Your data & API keys
A practical reference for where everything Pyre stores actually lives, how your API keys are kept separate, and how to wipe it all.
Data → where it lives
Pyre is local-first: almost everything sits in app-private storage on your device, and the only data that ever moves is the sync traffic you opt into.
| Data | Where it lives |
|---|---|
| Characters, chats, lorebooks, presets, personas, settings | App-private storage on your device (a single JSON store) |
| API keys | Your OS secure store (see below) |
| Sync traffic (if you enable it) | Directly between your own devices on your own network |
There is no cloud copy. Nothing is uploaded by default.
How API keys are handled
Keys are treated differently from the rest of your data, because they're the one secret worth protecting hardest.
- Split out of the JSON store. When you save a provider, its key is lifted out of the main data store and written to your operating system's dedicated secret store — Android Keystore-backed
EncryptedSharedPreferences, iOS/macOS Keychain, Linux Secret Service, or Windows Credential Manager. - Re-hydrated on load. On startup Pyre reads the keys back out of the secure store and re-attaches them to their providers in memory. The data store itself never holds the plaintext key.
- Stripped from backups by default. A Backup & Restore export excludes your keys unless you explicitly opt in, and that opt-in sits behind a confirmation dialog.
Including keys in a backup
If you tick "include keys" when exporting, the resulting file contains your provider secrets in the clear. Only do this for a backup you keep private, and never hand a keys-included backup to anyone else.
Where your data physically sits
On every platform, Pyre's data store lives in the app's own sandbox — the per-app private directory the operating system gives each installed application. Other apps can't read it, and on Android it's excluded from auto-backup (allowBackup="false"). Your API keys live separately again, in the OS secret store listed above rather than in the sandboxed data file.
How to wipe everything
You can clear Pyre's data from inside the app — no need to dig through the filesystem. The in-app reset removes your local store, and uninstalling the app removes the sandboxed data with it. See the factory-reset and storage tools in Backup & restore.