to a backup location. Runs silently in the background, keeps a rolling history, and costs you nothing.
How to Back Up REPO Save (Manual Method)
The manual copy method works everywhere and needs zero tools. Follow these five steps:
Close R.E.P.O. completely
Fully quit the game before copying any files. Copying while the game is running can grab an incomplete write and create a corrupted backup.
Open the save folder
Press Win + R, paste %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\semiwork\Repo and hit Enter. You will see a saves subfolder with one folder per run.
Copy the saves folder
Right-click the saves folder and choose Copy. Paste it somewhere safe: a cloud-synced folder (OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox) or an external drive works best.
Rename with the date
Append today's date and _backup, for example saves_2026-04-24_backup. This lets you keep multiple generations and roll back to any point.
Verify the backup opens
Open the copied folder and confirm the .es3 save files are inside. A zero-byte copy means the file was locked while you copied — retry after a full game exit.
Using Repo Save Manager
If you prefer a dedicated tool over manual copying, Repo Save Manager is the community pick. It is free, open-source, and built specifically for R.E.P.O.
- Go to github.com/armand0e/Repo-Save-Manager and download the latest release for your OS.
- Run the installer (or unzip the portable build). No setup required — it detects the REPO save folder automatically.
- Click "Backup" to snapshot every current save slot. Each backup is timestamped and stored in %LOCALAPPDATA%\RepoSaveManager\backups.
- To restore, pick a backup from the list and click "Restore". The tool overwrites the active saves folder with the snapshot.
- Pair it with a cloud-synced folder — point the tool at OneDrive or Dropbox to get offsite backups for free.
Source code is public on GitHub. Review the release notes before each update, as with any third-party save tool.
Automate Backups with Windows Task Scheduler
For a zero-effort solution that runs forever, set up a scheduled task. This example uses Robocopy to mirror the save folder to D:\RepoBackups every day, creating a dated folder each run.
@echo off
robocopy "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\semiwork\Repo\saves" ^
"D:\RepoBackups\saves_%DATE:~-4%-%DATE:~4,2%-%DATE:~7,2%" ^
/MIR /R:2 /W:5Save the snippet as repo-backup.bat, then open Task Scheduler → Create Basic Task → Daily → point it at the .bat file. Rolling daily backups with no manual effort. Point the destination at a OneDrive or Google Drive folder to also sync the backups offsite.
How to Restore a REPO Save Backup
Save got wiped, corrupted, or you want to roll back? Restoring takes five steps. Temporarily disabling Steam Cloud is the part most guides miss — skip it and Steam will quietly overwrite your restore.
Close the game
If REPO is running, exit to desktop. Overwriting saves while the game is open will not work.
Disable Steam Cloud for R.E.P.O.
In Steam, right-click R.E.P.O. → Properties → General → uncheck "Keep game saves in the Steam Cloud". This stops Steam from overwriting your restored save with the corrupted cloud version.
Delete the broken saves folder
Go to %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\semiwork\Repo and delete (or rename) the existing saves folder.
Copy your backup into place
Paste your backup into the Repo folder and rename it back to saves (remove the _backup suffix). The folder structure must match exactly.
Launch REPO
Start the game. Your restored run should appear in the load list. Once you have confirmed it works, you can re-enable Steam Cloud if you want ongoing sync.
Related REPO Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are REPO save files stored on Windows?
Saves live at C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\LocalLow\semiwork\Repo\saves. The fastest way to open that folder is Win + R, paste %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\semiwork\Repo, press Enter. Each run gets its own subfolder with .es3 data. AppData is hidden by default — either paste the path directly or enable "Show hidden items" in File Explorer.
How often should I back up my REPO save?
Back up at least once after every long play session where you made real progress — reaching a new level, filling the quota, or unlocking upgrades. If you use a scheduled task or symlink, this happens automatically. Manual backups take two minutes and have saved many runs from random corruption, Steam Cloud misfires, and accidental save-file deletions.
Does Steam Cloud back up REPO saves?
Yes, R.E.P.O. syncs through Steam Cloud by default, but cloud sync is not a backup. If your local save becomes corrupted and then syncs, the corruption overwrites the cloud copy. A local backup is the only reliable protection. For a deeper breakdown of the save system, see the full /repogame-save-guide.
My save is corrupted — can I recover it?
If you have a backup, yes: follow the restore steps on this page. If you do not have a local backup, check whether Steam Cloud still holds an older clean version (disable cloud sync first so it cannot re-overwrite). Without a backup and without a healthy cloud copy, the save cannot be recovered — delete the corrupted folder and start a new run.
Is the Repo Save Manager tool safe to use?
The open-source tool at github.com/armand0e/Repo-Save-Manager is widely used by the community. It runs locally, does not modify game files unless you opt in, and the source code is public. As with any third-party tool, download only from the official GitHub page and review the latest release notes before running it.
Does the host or each player need to back up?
The host carries the lobby's canonical save — only the host's backup can restore the group's shared progress. Clients do not store the world state locally. That said, if you frequently host, back up your own folder religiously; if you only join friends, ask whoever hosts to keep backups.
How do I move my REPO save to a new PC?
Copy the saves folder from the old PC (AppData\LocalLow\semiwork\Repo\saves) to a USB drive or cloud. On the new PC, install REPO, launch once so it creates the folder, quit, then drop your saves folder in place. If Steam Cloud is enabled on both machines, Steam may also pull the save down automatically after first launch.