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[PowerToys] [Hosts File Editor] Backup Settings #5342

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[PowerToys] [Hosts File Editor] Backup Settings #5342

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Update hub/powertoys/hosts-file-editor.md
davidegiacometti Mar 19, 2025
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10 changes: 9 additions & 1 deletion hub/powertoys/hosts-file-editor.md
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Expand Up @@ -35,7 +35,9 @@ To filter host file entries, select the filter icon and enter data in either the

## Back up Hosts file

Hosts File Editor creates a backup of the hosts file before editing session. The backup files are located near the hosts file in `%SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\etc` named `hosts_PowerToysBackup_YYYYMMDDHHMMSS` and are deleted after 15 days.
Hosts File Editor creates a backup of the hosts file before editing session. By default backup files are located near the hosts file in `%SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\etc` named `hosts_PowerToysBackup_YYYYMMDDHHMMSS`.

Backups are deleted after 15 days, but the most recent 5 are always kept. This behavior can be configured in the PowerToys Settings.

## Settings

Expand All @@ -47,6 +49,12 @@ From the Settings menu, the following options can be configured:
| Show a warning at startup | Warns that editing hosts can change DNS names resolution. Enabled by default. |
| Additional lines position | Default value is **Top**. If **Bottom** is selected, the file header is moved below hosts settings to the bottom. |
| Consider loopback addresses as duplicates | Loopback addresses (like 127.0.0.1 and ::1) are considered as duplicates. |
| Encoding | Choose the encoding used to save the hosts file between **UTF8** and **UTF8 with BOM**. |
| Backups hosts file | If enabled, a backup of the hosts file is created when you save for the first time in a session. |
| Location | Specify where backups are created. Default `%SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\etc`. |
| Automatically delete backups | Choose **Never**, **Based on count** or **Based on age and count**. |
| Backup count | When **Automatically delete backups** is **Based on count**, determine the number of backups to keep. Older backups will be deleted once the limit is reached. |
| Days | When **Automatically delete backups** is **Based on age and count**, determine the number of days to keep backups. Older backups will be deleted once the limit is reached. An optional count of backups can be configured to always keep a fixed number of backups despite their age. |

## Troubleshooting

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