# What we back up (and skip)

**Rule:** everything irreplaceable or slow to rebuild — **not** ROM files, **not** provider cover art.

## Always

| Path | Why |
|------|-----|
| `/config` | App state, DBs, CouchDB vault — **includes RomM MariaDB** (`/config/romm/mariadb`) |
| `/config/backup/dumps` | Nightly SQL dumps — **includes `romm-db`** |

## RomM

Per [RomM docs](https://docs.romm.app/): **`assets` = saves/states**; **`resources` = fetched covers**.

| Included | Path | What |
|----------|------|------|
| Database | `/config/romm/mariadb` + nightly dump | Scans, hashes, matches (weeks of work) |
| Saves & states | `labdata/romm/assets` | RomM-managed save files |
| Config/cache | `/config/romm/config`, `/config/romm/redis` | Via `/config` snapshot |

| Skipped | Path | What |
|---------|------|------|
| Cover art | `labdata/romm/resources` | IGDB/SteamGridDB — minutes to re-fetch |

## Emulation (`/storage1/Emulation`) — excluded

Legacy pre-RomM tree (EmuDeck, ES-DE, 13T `roms/`, symlinks). **Not backed up offsite.** RomM is the source of truth for saves via `labdata/romm/assets` + DB.

## labdata — included

| Path | Why |
|------|-----|
| `gitea/repositories`, `gitea/lfs` | Git + LFS |
| `famapp/minio`, `resume/minio`, `plane/minio` | User uploads |
| `romhacks/metadata`, `romhacks/library` | Catalog work + guides/spreadsheets |
| `romm/assets` | Saves (see RomM above) |

## labdata — skipped

| Path | Why |
|------|-----|
| `romm/resources` | Provider cover art |
| `registry` | Re-pull images |
| `romhacks/incoming` | Transient download queue |

## Change scope

Edit `snapshot-paths.txt`, bind mounts in `docker-compose.yml`, and `SCOPE.md`.