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How does Visual Studio Code recover data after a crash?


I'm interested in the backup mechanics provided by VS Code. "Crash" includes both sudden power outages and handled exceptions. As examples of what I mean,

  1. Notepad++ has a backup folder which periodically saves copies of your files. Nothing is lost beyond the last 7 seconds even if the power goes out.
  2. Atom keeps an IndexedDB which should recover everything after an exception. I have no idea what happens on power outage.
  3. Inkscape relies on its exception handling to recover data. If the power goes out, the data is lost.
  4. Scite has no backup plan.

Solution

  • According to https://code.visualstudio.com/blogs/2016/11/30/hot-exit-in-insiders,

    The way hot exit works is to periodically make backups of unsaved files. If VS Code happens to crash, a backup restore will occur the next time the folder is opened.

    On Windows, the backup folder is C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Code\Backups.

    As for the period between backups, I haven't found anything.