Back up, restore and find your saved progress
Keep the right copy of your adventure, check a backup before restoring it, and understand what stays in each browser.
Developer-maintained game guide · Reviewed
Back up before changing browsers, clearing site data or restoring another save. Idle Cheeky Cat saves locally in your current browser. There is no active account or cloud sync. Download a game backup from Settings; if the game cannot read your old save, preserve its original text on the backup and restore page first.
What does a game backup include?
A game backup contains your Arsenal inventory, equipped weapon and refinements; coins, Stardust and upgrades; weapon evolution progress; and Campaign and Endless progress. Campaign records support your earned medal titles, and your selected outfit is included.
The postcard album is stored separately and is not included. A game backup is a snapshot: it can restore the progress it contains, but cannot recover later play that was never saved into that file.
Download the right backup
When your current progress looks correct
- Open Settings and choose Download save. The smaller battle Settings panel calls this button Export.
- Find paw-pow-save.json in your browser’s downloads. Keep a dated copy somewhere you can find again.
- Check that the file actually arrived before closing the game or removing browser data. A download message alone is not a stored backup.
This export captures the game currently open in memory. It can preserve current play when a write fails, but it is not necessarily the original save stored by the browser.
When your old save cannot be read
Open backup and restore in the same browser and profile. Choose Download backup to keep the original stored text in a dated file such as paw-pow-save-backup-2026-10-03.json. The page reads the current save, or the older legacy save only when no current save exists.
If that text is unreadable JSON, the page can still offer its original download. Preserve it unedited. A Settings export during temporary play may contain a fresh temporary game instead of your old progress. If browser access is blocked, the backup page may be unable to read anything until access is restored.
Restore a backup or move to another browser
- Close all other game tabs. In the destination browser, open backup and restore. Back up any existing destination progress first.
- Open your saved JSON file as text. Paste its complete, unedited contents into “Paste the complete JSON from your backup file.”
- Choose Check backup. Read any error rather than changing numbers to make the check pass.
- Review the displayed coins, Campaign or Endless mode, level and weapon ID. These help identify the snapshot you selected.
- Choose Confirm restore only when those details match. Wait for the restored message, then return to the game and inspect your progress.
Restoring replaces the destination’s current game save. It does not merge two adventures. The legacy save is left untouched. Changing the pasted text cancels confirmation; choose Check backup again before restoring.
The check rejects malformed JSON and unsupported or invalid values it knows about. It does not prove a file’s authenticity or verify every relationship within the save. Unparseable text cannot be repaired simply by pressing restore. Keep the original and try an intact backup if you have one.
Missing progress: start with the message
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| No save found | Check the browser, profile, device and site address used before. If you have a backup, restore it in the intended destination. |
| Cannot save · Export a backup | Keep the game open and export the current progress from Settings before troubleshooting browser storage permissions. |
| Temporary play · Restore your save | Read the notice. For an unreadable old save, download the original text from the backup page. Temporary play is not being saved. |
| Paused · Save protected | Another game tab is open or the stored save changed. Close other game tabs, then use Reload latest save. Preserve the stored backup first if needed. |
| Guns restored, postcards missing | The game backup does not include the album. Check the original browser’s postcard collection. |
Different browsers, profiles and devices keep separate local saves. The site address matters too: idlecatgunner.com and www.idlecatgunner.com are different storage origins. A changed address or redirect does not move saved data between them.
Clearing this site’s data can delete its progress. Private browsing storage is normally cleared when the private session ends; browser policies can also block storage. MDN explains these localStorage limits. Avoid clearing site data as the first troubleshooting step. Without an accessible original save or an intact backup, this utility cannot recreate missing progress.
Keep the postcard album in its original browser
There is currently no postcard-album export or import. Restoring combat progress does not transfer cards, and clearing site data can remove them. If a card appears with a saving warning, keep that tab open and use Try saving again when offered. The daily postcard guide explains collection and saved-status messages.
Save backup FAQ
Do I need to log in or upload my backup?
No. Paste it into the local restore form. The current game has no account-based recovery or cloud synchronization.
Will a backup undo Rebirth?
An intact earlier backup can replace the current game with its earlier snapshot. Later progress is replaced too. Read the Rebirth keep/reset rules before choosing either action.