> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.timetracker.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Export your whole workspace

> Download a complete copy of your workspace data as JSON plus per-entity CSV, see exactly which datasets are included, and learn who may request one.

**Settings → Export** takes a complete copy of this workspace out of TimeTracker
in open formats. The page is headed **Export** – "Take everything in this
workspace with you, in open formats."

The nav item sits in the **Data** group. It is hidden entirely from anyone
without the `data.export` capability.

<Info>
  This is the whole-workspace export. A report export is a different, narrower
  thing – see [Report export vs workspace export](#report-export-vs-workspace-export)
  below.
</Info>

## What is on the page

One card, **Export all your data**, described on screen as:

> Clients, projects, time, rates, invoices and more, as JSON plus per-entity CSV.
> Large workspaces are prepared in the background – keep working and we'll post a
> download link here when it's ready.

Under it is one button: **Export all data**. That is the whole screen. There are
no options, no date range and no dataset picker.

## Who can export

Two things decide this, and they are not the same thing.

| Question                  | Answer                                                                                               |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Who sees the page?        | Anyone with `data.export` – Owner, Admin and Finance by default, and any custom role you grant it to |
| Who can press the button? | The workspace **Owner**                                                                              |

If you hold `data.export` but are not the Owner, the page opens and the button is
disabled, with the line: "Only the workspace owner can export all data."

At Northwind Studio that means Maya Ellis (Owner) runs the export. Tom Whitfield
(Admin) and Daniel Okafor (Finance) can open the page but not run it.

<Note>
  `data.export` is the workspace-wide bulk export. It does not imply cost
  visibility – seeing cost figures stays governed by `time.viewCost` and
  `rate.viewCost`. See
  [/concepts/roles-and-capabilities](/concepts/roles-and-capabilities).
</Note>

## Plan

Exporting is a **Pro** feature. The plan feature is `exports`.

On Free, the **Export all data** button carries a **Pro** badge. Clicking it
opens an upgrade dialog:

| Who you are               | What the dialog offers                                          |
| ------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| You can manage billing    | "Upgrade to Pro to unlock Exports." with a **See plans** button |
| You cannot manage billing | "Ask an owner or admin to upgrade this workspace."              |

Either way there is a **Not now** button to close it.

<Note>
  Export is not one of the switchable apps. There is no app to turn on or off – the
  page is always in **Settings** for anyone holding `data.export`.
</Note>

## How to export

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the page">
    Go to **Settings → Export**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Export all data">
    Press the **Export all data** button.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Wait, or keep working">
    A small workspace builds immediately and your browser downloads the file. A
    larger workspace is prepared in the background and you get a toast:
    "Preparing your export. We'll notify you here when it's ready to download."
  </Step>

  <Step title="Collect the file">
    For the background path, a notification tells you when it is ready. It is
    titled "Your workspace export is ready" and reads "A complete export of your
    workspace (34 tables) is ready to download."
  </Step>
</Steps>

If the request fails you get a toast: "Export failed. Try again in a moment."

### Which path you get

| Workspace size               | What happens                                                  |
| ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 5,000 rows or fewer in total | Built on the spot. The browser downloads it straight away     |
| More than 5,000 rows         | Prepared in the background. You are notified when it is ready |

The count is the total across every dataset, not per dataset. You do not choose
the path – it is picked for you.

## What you get

One file, named `workspace-export-YYYY-MM-DD.json`.

It is a JSON file that carries **both** formats together:

| Inside the file           | What it is                                           |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| A versioned JSON envelope | Every dataset as structured JSON, in a stable order  |
| A per-dataset CSV set     | The same rows again as CSV text, one CSV per dataset |

The JSON envelope always carries a key for every dataset, even when that dataset
is empty. An empty dataset comes through as an empty list, never a missing key,
so the shape is the same every time.

<Note>
  Money is exported exactly as recorded, as exact decimal values. Nothing is
  rounded, reformatted or converted. Timestamps pass through unchanged.
</Note>

<Tip>
  Every CSV cell is guarded against formula injection. A value that starts with `=`
  cannot run as a formula when you open the CSV in a spreadsheet.
</Tip>

## What the bundle includes

The export covers **34** datasets, written in referential order – parents before
the records that point at them.

| Area                      | Datasets                                                                                                                                                      |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| People and access         | Memberships, invitations                                                                                                                                      |
| Clients and delivery      | Clients, projects, sections, tasks, comments, project shares, client approvals, task dependencies, attachment records, task activity, task estimate revisions |
| Rates                     | Person rates, project member rates, currency conversion rates                                                                                                 |
| Time                      | Running timers, time entries                                                                                                                                  |
| Saved setup               | Saved filters, project templates                                                                                                                              |
| Money                     | Budgets, task budgets, project financials, budget alerts, invoices, invoice lines, payments, expenses, invoice numbering, invoice templates                   |
| Notifications and history | Notifications, notification preferences, report schedules, the workspace activity log                                                                         |

Tags are not a separate dataset. They travel inside the project and task rows
they belong to.

### What is not in the bundle

Be aware of the gaps before you rely on the file as a full archive. These areas
are **not** included:

* Time off – leave requests and leave balances
* Time Clock – clock-in and clock-out sessions
* Resource Planner – planned blocks
* Timesheet submissions, the weekly submit-and-approve records. The underlying
  **time entries** are included.

## Report export vs workspace export

These are two different things with two different permissions.

|            | Workspace export                                | Report export                    |
| ---------- | ----------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- |
| Where      | **Settings → Export**                           | On a report                      |
| Capability | `data.export`                                   | `report.export`                  |
| Scope      | Every dataset in the workspace                  | Only the rows in that one report |
| Format     | One JSON file holding JSON plus per-dataset CSV | The report's own export formats  |

Holding one does not give you the other. See
[/reports/export-a-report](/reports/export-a-report).

## What happens next

* The export is recorded in the workspace activity log. Only non-sensitive
  details are recorded – never a rate, an amount or a cost figure.
* The "ready" notification goes to the person who asked for it, and to nobody
  else. It is kept for 30 days.
* Running an export changes nothing in the workspace. It is a read.

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I export only one client or one date range?">
    No. This button exports everything. For a filtered slice, build a report and
    export that instead.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is it a zip file?">
    No. It is a single `.json` file that holds the JSON envelope and the
    per-dataset CSV text together.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Daniel in Finance can open the page but the button is greyed out.">
    That is expected. `data.export` opens the page; only the workspace Owner can
    run the export.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Are the uploaded attachment files included?">
    The attachment records are included. Treat the bundle as a data export, not a
    file archive.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Nothing downloaded and I got a toast instead.">
    Your workspace is over the inline threshold, so it is being prepared in the
    background. Carry on working – you are notified when it is ready.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related guides

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Export your data" icon="download" href="/data/export-your-data">
    The whole picture on getting data out.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Export formats" icon="file-code" href="/reference/export-formats">
    The shape of what you download.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Export a report" icon="chart-column" href="/reports/export-a-report">
    The narrower, filtered export.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Roles" icon="shield" href="/settings/roles">
    Granting `data.export` to a custom role.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Free vs Pro" icon="star" href="/billing/free-vs-pro">
    Why exporting is a Pro feature.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Delete a workspace" icon="triangle-exclamation" href="/data/delete-a-workspace">
    Export before you delete – deletion cannot be undone.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>