js/ui.js

@@ -384,11 +384,11 @@ async function importDB() {
   document.getElementById('confirm-ok').onclick = async () => {
     closeConfirm();
     try {
-      const { instances } = JSON.parse(await file.text());
+      const { instances, history = [] } = JSON.parse(await file.text());
       const res = await fetch('/api/import', {
         method: 'POST',
         headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
-        body: JSON.stringify({ instances }),
+        body: JSON.stringify({ instances, history }),
       });
       const data = await res.json();
       if (!res.ok) { showToast(data.error ?? 'Import failed', 'error'); return; }

server/db.js

@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ export function deleteInstance(vmid) {
   db.prepare('DELETE FROM instances WHERE vmid = ?').run(vmid);
 }
 
-export function importInstances(rows) {
+export function importInstances(rows, historyRows = []) {
   db.exec('BEGIN');
   db.exec('DELETE FROM instance_history');
   db.exec('DELETE FROM instances');
@@ -168,6 +168,12 @@ export function importInstances(rows) {
        @tailscale, @andromeda, @tailscale_ip, @hardware_acceleration)
   `);
   for (const row of rows) insert.run(row);
+  if (historyRows.length) {
+    const insertHist = db.prepare(
+      `INSERT INTO instance_history (vmid, field, old_value, new_value, changed_at) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?)`
+    );
+    for (const h of historyRows) insertHist.run(h.vmid, h.field, h.old_value ?? null, h.new_value ?? null, h.changed_at);
+  }
   db.exec('COMMIT');
 }
 
@@ -177,6 +183,10 @@ export function getInstanceHistory(vmid) {
   ).all(vmid);
 }
 
+export function getAllHistory() {
+  return db.prepare('SELECT * FROM instance_history ORDER BY vmid, changed_at').all();
+}
+
 // ── Test helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 export function _resetForTest() {

server/routes.js

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { Router } from 'express';
 import {
   getInstances, getInstance, getDistinctStacks,
-  createInstance, updateInstance, deleteInstance, importInstances, getInstanceHistory,
+  createInstance, updateInstance, deleteInstance, importInstances, getInstanceHistory, getAllHistory,
 } from './db.js';
 
 export const router = Router();
@@ -116,14 +116,15 @@ router.put('/instances/:vmid', (req, res) => {
 // GET /api/export
 router.get('/export', (_req, res) => {
   const instances = getInstances();
+  const history = getAllHistory();
   const date = new Date().toISOString().slice(0, 10);
   res.setHeader('Content-Disposition', `attachment; filename="catalyst-backup-${date}.json"`);
-  res.json({ version: 1, exported_at: new Date().toISOString(), instances });
+  res.json({ version: 2, exported_at: new Date().toISOString(), instances, history });
 });
 
 // POST /api/import
 router.post('/import', (req, res) => {
-  const { instances } = req.body ?? {};
+  const { instances, history = [] } = req.body ?? {};
   if (!Array.isArray(instances)) {
     return res.status(400).json({ error: 'body must contain an instances array' });
   }
@@ -134,7 +135,7 @@ router.post('/import', (req, res) => {
   }
   if (errors.length) return res.status(400).json({ errors });
   try {
-    importInstances(instances.map(normalise));
+    importInstances(instances.map(normalise), Array.isArray(history) ? history : []);
     res.json({ imported: instances.length });
   } catch (e) {
     console.error('POST /api/import', e);

tests/api.test.js

@@ -275,6 +275,18 @@ describe('GET /api/export', () => {
     const res = await request(app).get('/api/export')
     expect(res.body.instances).toEqual([])
   })
+
+  it('returns version 2', async () => {
+    const res = await request(app).get('/api/export')
+    expect(res.body.version).toBe(2)
+  })
+
+  it('includes a history array', async () => {
+    await request(app).post('/api/instances').send(base)
+    const res = await request(app).get('/api/export')
+    expect(res.body.history).toBeInstanceOf(Array)
+    expect(res.body.history.some(e => e.field === 'created')).toBe(true)
+  })
 })
 
 // ── POST /api/import ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -309,6 +321,26 @@ describe('POST /api/import', () => {
       .send({ instances: [{ ...base, name: undefined, vmid: 1 }] })
     expect(res.status).toBe(400)
   })
+
+  it('restores history when history array is provided', async () => {
+    await request(app).post('/api/instances').send(base)
+    const exp = await request(app).get('/api/export')
+    await request(app).post('/api/instances').send({ ...base, vmid: 999, name: 'other' })
+    const res = await request(app).post('/api/import').send({
+      instances: exp.body.instances,
+      history: exp.body.history,
+    })
+    expect(res.status).toBe(200)
+    const hist = await request(app).get('/api/instances/100/history')
+    expect(hist.body.some(e => e.field === 'created')).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it('succeeds with a v1 backup that has no history key', async () => {
+    const res = await request(app).post('/api/import')
+      .send({ instances: [{ ...base, vmid: 1, name: 'legacy' }] })
+    expect(res.status).toBe(200)
+    expect(res.body.imported).toBe(1)
+  })
 })
 
 // ── Static assets & SPA routing ───────────────────────────────────────────────

tests/db.test.js

@@ -202,6 +202,15 @@ describe('importInstances', () => {
     importInstances([{ ...base, name: 'new', vmid: 2 }]);
     expect(getInstanceHistory(1)).toHaveLength(0);
   });
+
+  it('restores history rows when provided', () => {
+    importInstances(
+      [{ ...base, name: 'a', vmid: 1 }],
+      [{ vmid: 1, field: 'created', old_value: null, new_value: null, changed_at: '2026-01-01 00:00:00' }]
+    );
+    const h = getInstanceHistory(1);
+    expect(h.some(e => e.field === 'created')).toBe(true);
+  });
 });
 
 // ── instance history ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────