Export and Import Your Whole Dashboard: One data.json You Own
Most productivity tools treat your data like their asset: it lives in their cloud, and "export" is a buried settings page that produces something half-usable. Baton Board treats your data like your asset — because it never left your device in the first place.
Everything on your board — tasks, notes, KPI history, habits, goals, layouts, every profile — is one structure, and one click writes it to a single data.json file you own. One click reads it back. That simple loop covers backup, migration, and recovery, and it's the foundation of the no-lock-in promise.
What export gives you
- The whole board, one file. All profiles, all widgets, all history — layouts included. Not a partial CSV of one list: the complete state.
- Readable JSON. Open it in any editor. Inspect it, diff it, keep it in your own backup system or version control. No proprietary blob.
- API keys stripped automatically. If you've connected read-only keys for KPI sources, export removes them — so a shared or synced file never leaks a secret.
- Tasks as CSV too. Alongside the full
data.json, you can export tasks as CSV for spreadsheets, and the board itself as a PNG image for sharing a snapshot.
What import lets you do
- Move devices in minutes. Export on the old machine, import on the new one — your whole cockpit arrives, layouts and history intact.
- Restore after a reset. Cleared your browser? Import your latest export and continue.
- Share a layout. Hand a
data.jsonto someone as a starting template — they import it and reshape it. (Any keys were already stripped on export.)
And if you forgot to export? Automatic backups.
Export is the copy you control, but Baton Board also snapshots your board automatically as you work, keeping generations on your device. From the restore menu you can roll back to an earlier point in time with one click — so an accidental mass-delete or a bad experiment is reversible even if you never exported.
Why this matters more on a local-first tool
On a cloud tool, the vendor's database is the safety net (and the lock-in). On a local-first tool, you hold the data — so first-class export, import, and automatic backups aren't nice-to-haves; they're the whole deal. Baton Board's design goal is simple: at any moment, you can walk away with everything, in a file you can read.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is in the exported data.json?
The complete board state: every profile, widget, task, note, KPI history point, habit record, goal, and layout. It's plain, readable JSON.
Are my API keys included in the export?
No. Any authorization keys you stored for KPI sources are stripped automatically at export time, so a shared file can't leak them.
How do I move my board to another computer?
Export data.json on the first device, open Baton Board on the second, and import the file. Everything — layouts, history, profiles — comes across.
What if I never made an export and something breaks?
Baton Board keeps automatic backups on your device as you work. Open the restore menu and roll back to an earlier snapshot.
Can I edit the data.json by hand?
Yes — it's plain JSON, and importing it brings your edits in. Power users script against it; the append API and MCP server offer more structured automation paths.
Pricing
Free covers one customizable board with the seven free widgets, full data.json export/import, automatic backups, board-wide search, and eight languages — data freedom is never the paid part. Pro (¥980/month or ¥9,800/year) unlocks unlimited boards, the analytics widgets (KPI, KPI tree, goal, habit, agenda, activity, PDCA), the AI assistant, end-to-end sync, and deep customization. A ¥14,800 lifetime license is available. Polar handles payments and worldwide taxes.
Try it
Open Baton Board, build something small, and export it. Open the file. That readable JSON in your hands is what data ownership actually looks like.
Related reading: "Your Data, Your File: No Lock-In by Design" and "A Local-First, Zero-Trust Dashboard."