# TARS Guide — Back up. Restore. Stay in control.

TARS is a Windows app for private backups of supported game CFG files, approved Restore, local Undo, and a shareable gaming setup profile. This guide describes what is available today and what is planned.

- **Available now: Private CFG backups** — Choose supported game CFG files and back up their original contents with Sync.
- **Available now: Preview and Restore** — Review your downloaded CFG files, then approve restoring them to a detected game location.
- **Available now: Undo the last Restore** — Return to the local CFG state from before the last Restore when its recovery files are available.
- **Available now: One shareable profile** — Share selected hardware and settings through one profile link. Private CFG backups stay separate.
- **Available now: NVIDIA settings Restore** — Back up supported global NVIDIA settings with Sync, then review and restore them with your approval. A prior backup and a compatible NVIDIA GPU and driver are required; available settings depend on your system.

## Before you start

Install TARS from Microsoft Store and connect your Steam account. Cloud Restore requires a previously completed CFG backup for that account.

The game must be installed on the destination computer and its local CFG location must be detectable. If it is missing from the Restore list, launch the game once, close it, and check again. Close the game before replacing its configuration files.

Support is limited to eligible file names and detected locations. A missing or ambiguous target may block Restore; TARS does not accept arbitrary destination paths or restore every file in a game folder.

## Example: back up CS2 before reinstalling Windows

A backup must exist before you erase your local settings. TARS cannot recover CFG files that were never backed up.

1. Open TARS, connect Steam, and open Sync.
2. Review the detected Counter-Strike 2 settings and choose the eligible CFG files to back up. Profile sharing and private CFG backup are separate selections.
3. Review the summary and approve Sync. Wait for the selected uploads and final submission to complete successfully before reinstalling Windows.

## Example: restore after reinstalling Windows

Restore downloads the selected backup for preview. The preview and the approved write use the same prepared contents. Reading every file or page is optional; the required approvals are not.

The client checks file ownership, game and target matching, size, hash, supported text formats, and explicit file or command risks. A hard block prevents the selected Restore. These checks are not an antivirus or a guarantee that every game command is harmless.

1. Reinstall the supported game and ensure that TARS can detect its CFG location.
2. Connect TARS with the same Steam account used for the backup, then open Restore and select the game.
3. Review the downloaded files, warnings, destination and read-only state. Give the risk and file-application approvals, then apply Restore.
4. Check the result before starting the game. Previous local files are kept as .bak recovery copies where applicable.

## Example: undo an unwanted Restore

Undo returns the CFG contents and read-only state from before the last successful Restore. On the home screen, hold “Undo last Restore” for five seconds; releasing early cancels it.

Undo can work offline because it uses local recovery files. Those files and the recovery record must still be present and valid. It is one last-Restore recovery point, not a selectable history of every backup. Formatting the computer can remove this local recovery point.

## PUBG and read-only files

Sync records the read-only bit with supported CFG backups. Restore applies that recorded state, including when a PUBG configuration was intentionally made read-only.

If an older backup has no attribute metadata, an existing target keeps its current read-only state; a newly created file is writable. Undo restores the previous contents and read-only state. Windows ACLs, ownership and arbitrary file attributes are not copied from the cloud.

## Private backups and public profiles

A gaming profile shows only the hardware and settings you choose to make public. Private CFG backup contents are separate and are not published as downloadable files on the profile.

CFG contents may still include personal data, server details or credentials. Review the selected files before Sync. TARS backs up their original bytes rather than filtering or rewriting their contents.

Read the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for the account, data and service rules.

## Current boundaries

TARS restores supported game CFG files and supported global NVIDIA settings. It does not restore Windows settings, optimize your PC automatically, or guarantee higher FPS.

Only the eligible files below can be backed up and restored. Availability depends on the actual files, installation and target detection on your computer; listing a file does not mean every game version creates it.

## Supported game CFG files

| Game | Eligible file names |
| --- | --- |
| Counter-Strike 2 | `cs2_video.txt`, `cs2_user_convars.vcfg`, `cs2_user_keys.vcfg`, `cs2_user_convars_0_slot0.vcfg`, `cs2_user_keys_0_slot0.vcfg`, `autoexec.cfg`, `config.cfg` |
| Rust | `client.cfg`, `keys.cfg` |
| Valorant | `GameUserSettings.ini`, `RiotUserSettings.ini` |
| Escape from Tarkov | `Control.ini`, `Game.ini`, `Graphics.ini`, `PostFx.ini`, `Sound.ini` |
| PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS | `GameUserSettings.ini`, `Engine.ini` |

## Links

- [TARS](https://tarspro.online/)
- [Microsoft Store](https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9N7K92MZVVB5)
- [Privacy Policy](https://tarspro.online/privacy)
- [Terms of Service](https://tarspro.online/tos)