Where Does uTox Store Profiles and Settings?
Where uTox keeps its Tox profile, settings, and chat logs on each desktop OS, plus portable mode behavior.
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uTox keeps identity in a single profile file, tox_save.tox, holding keys, name, and contacts in the shared toxcore format. Settings live beside it in a binary utox_save file, with chat logs and avatars in matching per-friend files. The folder is ~/.config/tox on Unix systems.
That one-file identity makes migration trivial and cross-client moves possible. Portable mode redirects everything into a local tox folder for USB-style use. Back up the profile file above all else: losing it means losing the identity permanently.
Where uTox stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\Tox
Profile tox_save.tox plus binary utox_save settings, avatars, and per-friend logs. The profile format is shared with qTox and other clients. Portable mode moves everything to ./tox beside the binary instead.
~/.config/tox
Same tox folder layout as Windows, usually under ~/.config/tox. Man pages document every file the folder can hold. Homebrew and distro builds agree on this path, so guides transfer directly.
~/.config/tox
The canonical documented path from the man pages: profile, settings, logs, and avatars together. Only one-to-one chat logging is supported, a long-standing limitation. Portable flag redirects to ./tox for contained setups.
Frequently asked questions
how do I move my uTox identity
Copy tox_save.tox to the matching tox folder on the new machine with the app closed. That one file carries keys, name, and contacts, and other Tox clients read the same format. Chat logs and avatars travel separately when wanted.
can I use my profile in another Tox client
No. The profile format follows toxcore, so qTox and other clients accept the same .tox file. Copy it into the other client's profile folder and rename as needed. Settings files stay client specific and do not transfer.
how does uTox portable mode work
Launch with the portable flag and everything lands in a tox folder beside the binary instead of the OS paths. Logs, avatars, and auto-accepted files follow the same redirect. Handy for USB sticks and throwaway setups.
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