Cloud Backup failed

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Sorry that you ran into this, @kindnation.

To make backups work again after deleting a remote backup directly on Google Drive (or Dropbox), try this:

1. Find Local’s sites.json file

Stop Local and locate the sites.json file:

On Windows:

  • Open the Windows File Explorer.
  • Enable “show hidden items”.
  • Browse to This PC → [your hard drive] → Users → [your username] → AppData → Roaming → Local.
  • sites.json will appear in that folder (Windows shows it without the extension by default, as “sites”). Go to step 2 below.

On macOS

  • Open the Finder.
  • Choose Go → Go To Folder
  • Paste ~/Library/Application Support/Local and press Enter
  • sites.json will appear in that folder. Go to step 2 below.

On Linux

  • Open ~/.config/Local/.
  • sites.json will appear in that folder. Go to step 2 below.

2. Make a backup of the sites.json file

For example, duplicate it as “sites-backup.json”.

3. Open sites.json (not the backup)

We now need to remove the “localBackupRepoID” value for your site so that it can back up again.

  1. Open sites.json in a text editor or IDE. I recommend VS Code if you have it installed.

  2. If your editor supports it, format the JSON automatically to make it easier to read. For example, in VS Code, choose “Format Document” from the command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows/Linux, Cmd+Shift+P on macOS).

  3. Find your site in the list and scroll until you get to “localBackupRepoID”, for example:

      "3QV2ZB0Ce": {
    "id": "3QV2ZB0Ce",
    "name": "backuptest",
    "path": "~/Local Sites/backuptest",
    "domain": "backuptest.local",
    "localVersion": "9.0.1+6673",
    "mysql": { "database": "local", "user": "root", "password": "root" },
    "environment": "flywheel",
    "services": {},
    "workspace": null,
    "multiSite": "",
    "xdebugEnabled": false,
    "localBackupRepoID": "abc123-1234-12a1-8a11-123a11a123c1"
  }

  4. Make the “localBackupRepoID” value empty:

    Instead of this:

        "localBackupRepoID": "abc123-1234-12a1-8a11-123a11a123c1"

    You need this (important to preserve the ""):

        "localBackupRepoID": ""

4. Save the sites.json file, restart Local and try running a backup again

If Local shows an empty site list when you open it, restore your sites.json file from the backup. (Quit Local, rename the current sites.json to sites-old.json, then rename sites-backup.json to sites.json and start Local.)