Documents

How saving and backup work

Writing Studio saves every change in your browser within a second and backs it up to your account, so your work is safe even offline.

You never need to press save. Writing Studio saves every change in your browser about a second after you stop typing, then backs it up to your account a moment later. If you lose your internet connection, you can keep writing, and the backup catches up when you’re back online.

How it works

Writing Studio is local-first. That means:

It saves in this browser first. About 0.7 seconds after you stop typing, your changes are stored on this computer. Nothing is lost if the tab closes or the page reloads.
Then it backs up to your account. Shortly after, the same changes go to your Writing Studio account. Nothing is lost if your laptop is lost or your browser is cleared.
Your account follows you. Sign in on another computer, phone or browser and your papers, library and PDFs come back.

Writing Studio also keeps snapshots of each paper as you work, so you can go back to an earlier version. See See and restore past versions.

Check that your work is saved

Look beside your paper’s title in the bar at the top of the page. A small icon shows the save status, and you can hover over it to read it:

Saving…: you’ve just made a change, and it’s being saved.
Saved just now: it’s saved in this browser.
Backed up just now: it’s saved here and in your account. Over time this changes to “Backed up 2 min ago” and so on.

Click the icon to open Version history.

When everything is fine, the bar only shows the icon. Words appear next to it only when something needs your attention. On a phone, the icon only appears if there’s a problem.

Check your whole account

The bottom of the left sidebar shows the backup status for everything, like Backed up to your account. Click it to see the details. You’ll find the same status in Settings, under Your data.

What the messages mean

Most of the time you’ll never see these. If you do, here’s what to do.

Backup messages

Message	What it means	What to do
Saved · backup pending	Saved in this browser. The backup to your account didn’t go through yet.	Nothing. It tries again by itself.
N not backed up	Some changes are saved here but haven’t reached your account yet.	Click it to see what and why.
Saved · too big to back up	The paper is saved here, but it’s too large to back up (over about 4 MB).	Export a copy to keep it safe. This is rare, so email support@writingstudio.com if you’re not sure why.
Latest words not saved	This browser couldn’t store your latest words, and they haven’t reached your account.	Keep the page open and export the paper, or copy the text somewhere safe.

Click any of these messages to open a list called Only on this computer. It shows exactly what hasn’t reached your account. From there you can click Try again, or Export a copy to download everything in one zip file.

Save problems

Couldn’t save means this browser couldn’t store your changes, most often because it’s out of storage space. Click the message, then Export this paper to keep a copy, and free up space on your computer.
Couldn’t save here · backed up to your account means this browser is out of space, but your changes are going straight to your account instead. Your work is safe. Free up some space so the browser can save it too.

Write offline

If your internet connection drops, a strip at the top of the page says “You’re offline. Writing still saves here. AI and backup come back when you reconnect.”

You can keep writing. Everything saves in this browser.
AI features show Needs internet until you’re back online.
When you reconnect, you’ll see “Connected again.” and your changes back up by themselves.

If you’re online but Writing Studio can’t be reached, the strip says “Can’t reach Writing Studio. Writing still saves here.” Click Try again to check again.

Use more than one tab or device

You can have the same paper open in two tabs, or on your laptop and your phone. The open paper checks for changes every 30 seconds and whenever you come back to the tab, and updates itself.

If the two versions clash, for example because you edited both while one was offline, the newer one loads. Your version isn’t thrown away. You’ll see “A newer version loaded. Yours is in Version history.” Click Open to find it, saved as Your copy from a clash.

If you delete a paper on one device while it’s open on another, the other one tells you. That copy stays readable so you can export anything you need, but new edits there aren’t saved.

If you’re signed out

If your session ends, a strip says “You’ve been signed out. Writing still saves here, and backs up once you sign in again.” Click Sign in again. Nothing you wrote in the meantime is lost.

When you log out

When you log out, Writing Studio sends any unsaved changes to your account first. If everything is backed up, it clears your papers from this computer, and they come back when you sign in again.

If something isn’t backed up yet, you’ll be asked what to do before anything is cleared. See Log out.

Keep your own copy

Your account backup is there so you don’t have to worry, but you can also keep copies yourself:

Export a paper as Word, PDF, LaTeX or a web page.
Download a copy of all your work in one zip file from Settings, under Your data.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to press save?

No. Writing Studio saves automatically about a second after you stop typing, and backs up to your account shortly after. There's no save button.

Can I write without an internet connection?

Yes. Your writing keeps saving in this browser while you're offline. The backup to your account and the AI features come back when you reconnect.

Will my papers be on my other computer?

Yes. Everything that's backed up to your account comes back when you sign in on another device or browser. Your theme and your own AI key are the only things that stay in each browser.

What happens if I edit the same paper in two places?

The open paper picks up changes from your other tabs and devices by itself. If two versions clash, the newer one loads and your copy is kept in Version history, so nothing is lost.

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