promptkbBETA
← Field guidePRACTICAL FIELD NOTE

Keep local work safe across tabs

Understand saving access, conflicting versions, and what an export actually backs up.

PromptKB keeps its editor, test notebook, and named drafts in this browser profile. They are not uploaded to an account. That keeps the tool small and private, but it also means you need a deliberate way to save, switch tabs, and keep backups.

One saving tab at a time

The status box at the top of the workbench tells you whether local saving is enabled. Only one updated workbench tab can save at a time. Other tabs can still edit prompts, record answers, copy text, and export their current work, but those edits stay in memory. Saving named drafts, deleting saved drafts, and deleting local data are disabled there.

To switch, choose Pause saving in this tab in the saving tab, or close it. Then choose Enable saving in this tab in the tab you want to use. Ownership is never taken over automatically just because another tab closes.

If the saved version changed

A tab with an older view of saved work cannot simply resume saving. That could overwrite a newer prompt or restore drafts someone just deleted. Instead:

  1. Choose Export current in the paused tab to keep its editor and notebook in a JSON file.
  2. Choose Load saved version and confirm discarding this tab's in-memory editor. This reloads the workbench from browser storage, without deleting named drafts.
  3. If another tab still has saving access, pause or close that tab, then enable saving here.
  4. If you want to use the exported version, first export or save the version now in the editor, then import your file and confirm replacement.

The app does not merge conflicting prompt text or test records automatically. Both versions can be useful; you should decide which one to keep. Export files before discarding either one.

What an export includes

Export current includes this tab's current prompt, active variable inputs, and all of its captured test records. It is a single-prompt file, not a backup of the named-draft list.

Export workspace includes this tab's editor and notebook, the browser's saved editor if one exists, and every named draft currently saved in this browser, including their notebooks. It reads saved drafts afresh, even from a paused tab, so a backup can retain both that tab's unsaved buffer and a newer browser autosave. It cannot read other tabs' unsaved buffers.

Restore without overwriting the workspace

Choose Preview workspace backup to inspect a workspace file. Selecting it does not change your editor or saved drafts. Workspace files have a separate format and a 20 MB limit; single-prompt files still use Import JSON and a 2 MB limit.

  1. Review the named-draft count and merge plan. Merge named drafts adds new snapshots and skips exact duplicates. Same-title snapshots with different contents stay separate. It never deletes existing drafts or changes the editor. If the result would exceed 50 named drafts, the whole merge is blocked instead of importing only part.
  2. To recover an editor, select the file's tab editor or browser autosave, inspect it if needed, then choose Load selected editor and confirm replacement. Named drafts are untouched. Export or save the existing editor first if you need both versions.
  3. Verify the restored named drafts and editor before discarding the backup file. Keep the original file if a browser quota prevents saving. A valid file is not a guarantee that this browser has enough storage space.

Named merges require this tab to have saving access and an unchanged storage baseline. A paused tab can still load an editor into memory and export it, but cannot use backup import to bypass saving protection. Closing the preview cancels further actions; it does not undo a merge you already confirmed.

Exports are plain-text, unencrypted JSON. Store them somewhere you control, especially before clearing browser data or moving to a new device. Saving a named draft in the same browser is a convenient snapshot, not an off-device backup.

Unsupported or unavailable saving

Safe coordination uses the browser's Web Locks API. If it is missing or unavailable, the workbench does not fall back to unsafe simultaneous saving. Editing and export still work. Use a supported, up-to-date browser over HTTPS to save locally.

If storage is full or blocked, saving pauses and releases this tab's saving access. Export before closing it. After fixing storage permissions or freeing space, try enabling saving again. If saved work changed in the meantime, export and load the saved version first.

If saved data cannot be parsed or validated, the app leaves it untouched and pauses saving instead of silently dropping entries. A normal workspace export refuses malformed saved data rather than leaving it out. Choose Download raw recovery before clearing anything: it preserves the exact stored strings for all four current/legacy keys, including malformed data. It does not contain your tab's unsaved editor, so use Export current separately too.

Raw recovery files are for manual repair and are not directly importable. Do not upload them to strangers; they may contain sensitive text you entered earlier. If browser storage cannot be read at all, raw recovery cannot extract it. Restore access or use an existing backup, and preserve any editable in-memory work with Export current.

Limits worth knowing

Try it in the workbench →