A backup app that runs
on your machine.

Whimsy Local is a free desktop app — macOS, Windows, and Linux — that backs up, restores, and de-duplicates your files entirely on your own machine, with no account required. Backups go to storage you already own (a local disk, a NAS, or your own S3 bucket) and are encrypted on-device with AES-256-GCM before they leave, so the destination only ever sees ciphertext.

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   Install on your machine

   Grab Whimsy Local for your computer — macOS today via Homebrew, with Windows and Linux on the way. It runs as a small local app; no account, no sign-up.

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   Point it at your folders and a destination

   Choose the folders to protect and where backups go: a local disk, a NAS, or your own S3-compatible bucket. The backup lands in storage you already own.

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   Back up, restore, and de-dupe — offline

   Run a versioned backup, restore any earlier version, and scan for duplicate photos and video — all on your machine, encrypted before anything leaves it.

Marginalia

Your files don't have to leave your control to be safe.

Questions, answered

What is Whimsy Local?

Whimsy Local is a free desktop app — for macOS, Windows, and Linux — that backs up, de-duplicates, and encrypts your files on your own machine, into storage you already own. It runs on its own, without a Whimsy account, and is the offline companion to the Whimsy web app.

Do I need a Whimsy account, or does it work offline?

It works fully offline with no account. Backup, restore, and duplicate scanning all run on your machine with no sign-in and no network. Pairing the connector to your Whimsy account is optional — it only adds hosted status summaries and remote requests; your local paths stay local-admin-only either way.

Where does Whimsy Local store my backups?

In storage you control — a local disk, a NAS, or your own S3-compatible bucket (Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Wasabi, and others). Whimsy never holds your backups and never sits in the path; the app talks straight to your destination.

Is the backup encrypted? Can Whimsy or my cloud provider read it?

Yes, and no. Files are encrypted on your machine with AES-256-GCM before anything leaves it. Filenames and folder structure are encrypted too, and the key is derived from your passphrase and never leaves the device. Whoever holds the destination — your cloud provider, your NAS, or us — sees only ciphertext.

What platforms does it run on, and how do I install it?

macOS, Windows, and Linux, on both Intel and Apple-Silicon/ARM hardware. macOS is available today via Homebrew (brew tap, then install); Windows and Linux builds are on the way. The download page detects your platform and shows the current install command and checksums.

Does Whimsy Local find duplicates too, or just back up?

Both. It runs the same three-way duplicate detection offline on your machine: exact copies by checksum, look-alike photos by perceptual hashing, and repeated video by keyframe matching. It groups what it finds and lets you review before clearing anything — it never deletes on its own.

Are the backups versioned? Can I restore an older version of a file?

Yes. Each backup is a point-in-time snapshot with retention, so you can restore a file as it was on a previous date — protection against an accidental overwrite, a drive failure, or ransomware. Restore runs locally, with no account needed.

How is this different from Backblaze, Arq, or just syncing to Dropbox?

Sync mirrors your latest mistake everywhere; a versioned backup keeps history you can roll back to. Unlike Backblaze, the backup lands in storage you already own instead of a vendor silo, so there's no second storage bill — and it's encrypted before upload, not just in transit. And unlike a pure backup tool, Whimsy Local also de-duplicates your files offline.

Is Whimsy Local free?

Yes. Every core capability — local backup, restore, offline dedup, and client-side encryption — is free, with no account required, while we're in early access. There's nothing to buy to protect your files on your own storage.