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Question

How can I safely reduce the size of an Unreal Engine project for backup without losing essential data?

I need to back up my Unreal Engine projects, but each project takes up at least 100GB of space on my disk. I want to reduce the size of these backups to save space on cloud storage or external hard drives, without risking any data loss that might prevent me from restoring the project fully.

This question is not about saving space while working, or using the .gitignore file. It's about saving space while archiving projects (let's say you've completed the project, or the project is canceled) somewhere else such as cloud or hard disk backups.

Thank you.

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Solution

When backing up an Unreal Engine project to the cloud or a hard disk, you can safely exclude certain directories that contain temporary or automatically generated files, as they will be regenerated when you reopen the project (in the future).

Here are the directories/files you can safely remove (delete):

1. Binaries

  • Purpose: Contains compiled binary files for the project.
  • Safe to delete: Yes. These files are rebuilt when you compile the project again.

2. DerivedDataCache

  • Purpose: Cache for faster loading and rendering. Stores cached data for shaders, textures, and other assets to speed up compilation and loading times.
  • Safe to delete: Yes. It will be recreated automatically as needed when the project is opened. The engine will have to regenerate these caches, which could lead to longer load times initially.

3. Intermediate

  • Purpose: Contains intermediate files generated during the build process, such as compiled shaders and other temporary files.
  • Safe to delete: Yes. This folder is fully recreated when the project is compiled.

4. Saved

  • Purpose: Stores autosave files, logs, backups, and temporary data such as shader debug information.
  • Safe to delete: Yes, but you may want to keep certain files like Config backups, depending on your needs.

5. Build

  • Purpose: Contains pre-built assets, like cooked content for specific platforms.
  • Safe to delete: Yes, but keep in mind you'll need to rebuild or recook assets for your target platforms when reopening the project.

6. .vs

  • Purpose: Contains Visual Studio-related files.
  • Safe to delete: Yes, these files will be regenerated by Visual Studio.

Directories You Should Back Up

Ensure the following directories are included in your backup to prevent data loss:

  1. Content: Contains all your project assets (models, textures, blueprints, etc.).
  2. Config: Stores configuration settings and project settings.
  3. Source: Contains your source code files, if applicable (C++ projects).
  4. Plugins: Contains any custom plugins used in the project.

By excluding the unnecessary directories, you can significantly reduce the size of your cloud backup while ensuring that all critical project data is retained.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Please read the rules on AI generated answers. As this is a poor response, given time required to rebuild DerivedDataCache for a 100 GB project. Safe: yes; Practical: not unless you are archiving the project and will never build it again. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Sep 27, 2024 at 23:56
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    \$\begingroup\$ @agone, the question is explicitly about slimming down archived backups to save disc space. These are files in "cold storage" where there's no intention to generate new builds from them regularly. Accepting a space-time trade-off seems entirely appropriate for this use case. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Sep 28, 2024 at 0:32
  • \$\begingroup\$ @DMGregory the question says nothing about "Cold storage" nor cloud, only daily backup, not intention. Only: "But I don't want to lose anything at the end of the day." My assumption is day means working day: and that implies "warm storage." Plugging in external hard drive(s) is the standard backup method these days, where size is not primary concern. So size reduction should only include non-modified builds(differential) and "old" logs. Your " trade-off" is upon your assumptions and not facts given in the question. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Oct 1, 2024 at 21:59
  • \$\begingroup\$ @DMGregory I am not saying that facts are well established in the question, only that both you and the answer, assumed the question asked for long term storage. Please let the OP justify the question and answer disparity. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Oct 1, 2024 at 22:01

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