Backup and Restoring Oculus Quest Apps
Backup
- Connect your Oculus Quest to your computer using a USB cable.
- Open an elevated command prompt.
- Navigate to your Platform-Tools directory.
- Open an elevated command promt
- Run the following command to list all installed apps and games:
adb shell cmd package list packages -3
- Make note of the package name of the app or game you want to backup. All packagenames can be
found on rookie's game list. - Run the following command to backup the app or game to your computer:
adb backup -f <backup_path>/<name>.ab <package_name>
For example, to backup the game "Kartoffl" to the folder "C:\RSL", you would run the following
command:
adb backup -f C:\RSL\kartoffl.ab com.breach.kartofflgame
- You will be prompted to confirm the backup operation on your Oculus Quest headset. Click the
"Back Up My Data" button. - The backup will start. Once it is complete, you will have a backup file named Kartoffl.ab in the
folder you specified.
Restore
- Connect your Oculus Quest 3 to your computer using a USB cable.
- Open an elevated command prompt.
- Navigate to the folder where your backup file is located.
- Run the following command to restore the app or game from the backup file
adb restore <backup_path>/<package_name>.ab
For example, to restore the game "Kartoffl" from the backup file "C:\RSL\Kartoffl.ab", you would run
the following command:
adb restore C:\RSL\Kartoffl.ab
- You will be prompted to confirm the restore operation on your Oculus Quest headset. Click the
"Restore My Data" button. - The restore will start. Once it is complete, the app or game will be restored to your Oculus Quest
headset.
Verifying Backups:
Before you uninstall an app or game or perform a factory reset, it is a good idea to verify that your
backup is working properly. To do this, you can expand the backup file and check the contents.
- To verify that the backup was successful, you can expand the .ab file and check the contents.
On Mac/Linux:
( printf "\x1f\x8b\x08\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00" ; tail -c +25 C:/RSL/Kartoffl.ab ) | tar xfvz -
On Windows:
- Install Git Bash if you don't have it already.
- Open Git Bash and navigate to the folder where your backup file is located.
- Run the following command to expand the backup file:
( printf "\x1f\x8b\x08\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00" ; tail -c +25 <backup_path>/<package_name>.ab ) | tar
xfvz -
Example:
( printf "\x1f\x8b\x08\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00" ; tail -c +25 c:/RSL/Kartoffl.ab ) | tar xfvz -
This will create a new folder containing the contents of the backup file. You can then check the
contents of this folder to verify that the backup is working properly.
Additional Tips:
- It is always best to be explicit with the backup .ab filename because otherwise it will default to
backup.ab and be overwritten each time regardless of which package name you choose. - If the backup file is zero bytes or contains the following content, the game probably does not
back up to locations used by adb backup:
- If you are using Rookie, you can also back up and restore apps/games using the Rookie UI. To do
this, go to the BACKUP/RESTORE on the left hand side of the program. Then, click the Back Up or
Restore button. - Always back up your apps and games before uninstalling them or performing a factory reset.
-Be sure to store your backup files in a safe place. - If you are having trouble backing up or restoring an app or game, try restarting your Oculus Quest
headset and computer. - If you are still having trouble, then this is the wrong thing for you to do
Advanced Users Warning:
This information is intended for advanced users only. It may contain complex instructions, technical jargon, and/or potentially dangerous procedures. If you are not comfortable with the information presented, please consult a qualified professional. Please note that I am not responsible for any damage or injury that may occur as a result of following the instructions provided. Please proceed with caution.
Decompress the Backup File:
All these commands are ran in gitbash
Android backup files are compressed and encoded. To decompress it, you can use the dd command.
First, create an empty file to hold the decompressed data:
dd if=backup.ab bs=24 skip=1 | openssl zlib -d > backup.tar
Modify the Contents as Needed:
You can now modify the contents of the extracted backup as required.
Recompile the TAR File:
After making your modifications, you can recompile the TAR file with: the {.} is the directory you want
to backup
tar -cvf backup.tar {.}
Recompress the TAR File:
Compress the TAR file back into an Android backup file using dd:
dd if=backup.tar | openssl zlib > modified_backup.ab
Push the Modified Backup File Back To Your Device
Written by JarJarBlinkz