Move in and stay safe

Back Up, Import and Protect Your Tasks

Know where your tasks are stored, save a backup file, bring it back in, and export a single project.

By Mustafa Yusuf3 min read
On this page
  1. Where your tasks are stored
  2. Save a backup
  3. Bring a backup back in
  4. Export one project
  5. Every related feature

Sync keeps your devices up to date. A backup is a separate copy you keep somewhere safe. Save one before a big reorganisation, and you can always get back to where you started.

Where your tasks are stored

Each project syncs in one of three ways.

Storage Used for Good to know
iCloud Your personal projects, by default Stays in your own iCloud account and syncs across your Apple devices.
Tasks Cloud Projects you share Needs you to sign in with Apple or email. Sharing and AI assistants only work here.
Apple Reminders Lists you connect Choose Connect Apple Reminders for two way sync with the Reminders app. These lists stay in Reminders, so they are not part of a Tasks backup.

To choose which Reminders lists appear in Tasks, follow Bring your Apple Reminders lists into Tasks.

Tasks does not need an account for personal projects in iCloud. Sign in only when you want to share or connect an assistant. Privacy policy and Terms of use, under Privacy & Legal in Settings, open the current privacy policy and terms.

Save a backup

  1. Tap the gear at the top left of Home to open Settings.
  2. Under Data & Integrations, tap Export Data.
  3. Save the file to Files, iCloud Drive or anywhere else from the share sheet.
  1. Press ⌘, to open Settings.
  2. Under Data & Integrations, choose Export Data.
  3. Save the file somewhere you will find it again, such as a Backups folder.

The file holds your projects and tasks. Tasks names it with the date, such as Tasks Backup 2026-09-27.tasks, so you can tell backups apart.

Bring a backup back in

  1. Open Settings, then Import Data under Data & Integrations.
  2. Pick the Tasks Backup file.
  3. Import Data? tells you how many items the backup will add and update. Tap Import.
  4. Import Complete shows what was added, updated and already up to date. Check one familiar project before you carry on.

Importing merges the file with what you already have. It does not wipe your current tasks, and anything you deleted since the backup stays deleted.

Two iPhone screens: Tasks Settings showing Data and Integrations with Apple Reminders, AI Assistants, Export Data to save your projects and tasks to a .tasks file, and Import Data to add or update data from a .tasks file, then Help and About; and the file picker On My iPhone with a Tasks folder and a Tasks Backup 2026 .tasks file of 200 KB.Open full size in a new tab
Export Data and Import Data sit together in Settings. Import Data opens the file picker, where you choose your Tasks Backup file.

Export one project

Open a project’s menu and choose Export to save the board as a PDF. Work makes a good example.

  1. Under Page options, choose the Page size, Portrait or landscape, Single or Multiple columns, and a Light or Dark mode.
  2. Open More options to show the project header, hide empty sections or completed tasks, start each section on a new page, or hide section dividers.
  3. Tap Preview to check the PDF, then Export and share it from the share sheet.
Two iPhone screens: the Export sheet with Page size A4, Portrait on, Columns Single and Mode Light, More options with Show project header on and Hide empty sections, Hide completed tasks, Sections on new page and Hide section dividers off, and Preview and Export buttons; and the Preview of the Work PDF with a Planned section listing Finalize product roadmap with its Mobile and Web subtasks, Review posters and Schedule client calls, then an Active section with Prepare investor update and Fix payment bug.Open full size in a new tab
Set up the page, then preview it. Each status becomes a section, with tags, subtasks and priorities kept.

Right click the project in the sidebar, or click the board title, and choose Export. Pick the page options, click Preview to check the PDF, then click Export and choose where to save it.

The Tasks Mac window in dark mode with the Work board behind the Export panel, showing Page size A4, Portrait checked, Columns Single, Mode Light, More options, and Preview and Export buttons.Open full size in a new tab
The Export panel opens over the board you are exporting, here Work.
The Tasks Mac window in dark mode showing the PDF preview of Work over the board, with the Planned section listing Finalize product roadmap with Mobile and Web subtasks, Review posters and Schedule client calls.Open full size in a new tab
Preview shows the page as it will print. Use the back arrow to change an option.

A project PDF is for reading, printing and sending. For a copy of everything, use Export Data in Settings.

Save a backup now, before you need one. It takes less than a minute.

Explore all 13 related features

Browse the related features below for more detail, or search every feature.

.tasks backups

Save supported Tasks data in a .tasks backup. Live Reminders lists are excluded.

.tasks restore

Merge supported saved data from a .tasks backup. Some deleted items may remain deleted.

Open Tasks files

Open supported Tasks documents from the system file browser.

Apple Reminders sync

Bring selected Reminders lists into Tasks and keep them in sync both ways.

Read more

Apple Reminders sync

Connect Apple Reminders lists and keep them in sync both ways.

Apple Notes import

Bring supported content from Apple Notes into Tasks.

iCloud data option

Keep personal data in the user's iCloud account.

Optional Tasks Cloud

Use the optional Tasks service for supported sync and collaboration workflows.

Sign in with Apple

Use Apple sign-in for supported account features.

Email sign-in

Use email when Sign in with Apple is not available.

Private project lock

Protect selected projects with Face ID or Touch ID.

In-app privacy policy

Read the current data explanation from Settings.

Support ID

Copy an identifier that helps support investigate account-specific issues.