Sublime Forum

I just updated Sublime Text and lost all my unsaved files

#21

I just uninstalled the sublime text and installed a new one but I didn’t see any backup created Session.sublime_session .

Sublime Text will only make a backup just before it exits to update itself, it was added specifically to help with this exact bug. The uninstaller/installer never touch those files or any of your configuration.

Another question if we are using an unregistered sublime text does it create this scenario?

The only difference between licensed and unlicensed is that you don’t get nagged and can disable update checks. Everything else is identical.

0 Likes
#22

Same here, I was sorting my docs and taking care of notes I’ve been making throughout recent days, when update occured, and boom - everything’s gone. Try Recuva or other file recovery options; Windows system restore and file versioning will not help.

For me that’s definitely a reason to abandon Sublime once and for all - I don’t know what you guys are doing with the session files but the fact that every minor update, even without changing the data storage structure, wipes it all (at least the contents of the open tabs), makes the solution a no-go for any purpose more serious than a scratchpad for kids.

A good mitigation would be to enhance the update workflow by adding a force session backup step, but considering that we’ve seen promises to fix this years ago from staff, and it still happens - don’t know what to think. Hopefully what bschaaf said, would help other users in the future.

Good luck guys.

0 Likes
#23

Ok. I understand but that doesn’t seems to be the case and it seems I am not the only one having that issue. Is it not possible to actually check if the backup file was actually created instead of assuming it was.

Just maybe a note…the backup name is vague instead of being unique and timestamped for every update Major/Minor/Patch since the session file is not large anyway.

For the last 3 updates I have not seen any backup files and I lost all my session every time.
Hopefully we don’t see this happening again.

0 Likes
#24

Ok. I understand but that doesn’t seems to be the case and it seems I am not the only one having that issue. Is it not possible to actually check if the backup file was actually created instead of assuming it was.

It’s being created for me every time I do an upgrade.

Just maybe a note…the backup name is vague instead of being unique and timestamped for every update Major/Minor/Patch since the session file is not large anyway.

Session files can get quite large, as they contain any unsaved files. Having only one such backup copy is intended.

For the last 3 updates I have not seen any backup files and I lost all my session every time.
Hopefully we don’t see this happening again.

If it’s happening consistently for you, could you share your settings and installed packages? We may also be able to narrow down the issue with a log of file changes using some monitoring tool during an update.

0 Likes
#25

Same thing just happened with me. Got a prompt that my version was out of update and if I would like to update. I update, update just re-opens sublime after it gives me a message about failing up rename it’s program folder.

When Sublime re-opens, every tab I had open is closed, and the folder I had selected is no longer in the left-side pane.

There is no backup file in the folder as @bschaaf suggests. The only session file was updated when Sublime closed itself when I tried to update again (it kept prompting that it was still out of date on 3211).

I tried update to Sublime 4 but no difference, all my temp files are gone. This is incredibly frustrating since the update was prompted by Sublime, not me.

0 Likes
#26

This just happened to me on Mac. The local folder only has files created today.

0 Likes
#27

We’ve narrowed down what the problem is for updates on Windows, but that same problem can’t exist on macOS. I suggest submitting an issue to our bug tracker.

0 Likes
#28

I was confused and started trying to restore my open files from the menu overwriting this file.. .

0 Likes
#29

I just joined the bandwagon today with their latest update, lost all unsaved notes, couldn’t find any Sublime Text 3 folder but a Sublime Text folder where all I could find were 2 JSON files which didn’t retain any of my notes.

Can anybody suggest any Sublime Text alternatives that would have the functionality to retain unsaved texts? That is the only thing I am looking for.

0 Likes
#30

The fix for this has shipped with the latest stable build 4121. Unfortunately there isn’t a way to apply the fix through the update process without possibly triggering it.

As stated in the bug report the issue happens when the open windows are closed while the update dialog is still open. Installing the update without closing any windows shouldn’t trigger it.

0 Likes
#31

After this last update, my complete build system was totally destroyed!

Thanks a lot!!!

0 Likes
#32

Unless you provide more information, saying that xyz getting destroyed is of no use. So please provide more information.

  1. Can you share the build system in question ?
  2. Does it happen in safe mode ?
  3. What was working in 4113 and what has stopped working on 4121 ?
  4. What system & OS are you using.
0 Likes
#33

Very simple!
Updated opened my build system that I use for years without a problem. Based on Gulp and Node.js and the whole build system is corrupted! With the use of Terminus.

0 Likes
#34

Corrupted in what way ? Any screenshots you can post if you are not willing to share the build system ? Also please give the rest of the info as asked in the previous message so that we have all information at hand.

0 Likes
#35

Restored my build system from back up. Reinstalled the last version (on Mac it doesn’t show the proper version number, but the previous one) and now it works OK.

0 Likes
#36

The developers can’t fix problems to stop them from happening to you or other users if you’re resistant to actually explaining what the problem is.

4 Likes
#37

I did clearly explained what happened and will repeat it one more time:

  • I updated Sublime Text to the latest version
  • I opened my project I was working on for a month based on a build system with node.je, Gulp etc
  • I opened Terminus and run gulp dev and instead of building my project and displaying it with browser sync in my browser the whole build was suddenly corrupted meaning folder names and files not proper build.
  • Work with this system for years without a problem!
  • Only restore from backup did the job.

There is not more to tell. And I had no more time to spend to dive in to it!

Regards,
David

0 Likes
#38

Check the anti-virus or windows defender, it is considering Sublime’s session file as a trojan virus. Thus, it quarantines the session file. Kindly check your anti-virus protection history.

0 Likes