Where Does Actual Budget Store Budget Files?
Where the Actual Budget desktop app and server keep budget files, so migrations land in the right folder.
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Actual Budget stores local data in the standard Electron userData folder: %APPDATA%\Actual on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/Actual on macOS, ~/.config/Actual on Linux. Each budget file plus its settings sits inside.
The self hosted server is separate. It keeps uploaded budgets under /data/server-files inside its data root, which Docker users must mount persistently. Desktop and server copies sync when linked, but an unlinked desktop budget exists only on that machine. The server data root is documented separately from the desktop paths, so confirm it before a Docker move.
Where Actual Budget stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\Actual
Budget files and client settings. Close the app before copying this folder between machines. If sync is enabled the server copy can also repopulate a fresh install after login.
~/Library/Application Support/Actual
Same contents as Windows. Finder hides Library, so use Go > Go to Folder. Server installs on a Mac use the data root below instead of this folder.
~/.config/Actual
Desktop Electron data honors $XDG_CONFIG_HOME. Server data (including server-files/ with the budgets) sits at /data by default, mapped to a host volume in Docker. Back up server-files/, not the binary folder.
Frequently asked questions
how do i move actual budget to a new computer
Copy the Actual data folder to the same path on the new machine while the app is closed (%APPDATA%\Actual on Windows). Budget files move with it. Server users migrate /data/server-files instead and keep the same password.
does actual server need a data volume
Yes. Point the server at a persistent /data mount holding server-files/. Without the mount, budgets live inside the container layer and vanish on recreate. That missing mount is the classic empty server after update.
desktop or server copy: which one wins
The desktop app syncs through the server when configured, so the server copy wins conflicts. Standalone desktop budgets live only in the local Actual folder. Set up sync before wiping any machine.
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