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Why is there a Thunderbird Profiles file in AppData Local in addition to the one in Roaming?

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  • Last reply by sfhowes

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Both my desktop and laptop computers have Thunderbird files named PROFILE under AppData Local and AppData Roaming. The data file in both directories bears the same name. However, the one under Local only has three folders while the one under Roaming has more than a dozen folders. Does the one under Local service a purpose?

Both my desktop and laptop computers have Thunderbird files named PROFILE under AppData Local and AppData Roaming. The data file in both directories bears the same name. However, the one under Local only has three folders while the one under Roaming has more than a dozen folders. Does the one under Local service a purpose?

Chosen solution

Does the one under Local service a purpose?

Typically cache data resides underneath Local, so it won't need to be backed up along with the profile (underneath Roaming).

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Chosen Solution

Does the one under Local service a purpose?

Typically cache data resides underneath Local, so it won't need to be backed up along with the profile (underneath Roaming).

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Thanks. I try to keep Thunderbird on my Laptop in sync with my desktop. I do so by copying the Profile from my desktop to a Flash drive and then from flash drive to my laptop. Do I need to copy both of the Profile files?

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It's sufficient to copy the data in the Roaming folder. In fact, it works a lot better if you copy the Thunderbird folder, which contains the profile folder(s):

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/moving-thunderbird-data-to-a-new-computer