Where Does YaCy Store Index Data?
YaCy stores its search index and config under the DATA folder. Back up DATA plus yacy.conf for safety.
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YaCy is peer to peer search with a local DATA folder. That folder sits in the YaCy install root and holds the crawl index, peer tables, and runtime settings. Config file yacy.conf at the root points to it.
Defaults differ by installer, but DATA is the constant. Logs also land under DATA/LOG. To back up YaCy, copy DATA and yacy.conf. Code can be reinstalled fresh. Allow extra disk headroom for crawl growth, since the index expands steadily once scheduled crawls resume. Check peer status after restart, since Quick Crawls pause until the peer table reloads fully.
Where YaCy stores this, by platform
/opt/yacy/DATA
Crawl index and peer state. Stop YaCy before copying. This folder dominates disk use on large crawls.
/opt/yacy/yacy.conf
Port, admin, and data path settings. Back up with the DATA folder. Edit after a hostname or port change.
Frequently asked questions
how do i migrate yacy
Stop YaCy, then copy the whole DATA folder plus yacy.conf to the new host. Use the same YaCy version on both ends. Start and check index size before recrawling.
what is the yacy DATA folder
Crawl index, peer data, and settings live under DATA. It grows with crawl depth. Keep it on a volume with free space and back it up separately from code.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.