winget install --id=tomoyukioya.FileHistoryClone -e FileHistoryClone revives the spirit of Windows File History: it watches the folders you choose and keeps a timestamped copy every time a file changes, stored as plain files you can open in Explorer. Continuous (not scheduled), 100% local, no cloud, no subscription.
日本語版 README はこちら / Japanese README
Every version of every file, saved automatically — as plain files you can open in Explorer.
FileHistoryClone is a lightweight, tray-resident backup tool that revives the spirit of Windows "File History": it watches the folders you choose and keeps a timestamped copy every time a file changes. Accidentally overwrote a document three days ago? Just pick the version from before the mistake and restore it.
report(2026_07_07 09_30_00).docx) you can open directly, even without this app
Option A — winget:
winget install tomoyukioya.FileHistoryClone
(Later, update with winget upgrade tomoyukioya.FileHistoryClone.)
Option B — download: from Releases, run the installer (FileHistoryCloneSetup-*.exe, per-user, no admin) — or grab a portable zip (-standalone needs no .NET runtime), unzip, and run FileHistory.exe.
Option C — build from source:
git clone https://github.com/tomoyukioya/FileHistoryClone.git
cd FileHistoryClone
dotnet run --project FileHistory\FileHistory.csproj -c Release
When installed from the installer, the app lives in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\FileHistoryClone. It sits in the system tray and, out of the box, protects your Documents folder, saving versions to %USERPROFILE%\FileHistoryCloneBackup. To choose your own folders and tune backup settings, edit the appsettings.json next to the app (see appsettings.example.json for a fully annotated example).
Windows 8 introduced File History, a wonderfully simple "set it and forget it" feature: point it at a drive, and every version of every document is kept automatically. Unfortunately, Microsoft has effectively stopped maintaining it — it was removed from the Settings app in favor of OneDrive, long-standing bugs (silently stopped backups, files skipped without notice) remain unfixed, and its future in Windows is uncertain.
FileHistoryClone is an attempt to keep that idea alive as an independent open-source tool: continuous, versioned, local backups stored as plain files — no proprietary container, no cloud dependency, no subscription.
FileSystemWatcher and schedules a backup automatically.original(yyyy_MM_dd HH_mm_ss).ext, mirrored under the backup root. No proprietary container: you can open backups directly in Explorer.MaxGenerations) and/or delete backups older than N days (RetentionDays). The newest generation is always kept..git, *.tmp, C:\Users\me\AppData, ...), re-include exceptions (!important.log), and environment-variable expansion (%USERPROFILE%\Documents) in all configured paths.Language setting.The app starts minimized to the system tray. Right-click the tray icon for:
| Menu | Action |
|---|---|
| Open | Open the restore window (double-click works too) |
| Open Settings | Open the settings window |
| Start with Windows | Toggle automatic start at logon |
| Exit | Quit the application |
The Settings window (tray icon → Open Settings, and shown automatically on first run) lets you choose the backup destination, the folders to protect, exclusions, timing, and retention — no file editing required. It writes those choices to appsettings.json.
If you prefer, you can still edit appsettings.json by hand (it also accepts // comments). After editing the file directly, restart the app to apply.
Where the file lives:
| How you run it | Location of appsettings.json |
|---|---|
| Installer | %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\FileHistoryClone\appsettings.json |
| Portable zip | next to FileHistory.exe |
All paths support environment-variable expansion (e.g. %USERPROFILE%\Documents).
| Key | Description |
|---|---|
BackupBaseDir | Root folder for backups. Copies go to {BackupBaseDir}\{User}\{Machine}\BackupFiles |
DefaultBackupInterval | Minimum seconds between two backups of the same file |
IncludeDirs | Folders to protect. Each entry may override BackupInterval; the longest matching path wins |
ExcludeDirs | Exclude patterns: absolute paths, names matched at any depth (.git), globs (*.tmp), re-include exceptions (!important.log), and #-prefixed comments |
CrawlingInterval | Full-crawl cycle in seconds — from the start of one crawl to the start of the next (default 1 day) |
CrawlingIdleTimer | Seconds of user inactivity required before crawling runs |
Language | UI language ("en", "ja"); empty = follow the OS |
MaxGenerations | Max backup generations per file (0 = unlimited); applied immediately when a new backup is saved |
RetentionDays | Delete backups older than N days, newest always kept (0 = unlimited) |
RetentionScanInterval | Seconds between retention-policy scans (RetentionDays / retroactive cleanup) |
RetentionStartupDelay | Seconds after startup before the first retention scan |
MaxLowPrioritySchedules / MaxCopyWorkers | Advanced tuning: crawler backup queue size / concurrent copy workers |
See appsettings.example.json for a commented template.
┌──────────────────┐ change events ┌─────────────────┐ copy tasks ┌────────────┐
│ DirectoryWatcher ├──────────────────►│ ├───────────────►│ CopyWorker │
└──────────────────┘ (high priority) │ BackupScheduler │ └─────┬──────┘
┌──────────────────┐ │ (time-ordered │ ▼
│ Crawler ├──────────────────►│ queues) │ backup files +
└────────┬─────────┘ (low priority) └─────────────────┘ LiteDB catalog
│ runs only while idle
┌────────┴─────────┐
│ IdleTimeWatcher │
└──────────────────┘
Catalog.db) maps directories/files to their backup generations and timestamps.| Project | Description |
|---|---|
FileHistory | The main tray application |
FileHistoryTests | MSTest unit/integration tests |
If FileHistoryClone doesn't fit your needs, these open-source alternatives may:
| Project | Approach | Difference from FileHistoryClone |
|---|---|---|
| Home Backup & Restore | Time Machine-like snapshots with NTFS hard links (PowerShell + WPF) | Snapshot-based (run on demand/schedule); FileHistoryClone backs up continuously as files change |
| Kopia | Scheduled snapshots with dedup, compression, encryption | Powerful but stores data in its own repository format; not per-file plain copies |
| Restic | CLI snapshot backup, encrypted repository | CLI-oriented, snapshot-based, proprietary repo layout |
| Duplicati | Scheduled backup to local/cloud targets | Schedule-based; archives data in blocks rather than browsable plain files |
FileHistoryClone's niche: event-driven, continuous, per-file versioning stored as plain files you can browse in Explorer — the closest in spirit to the original Windows File History.
\\server\share) are not supported as include dirs.Bug reports, feature requests, and pull requests are all welcome — including translations (one Strings..resx file, no code changes) and documentation fixes. See CONTRIBUTING.md for setup and guidelines, and CHANGELOG.md for release history.
If FileHistoryClone saved one of your files, consider giving the repo a ⭐ — it helps other people find it.