Automated Kdenlive Project Backup Script

Losing progress on a video editing project due to a sudden system crash, power outage, or file corruption can ruin hours of hard work. While Kdenlive has a built-in autosave feature, it often overwrites the same recovery file, which does not prevent file corruption issues. This article provides a straight-to-the-point guide on how to create a custom, automated backup script for Linux and Windows that saves timestamped copies of your .kdenlive project files at regular intervals.

Option 1: Automated Bash Script (Linux & macOS)

Because Kdenlive project files are XML-based, they are incredibly lightweight. You can back up hundreds of versions without using significant disk space.

Step 1: Create the Bash Script

Create a new file named kdenlive_backup.sh in your preferred scripts folder and paste the following code:

#!/bin/bash

# Configuration
SOURCE_DIR="$HOME/Videos/Kdenlive_Projects"
BACKUP_DIR="$HOME/Backups/Kdenlive"
TIMESTAMP=$(date +"%Y%m%d_%H%M%S")

# Create backup directory if it doesn't exist
mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"

# Copy all .kdenlive files with a timestamp suffix
for file in "$SOURCE_DIR"/*.kdenlive; do
    [ -e "$file" ] || continue
    filename=$(basename "$file" .kdenlive)
    cp "$file" "$BACKUP_DIR/${filename}_${TIMESTAMP}.kdenlive"
done

Note: Replace $HOME/Videos/Kdenlive_Projects with the actual path where you save your project files.

Step 2: Make the Script Executable

Open your terminal and run the following command to grant execution permissions to the script:

chmod +x /path/to/kdenlive_backup.sh

Step 3: Automate with Cron

To run this script automatically every 15 minutes while you edit, add it to your user crontab:

  1. Open the crontab editor:

    crontab -e

  2. Add the following line at the bottom of the file:

    */15 * * * * /path/to/kdenlive_backup.sh

  3. Save and close the editor. Your projects will now back up silently in the background.

Option 2: Automated PowerShell Script (Windows)

If you use Kdenlive on Windows, you can achieve the exact same automated redundancy using PowerShell and Windows Task Scheduler.

Step 1: Create the PowerShell Script

Create a file named kdenlive_backup.ps1 and paste the following script:

# Configuration
$SourceDir = "$Home\Videos\Kdenlive_Projects"
$BackupDir = "$Home\Backups\Kdenlive"
$Timestamp = Get-Date -Format "yyyyMMdd_HHmmss"

# Create backup directory if it doesn't exist
If (!(Test-Path -Path $BackupDir)) {
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $BackupDir
}

# Copy all .kdenlive files with a timestamp suffix
Get-ChildItem -Path $SourceDir -Filter *.kdenlive | ForEach-Object {
    $NewName = $_.BaseName + "_" + $Timestamp + $_.Extension
    Copy-Item $_.FullName -Destination (Join-Path $BackupDir $NewName)
}

Step 2: Automate with Windows Task Scheduler

To trigger this script automatically:

  1. Open Task Scheduler from the Windows Start Menu.
  2. Click Create Basic Task in the right-hand panel.
  3. Name the task “Kdenlive Backup” and set the trigger to Daily.
  4. Set the Action to Start a Program.
  5. In the Program/script box, type powershell.exe.
  6. In the Add arguments box, paste: -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\Path\To\kdenlive_backup.ps1"
  7. After finishing the wizard, double-click the newly created task, go to the Triggers tab, click Edit, and check the box for Repeat task every:. Set this to 15 minutes (or your preferred interval) for the duration of Indefinitely.