Advanced Features
This page covers power-user tools in xLights that aren't part of the everyday sequencing workflow: the Backup & Restore system and the Search Effects panel.
xLights can automatically snapshot your show folder so you can recover from a bad edit, a corrupted file, or an accidental save.
Open Tools > Preferences > Backup to set:
| Option | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Backup On Save | Take a backup every time you save a sequence. |
| Backup On Launch | Take a backup automatically each time xLights starts. |
| Backup Subfolders | Include subfolders of the show directory when backing up. |
| Purge Backups | Automatically delete old backups: Never, or older than 360, 90, 30, or 7 days. |
| Backup Directory | Where backups are stored. Check Use Show Folder to keep them under the show directory, or uncheck it and pick a custom folder. |
| Alternative Backup Directory | A second location used by the Alternate Backup command (see below). |
-
File > Backup (
F10) — backs up to the configured Backup Directory. -
File > Alternate Backup (
F11) — backs up to the Alternative Backup Directory instead, useful for keeping a copy on a different drive or network share.
Either command prompts to confirm before copying all .xml and .xsq files
under the size limit into a new dated folder, e.g.:
<Backup Directory>\Backup\2026-07-05-143022
Backups triggered on startup are suffixed _OnStart; if a folder name would
collide with an existing one, xLights appends _A, _B, etc.
When Purge Backups is set to anything other than Never, xLights checks
dated backup folders on startup (and whenever the setting changes) and
deletes any folder older than the cutoff — but only if the next-oldest
backup is also past the cutoff, so the most recent backup outside the
retention window is always kept as a fallback.
File > Restore Backup opens the Restore dialog. It's blocked while a sequence is open — close your current sequence first.
- The left list shows every dated backup folder found.
- Selecting one populates two tabs on the right: Controllers/Layout and Sequences, each listing the individual files available to restore from that backup, with checkboxes to pick which ones to bring back.
- Restore Files copies the checked files over your current show folder, after a final "this will override any open file" confirmation.
The Search Effects panel finds effects across your whole sequence by their settings or palette values — handy for locating every effect using a particular color, image, or option value without scrubbing through every row and layer by hand.
Tools > Search Effects toggles a dockable panel (docked to the left of the sequencer by default). It's a checkable menu item, so re-selecting it hides the panel again.
| Control | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Model | Limit the search to one model, or leave it as <<ALL>> to search every model. |
| Search | The text (or pattern) to look for. |
| Regex | Off by default — searches are a case-insensitive substring match. Check this to search with a full regular expression instead. |
| Find | Runs the search. |
| Select All | Selects every effect in the results list. |
The search only looks inside each effect's settings and palette values — it does not match against effect names, model names, or timing marks directly. This means it's most useful for things like "find every effect that references this image file" or "find every effect using this hex color."
Results are listed as <matched value> [<start>,<end>] <effect name> <model name>, with a running N Effects Found count. Clicking a result
jumps the sequencer timeline directly to that effect.