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Working with data

Save and manage projects

Autosave, local export, and encrypted cloud save — three save paths that capture your dataset, canvas, instructions, and agent history together. Pick the one that matches how portable and how shared you need the project to be.

What a project contains #

  • Source dataset(s) and all metadata edits.
  • Workspace items: tables, charts, notes, layout positions, groups, tags.
  • Dataset instructions and agent conversation history.
  • Encryption preferences.

Autosave #

  • Recense autosaves to browser storage every 30 seconds.
  • Autosave provides crash recovery even before you explicitly save.
  • Autosaved projects are available when you return to the same browser.

Local file export #

  • Use Save & export → Save to file to download a portable .recense file.
  • These files are portable — open them on any machine.
  • Save & export → Export metadata only produces variable and value labels with no respondent data — use it when the data itself can't leave your organisation.
  • Optional encryption for exported files.

Cloud save (Pro) #

  • Save projects to encrypted cloud storage.
  • Projects are encrypted on your machine before upload, so Recense servers only ever store ciphertext. By default (convenience mode) Recense holds keys that can technically decrypt it to provide cloud features; turn on zero-knowledge mode in Settings → Encryption & keys and your keys are wrapped under a passphrase only you hold, after which Recense cannot decrypt it.
  • In zero-knowledge mode your passphrase and recovery-key file are the only way back in — Recense cannot reset them. Keep the recovery-key file somewhere safe.
  • Upload datasets to cloud storage for access from other devices.
  • Deleted cloud projects stay in Trash for 30 days before they are removed permanently.

Saved projects #

The Saved projects panel lists your Local and Cloud projects. From it you can:

  • Open, rename, export to file, or delete a project.
  • Preview a project's datasets and canvases before opening it.
  • Restore or permanently delete cloud projects from Trash.

Next steps