Where Does MQTT Explorer Store Connections and Settings?
MQTT Explorer Electron data folders on desktop plus the browser mode Docker volume.
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MQTT Explorer (Thomas Nordquist build) is an Electron app, so connections, window state and topic history follow the standard per OS user data folder. Broker credentials, TLS CA paths and subscription filters all live there. There is no portable connections file to copy by default.
Browser mode is the exception. When run as a container it stores server side state in a named Docker volume. Note the desktop app is effectively unmaintained, with MQTTX as the suggested successor, so export anything load bearing before migrating.
Where MQTT Explorer stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\MQTT Explorer
Connection list, CA certificate picks from Advanced settings and retained topic history. Back up with the app closed. TLS brokers typically use port 8883 or 8084 with Validate Certificate on.
~/Library/Application Support/MQTT Explorer
Same role as Windows. If a saved CA stops validating after you moved the .crt file, re-pick it under Advanced for that connection. Reach the folder via Finder Go to Folder since Library is hidden.
~/.config/MQTT Explorer
Same layout for DEB/AppImage installs (snap and Flatpak variants nest under their own roots). Browser mode instead persists in the mqtt-explorer-data Docker volume mounted at /app/data.
Frequently asked questions
how do I back up MQTT Explorer connections
Close the app, then copy the user data folder for your OS elsewhere. On a new machine install the same build, launch once, close it, and restore the folder. Re-enter broker passwords if the OS keychain entry did not travel.
where does browser mode keep its data
In the Docker volume from the run command: -v mqtt-explorer-data:/app/data with MQTT_EXPLORER_USERNAME and PASSWORD set. Recreate the container against the same volume to keep users and history.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.