Node Backup and Restore

Back up wallets first. Blocks, chainstate, indexes, peers, and mempool state are rebuildable. Wallet secret material is not. A fast node-data snapshot is useful for recovery time, but it is not a substitute for wallet backups.

This page is the backup and restore runbook. It is not the data layout reference; see Data Directory for file locations.

Backup priorities

Priority	Data	Why it matters
1	Wallet backups and PQHD seed material	Required to recover funds.
2	`tidecoin.conf` and service config	Required to restore the same node role.
3	Operational metadata	Labels, service scripts, monitoring config, firewall rules.
4	Blocks and chainstate snapshots	Speeds recovery, but can be rebuilt.
5	Indexes	Speeds explorer/indexer recovery, but can be rebuilt.

For wallet-capable nodes, document where backups are stored, who can access them, how they are encrypted, and how restore tests are performed.

Wallet backup

Use the wallet RPC or GUI backup action. Do not copy a live wallet database with cp or a filesystem backup tool while the wallet is open.


tidecoin-cli -rpcwallet="main" backupwallet /secure/backups/main-wallet.dat

The RPC locks and flushes wallet state before writing the backup. Store the result on reliable offline media and test restores periodically.

For multiple wallets, back up each loaded wallet:


tidecoin-cli listwallets
tidecoin-cli -rpcwallet="wallet-01" backupwallet /secure/backups/wallet-01.dat
tidecoin-cli -rpcwallet="wallet-02" backupwallet /secure/backups/wallet-02.dat

Modern deterministic wallets can rederive keys from wallet seed material, but fresh backups still preserve metadata such as labels, transaction records, and wallet settings. Back up after significant operational changes.

PQHD material

Tidecoin PQHD wallets depend on PQHD seed material and wallet policy. Treat PQHD master seeds as signing secrets. Seed IDs are identifiers, not secrets, but they can reveal wallet structure.

Operational checklist:

Item	Action
Wallet backup	Use `backupwallet`.
PQHD seed inventory	Record seed IDs from `listpqhdseeds`.
Scheme policy	Record receive and change scheme policy.
Offline seeds	Store offline with access controls and recovery procedure.
Restore test	Verify restored wallet can find expected addresses and balances after rescan.

Node data snapshots

If recovery time matters, snapshot node data only when tidecoind is stopped or the storage layer provides a crash-consistent snapshot with filesystem and database consistency guarantees.

Good candidates:

Path	Backup value
`blocks/`	Avoids redownloading historical blocks.
`chainstate/`	Avoids rebuilding the UTXO set if the snapshot is consistent.
`indexes/`	Avoids long index rebuilds.
`tidecoin.conf`	Restores node role and ports.
service unit/container config	Restores deployment behavior.

Do not snapshot blocks/, chainstate/, and indexes/ separately at different times and expect them to be mutually consistent. If in doubt, restore block data and rebuild chainstate or indexes.

Restore wallet

Restore a wallet backup with:


tidecoin-cli restorewallet "restored-wallet" /secure/backups/main-wallet.dat
tidecoin-cli -rpcwallet="restored-wallet" getwalletinfo

The restored wallet may need to rescan chain data. Rescan is faster when block filter indexes are available, but the wallet backup remains the source of truth for wallet recovery.

After restore:

Confirm the wallet loads.
Confirm expected addresses are derivable or visible.
Confirm balance after rescan.
Confirm PQHD seed inventory and policy.
Move funds only after the restore environment is trusted.

Restore node data

For a full node-data restore:

Stop tidecoind.
Restore tidecoin.conf and service configuration.
Restore the network-specific data directory or selected blocks/, chainstate/, and indexes/ snapshot.
Restore wallets through restorewallet or place wallet backups according to the documented wallet procedure.
Start the node.
Check getblockchaininfo, getnetworkinfo, logs, and wallet state.

If restored chainstate fails to load, stop the node and follow Reindex & Recovery. Do not delete wallets while repairing node state.

Backup review checklist

Check	Expected answer
Wallet backup exists	Yes, for every wallet with funds.
Backup was made with `backupwallet`	Yes.
Offline copy exists	Yes.
Restore test performed	Yes, on a separate machine or datadir.
PQHD seed procedure documented	Yes.
Node data snapshot is stopped or crash-consistent	Yes, if used.
`wallets/` excluded from destructive recovery scripts	Yes.

Source of truth

Topic	Source
Wallet backup and restore RPCs	`../tidecoin/src/wallet/rpc/backup.cpp`
Wallet backup operator guide	`../tidecoin/doc/managing-wallets.md`
Data directory layout	`../tidecoin/doc/files.md`
Recovery flags	`../tidecoin/src/init.cpp`