How to back up Apple Freeform boards locally

Freeform keeps your boards in iCloud with no portable backup file. BoardEject creates a verified local archive of exactly the board you choose, with original assets and integrity hashes. No account, no uploads.

Steps

Open BoardEject with the Mac helper running and click Scan Freeform.
Choose the board to preserve.
Click Create local archive and save the .boardejectarchive file.
Click Verify now to check asset hashes, missing files, and corruption.

What the archive contains

Only the selected board: its native records, reachable original assets, verification metadata, and hashes. The helper snapshots the database files and works read-only, so your live Freeform data is never modified. Only the exact verified Freeform 4.5 schema is accepted; unknown versions stop safely instead of writing a bad backup. See support and limitations.

Frequently asked

Does Freeform have a backup feature?

No portable one. Boards sync through iCloud, but Apple offers no per-board backup file you can keep or verify yourself.

Is my board uploaded anywhere?

No. Scanning, archiving, and verification run on your Mac. See the privacy policy.

Can I restore the archive back into Freeform?

No. Restore and write-back are not supported. The archive is independently verifiable proof of what your board contained, plus the original assets.

What if my Freeform version is not supported?

Archive creation fails closed with a clear report. It never writes a partial or guessed archive.

Also need editable export?

For getting boards out as editable files, see how to export Freeform to Excalidraw. BoardEject is open source on GitHub ↗.