Rekordbox recover deleted Playlists

   

Note : This is written for and only works for Rekordbox 4, later versions use different files for the database !

How do I recover the Playlists I've deleted by accident?

'I have deleted a bunch of Playlists from my collection yesterday. For some reason I was stupid enough to confirm but when I clicked and saw the playlists dissapear I was in shock. Is there any way how I could get my deleted playlists back ?'

No turning back

Unfortunatly there is no UNDO button in Rekordbox do undo the deletion of Playlists, once deleted this is permanent !
When you delete a playlist you get a confirmation box so you need to confirm you are sure you want to delete them. This popup is there for a reason so think twice when you see it before you confirm it !

What are your options ?

1. Restore a backup you have created in the past

   
   You should have created a backup of your collection by going to : File > Library > Create Backup (NOT including music files) in the past.
   If you have made a recent backup restoring it is the easiest way of recovering your playlists.
   Restore a backup by going to : File > Library Restore Backup and chose the right file.
   
   If you did not make a backup (do it in the future !!) you can try :
   
   

2. Restore one of the auto-backups Rekordbox makes when exiting the program

   
   Your last resort are the safety backups that are created by Rekordbox when you close the program. Depanding on the platform you use these files are by default on different locations :
   
   Macintosh OSX 10.13 : /Users/YourUsername/Library/Pioneer/rekordbox
   Windows 10 : C:UsersYourUsernameAppDataRoamingPioneerrekordbox
   
   

     WARNING : DO NOT MESS UP

   This folder contains all important files for rekordbox, do not mess with it. Otherwise rekordbox might crash or worse....
   In that folder you will find up to 3 backups that are created in the past. Attention, when performing option 1 above you will remove all existing backups so only restore a backup like described above when you're sure !
   
   In the folder mentioned above for your platform you will find these files amongst a bunch of others.
   
   

   datafile.edb                           Current datafile in use with your actual collection
   datafile.backup.edb                    Most recent backup
   datafile.backup2.edb
   datafile.backup3.edb                   Oldest backup

   
   
   Follow these steps closely :
   
   
   • Close Rekordbox and wait untill it is shut down
   • First copy above mentioned 4 files to a folder on your Desktop (=safety backup)
   • Rename 'datafile.edb' to 'datafile.edb.original'
   • Rename 'datafile.backup.edb' to 'datafile.edb' (or choose the file with the proper timestamp)
   • Start Rekordbox
     
     
   If you did everything well, Rekordbox will restart with your Collection from before the deletion of your Playlists.

Don't Forget

If your Collection is now in good order, create a backup so next time undoing a mistake is a lot easier

I need to try this but have heard about people losing their entire library doing this. I'm running Windows 10. Can anyone clarify that this does actually work please? As I've saved the 4 files into a folder on my desktop, if it all goes wrong do I just paste these folders back into the backup folder? Thanks 

It works up to rekordbox 5, rekordbox 6 does things differently