Feature request is at the end. Before that, the background below.
As a new (paid) user, one of the first things I looked for was how to do a full back up and restore. And I cannot figure out how it’s best done, or if it can be done at all.
I see that a CSV export is available, but the official documentation implies that it is incomplete. Because: “The .json file format offers a more complete export of your data and should be used for standard backup procedures. Some non-critical information is not included with the export when using the .csv file format.” (See https://help.bitwarden.com/article/export-your-data/).
So presumably a CSV export is incomplete, and json export is a “more complete”, but more complete is not complete, so some unspecified things are still missing.
Github Issue ‘Include “card” and “identity” types in export #148’ (see https://github.com/bitwarden/web/issues/148) implies that Card and Identity types are not exported, and one of the comments therein says that “Bitwarden still does not have a comprehensive export solution to allow a round-trip export-import for all stored data.”
Github issue “[export] Fields are exported unsafely #154” (see [export] Fields are exported unsafely · Issue #154 · bitwarden/web · GitHub) says that some fields are not properly exported. And forum posting “Export cards and identities” (see https://community.bitwarden.com/t/export-cards-and-identities/449) says that some other fields are not exported.
I have seen references to using the command-line interface, running my own installation of a Bitwarden server in a container, and doing (relatively) complete backups and restores. (See: https://github.com/vwxyzjn/portwarden, https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitwarden/comments/9r72p7/finally_the_encrypted_export_of_bitwarden_vault/.) None of this information is official and it’s not clear that complete test cases have been used to verify that all data will be fully exported and fully imported. Even if it works, it’s a heavy-duty solution that requires a desktop or cloud server, and it is not a web-browser-only solution.
Summary: Not everything is exported. Not everything is imported. With reading enough different issues and comments, I am beginning to build a picture of what is exported and what can be imported, but it’s a very fuzzy picture not based on any complete documentation. i do not know which other github issues and forum postings I missed that mention other things not exported or not imported.
Summary of summary: Full backups and restores are apparently not officially supported.
Feature request:
Somewhere in the official documentation, please specify exactly what is left not backed up, and exactly what cannot be restored.