Backup Opera Profiles: Step-by-Step for Windows, macOS, and Linux
Backing up your Opera profile preserves bookmarks, extensions, cookies, saved passwords, and other personalized settings. Below are clear, platform-specific steps plus automated options and restoration instructions.
What an Opera profile contains
- Bookmarks
- History
- Passwords and autofill data
- Extensions and their settings
- Cookies and session data
- Preferences and local storage
Windows — Manual backup and restore
Locate Opera profile
- Press Win+R, paste:
%APPDATA%\Opera Software\Opera Stable
and press Enter.
- If you use Opera GX or an alternative build, replace “Opera Stable” with the appropriate folder name (e.g., “Opera GX Stable”).
Backup steps
- Close Opera completely (check Task Manager for opera.exe).
- Copy the entire folder to a backup location (external drive, NAS, or cloud folder), e.g.:
- Source:
%APPDATA%\Opera Software\Opera Stable
- Destination:
D:\Backups\Opera\Opera Stable\YYYY-MM-DD
- Optionally compress the folder to ZIP for convenience:
Right-click → Send to → Compressed (zipped) folder
Restore steps
- Close Opera.
- Replace the profile folder at
%APPDATA%\Opera Software\Opera Stable with your backup copy.
- Start Opera.
macOS — Manual backup and restore
Locate Opera profile
Backup steps
- Quit Opera.
- In Finder, press Shift+Cmd+G and paste the profile path.
- Copy the profile folder to your backup location (external drive or cloud), e.g.:
/Backups/Opera/Opera Stable/YYYY-MM-DD
- Optionally compress: Right-click → Compress.
Restore steps
- Quit Opera.
- Replace the folder at
/Library/Application Support/Opera Software/Opera Stable with the backup.
- Launch Opera.
Linux — Manual backup and restore
Locate Opera profile
- Common paths:
- /.config/opera
- /.config/opera-stable
- ~/.config/opera-beta
Confirm which by listing:
ls ~/.config | grep opera
Backup steps
- Close Opera.
- Run in terminal:
cp -a ~/.config/opera ~/.local/share/Backups/opera-YYYY-MM-DD
(adjust folder names as needed). Or compress:
tar -czf ~/Backups/opera-YYYY-MM-DD.tar.gz -C ~/.config opera
Restore steps
- Quit Opera.
- Replace the profile folder:
rm -rf ~/.config/opera cp -a ~/Backups/opera-YYYY-MM-DD ~/.config/opera
or extract tarball:
tar -xzf ~/Backups/opera-YYYY-MM-DD.tar.gz -C /.config
- Start Opera.
Automating backups
Windows (PowerShell scheduled task)
- Create a PowerShell script (save as Backup-Opera.ps1):
\(src</span><span> = </span><span class="token" style="color: rgb(163, 21, 21);">"</span><span class="token" style="color: rgb(54, 172, 170);">\)env:APPDATA\Opera Software\Opera Stable”
\(dst</span><span> = </span><span class="token" style="color: rgb(163, 21, 21);">"D:\Backups\Opera\Opera Stable\"</span><span> </span><span class="token" style="color: rgb(57, 58, 52);">+</span><span> </span><span class="token" style="color: rgb(57, 58, 52);">(</span><span class="token" style="color: rgb(57, 58, 52);">Get-Date</span><span> </span><span class="token" style="color: rgb(57, 58, 52);">-</span><span>Format </span><span class="token" style="color: rgb(163, 21, 21);">"yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss"</span><span class="token" style="color: rgb(57, 58, 52);">)</span><span> </span><span></span><span class="token" style="color: rgb(57, 58, 52);">Copy-Item</span><span> </span><span class="token" style="color: rgb(57, 58, 52);">-</span><span>Path </span><span class="token" style="color: rgb(54, 172, 170);">\)src -Destination $dst -Recurse -Force
- Use Task Scheduler to run daily/weekly.
macOS (cron or launchd)
- Simple cron (edit with crontab -e):
0 3/usr/bin/ditto -c -k –sequesterRsrc –keepParent “/Library/Application Support/Opera Software/Opera Stable” “~/Backups/Opera/opera-\((date +\%F).zip" </span></code></div></div></pre> <ul> <li>For persistent setup prefer launchd plist.</li> </ul> <h3>Linux (cron)</h3> <p>Add to crontab (crontab -e):</p> <pre><div class="XG2rBS5V967VhGTCEN1k"><div class="nHykNMmtaaTJMjgzStID"><div class="HsT0RHFbNELC00WicOi8"><i><svg width="16" height="16" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M15.434 7.51c.137.137.212.311.212.49a.694.694 0 0 1-.212.5l-3.54 3.5a.893.893 0 0 1-.277.18 1.024 1.024 0 0 1-.684.038.945.945 0 0 1-.302-.148.787.787 0 0 1-.213-.234.652.652 0 0 1-.045-.58.74.74 0 0 1 .175-.256l3.045-3-3.045-3a.69.69 0 0 1-.22-.55.723.723 0 0 1 .303-.52 1 1 0 0 1 .648-.186.962.962 0 0 1 .614.256l3.541 3.51Zm-12.281 0A.695.695 0 0 0 2.94 8a.694.694 0 0 0 .213.5l3.54 3.5a.893.893 0 0 0 .277.18 1.024 1.024 0 0 0 .684.038.945.945 0 0 0 .302-.148.788.788 0 0 0 .213-.234.651.651 0 0 0 .045-.58.74.74 0 0 0-.175-.256L4.994 8l3.045-3a.69.69 0 0 0 .22-.55.723.723 0 0 0-.303-.52 1 1 0 0 0-.648-.186.962.962 0 0 0-.615.256l-3.54 3.51Z"></path></svg></i><p class="li3asHIMe05JPmtJCytG wZ4JdaHxSAhGy1HoNVja cPy9QU4brI7VQXFNPEvF">Code</p></div><div class="CF2lgtGWtYUYmTULoX44"><button type="button" class="st68fcLUUT0dNcuLLB2_ ffON2NH02oMAcqyoh2UU MQCbz04ET5EljRmK3YpQ CPXAhl7VTkj2dHDyAYAf" data-copycode="true" role="button" aria-label="Copy Code"><svg viewBox="0 0 16 16" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M9.975 1h.09a3.2 3.2 0 0 1 3.202 3.201v1.924a.754.754 0 0 1-.017.16l1.23 1.353A2 2 0 0 1 15 8.983V14a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8a2 2 0 0 1-1.733-1H4.183a3.201 3.201 0 0 1-3.2-3.201V4.201a3.2 3.2 0 0 1 3.04-3.197A1.25 1.25 0 0 1 5.25 0h3.5c.604 0 1.109.43 1.225 1ZM4.249 2.5h-.066a1.7 1.7 0 0 0-1.7 1.701v7.598c0 .94.761 1.701 1.7 1.701H6V7a2 2 0 0 1 2-2h3.197c.195 0 .387.028.57.083v-.882A1.7 1.7 0 0 0 10.066 2.5H9.75c-.228.304-.591.5-1 .5h-3.5c-.41 0-.772-.196-1-.5ZM5 1.75v-.5A.25.25 0 0 1 5.25 1h3.5a.25.25 0 0 1 .25.25v.5a.25.25 0 0 1-.25.25h-3.5A.25.25 0 0 1 5 1.75ZM7.5 7a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h3V9a1 1 0 0 0 1 1h1.5v4a.5.5 0 0 1-.5.5H8a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V7Zm6 2v-.017a.5.5 0 0 0-.13-.336L12 7.14V9h1.5Z"></path></svg>Copy Code</button><button type="button" class="st68fcLUUT0dNcuLLB2_ WtfzoAXPoZC2mMqcexgL ffON2NH02oMAcqyoh2UU MQCbz04ET5EljRmK3YpQ GnLX_jUB3Jn3idluie7R"><svg fill="none" viewBox="0 0 24 24" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd" d="M20.618 4.214a1 1 0 0 1 .168 1.404l-11 14a1 1 0 0 1-1.554.022l-5-6a1 1 0 0 1 1.536-1.28l4.21 5.05L19.213 4.382a1 1 0 0 1 1.404-.168Z" clip-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>Copied</button></div></div><div class="mtDfw7oSa1WexjXyzs9y" style="color: var(--sds-color-text-01); font-family: var(--sds-font-family-monospace); direction: ltr; text-align: left; white-space: pre; word-spacing: normal; word-break: normal; font-size: var(--sds-font-size-label); line-height: 1.2em; tab-size: 4; hyphens: none; padding: var(--sds-space-x02, 8px) var(--sds-space-x04, 16px) var(--sds-space-x04, 16px); margin: 0px; overflow: auto; border: none; background: transparent;"><code class="language-text" style="color: rgb(57, 58, 52); font-family: Consolas, "Bitstream Vera Sans Mono", "Courier New", Courier, monospace; direction: ltr; text-align: left; white-space: pre; word-spacing: normal; word-break: normal; font-size: 0.9em; line-height: 1.2em; tab-size: 4; hyphens: none;"><span>0 3 * * * tar -czf /home/you/Backups/opera-\)(date +\%F).tar.gz -C /home/you/.config opera
Tips and best practices
- Backup frequency: daily for heavy users, weekly otherwise.
- Store copies offsite: cloud or external drive.
- Encrypt sensitive backups if they contain passwords.
- Test restores periodically to ensure backups work.
- Export bookmarks as HTML (Menu → Bookmarks → Export bookmarks) for quick recovery.
Troubleshooting
- If Opera fails after restore, delete the “Local State” or “Preferences” files and try starting — Opera will recreate defaults.
- For password recovery, ensure the operating system user account matches the original one (some encrypted stores tie to OS user).
Quick checklist
- Close Opera before backing up.
- Copy entire profile folder.
- Keep dated copies.
- Verify restore on a test profile.