Where Does Elite Dangerous Store Bindings and Settings?
Elite Dangerous keeps HOTAS bindings and graphics settings in LocalAppData under Frontier Developments. Bindings backup and paths.
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Elite Dangerous stores its most precious files, your HOTAS and keyboard bindings, as .binds XML in LocalAppData\Frontier Developments\Elite Dangerous\Options\Bindings. Graphics settings sit beside them in the Options tree. Frontier's own support articles point here for every backup question, because updates have wiped bindings more than once.
The classic confusion is the fossil folder: Frontier_Developments with underscores, left by ancient installs, sitting next to the live Frontier Developments with a space. The game reads only the spaced name. Copy the Bindings folder before every major update; restoring is pasting it back. Ships and credits need no backup since Frontier holds them server-side. Elite on PC is Windows-only.
Where Elite Dangerous stores this, by platform
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Frontier Developments\Elite Dangerous\Options\Bindings
Custom .binds files live in Options\Bindings; graphics settings sit beside them in Options. Ignore the underscore-named Frontier_Developments fossil; only the spaced folder is live. Back up Bindings before major updates and paste it back to restore. Ships and credits are server-side.
Frequently asked questions
how do i move elite dangerous bindings to a new pc
Copy the Bindings folder to the same path on the new machine. Your .binds files carry every axis and button assignment. Graphics settings in the Options folder should come along too. Ships, credits and ranks are server-side. Select your custom preset again in the controls menu after restoring.
why are there two frontier developments folders
You are looking at the fossil. Old installs leave a Frontier_Developments folder with underscores beside the live Frontier Developments one with a space. The game reads only the spaced name. Copy any .binds files from the fossil into the live Bindings folder and delete the fossil to end the confusion.
can i install downloaded elite bindings presets
Yes, that is the intended workflow. Drop a downloaded .binds file into the Bindings folder, launch, and pick it in Options, Controls, Presets. Community presets for specific sticks ship exactly this way. Rename the file first if a same-named preset already exists, or yours gets skipped.
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