Moving Replyer to a new PC or handing it over to another operator

"I just bought a new laptop - can I move my Replyer chatroom setup over? What about when I hand the operation off to someone else?"

Yes. Replyer stores everything in a user folder, so moving PCs is straightforward. The catch: Telegram sessions, personas, and chatroom mappings each migrate through different paths, and handing over to another operator needs a checklist or you'll forget pieces.

Path decision tree

Choose one of three paths based on what you're moving and to whom. Click a leaf below to expand.

Three migration paths

1. TAMACC1 text code (operator handover)

Lightest path. Pass one Telegram account to another person via a single string. HMAC-signed + TTL, so intercepting in transit is hard.

Flow:

1. Replyer → Accounts page → on the account, click [Issue code]
2. A TAMACC1:eyJ... long string is generated (24h TTL by default)
3. Send to the new operator via Telegram DM, email, etc.
4. New operator opens Replyer → Accounts page → [Import code] → paste
5. Same Telegram account auto-authenticates on the new PC and goes active

Wins: no re-login (no SMS code prompt), no need to share your Telegram password.

Notes:

• Past TTL, you re-issue (safer)
• Codes are single-use (reuse attempts get rejected)
• Personas and chatroom mappings do not travel with it - the new operator maps their own personas

2. .tam-account.json file (your own PC migration)

When you move to a new laptop yourself. Export each account as a .tam-account.json file → import on the new PC.

Flow:

1. Old PC: Accounts page → [Export .tam-account.json] for each account
2. Copy files to the new PC (USB, cloud drive, email attachment)
3. New PC: first launch → Wizard step 1 → [Import account file] → pick file
4. Telegram session + persona mapping both restore

Wins:

• Session + mapping travel together
• Handle multiple accounts at once (one file per account)
• Stored on a cloud drive (iCloud, Dropbox), it can sync between operator PCs

Caveats:

• Files contain sensitive info - be careful with email attachments
• Personas themselves do not come along - back them up separately (next section)

3. Persona zip bulk import

To move personas (your operator tone definitions) to another PC:

1. Old PC: Persona tools page → [Export as zip] → all personas in one file
2. Copy the file to the new PC
3. New PC: Persona tools page → [Import zip] → dry-run preview → [Apply]
4. Personas plus system prompts / triggers / rate limits all restore

The dry-run step matters. It surfaces conflicts (duplicate names) before you commit.

4. Full backup zip restore (complete migration)

The safest way to move your full environment. Everything in one file:

1. Old PC: Backup page → [Download backup zip] → all data
2. Copy zip to new PC
3. New PC: Backup page → [Restore zip] → confirm → auto-apply

What restores:

• All Telegram account sessions
• All personas (system prompts, triggers, rate limits)
• All chatroom mappings
• Response history, stats, ratings (Activity / Diagnostics data)
• Settings (model, rate limits, night gating, language)
• Operator passwords / multi-operator config

Caveats:

• Backup zip contains all sensitive data - only send via trusted channels
• The LLM model (.gguf file) is downloaded fresh on the new PC (not bundled - keeps zip small)
• First [Start] after restore takes 3-10 minutes for the model download

For deeper backup usage, see data loss disaster recovery.

Migration / handover flow

Data flow from old PC to new PC. Each node maps to a real Replyer screen or file path.

flowchart LR
  A["Old PC
(currently running)"] -- "Backup page" --> B[backup.zip]
  A -- "Accounts page" --> C[".tam-account.json"]
  A -- "Issue code" --> D["TAMACC1:eyJ..."]
  A -- "Persona tools" --> E[personas.zip]
  B -- "USB / cloud" --> F["New PC
Replyer installed"]
  C -- "Wizard import" --> F
  D -- "paste code" --> F
  E -- "dry-run → apply" --> F
  F --> G["~/Library/Application Support/
Replyer/"]
  G --> H["[Start] click
model auto-download"]
  H --> I["Auto-reply active
(old PC OFF)"]
  style A fill:#fee,stroke:#b91c1c,color:#37352f
  style F fill:#eef1fb,stroke:#3b59c5,color:#37352f
  style I fill:#e7f5f2,stroke:#0f7b6c,color:#37352f
  

Handover checklist

Items operators commonly forget when passing off a chatroom (use the checklist above to track progress):

□ Telegram account handed over (TAMACC1 code or .tam-account.json)
□ Persona zip transferred (operator tone + per-room personas)
□ Chatroom × persona mapping table (which room → which persona)
□ Rate-limit settings (per-hour replies, night gating, skip probability)
□ Auto-reply policy / banned phrases / chatroom intro text
□ Operator timezone / vacation schedule (pre-configure vacation)
□ Discord webhook URL updated (to new operator's channel)
□ Operator password rotated (revoke old operator's access)
□ Chatroom members notified of operator change (preserve trust)
□ 1 week of manual ops (auto-reply OFF) after handover, then phased ON

The last two are people-side work. Chatroom members are more sensitive to "who runs this" than to auto-reply itself - skipping the announcement makes the room feel suddenly different. Notification → phased return preserves trust.

Your-own-PC migration checklist

When you move to a new laptop:

□ Download backup zip (all data)
□ Install Replyer on new PC (right OS build)
□ Restore backup zip
□ Wait through model auto-download on first [Start] (3-10 min)
□ Verify Telegram auto-auth (all accounts connected)
□ Check Diagnostics stats match the old PC
□ Turn auto-reply OFF on old PC (prevent parallel fires)
□ After 1-2 hours of running on the new PC, you can delete the old .app

Preventing parallel fires matters. Two PCs with the same Telegram account auto-replying at once produce duplicate messages in the chatroom. Turn off the old PC's auto-reply before activating the new one.

FAQ

Q. If a TAMACC1 code leaks, can someone else access my Telegram?

It's protected by TTL + single-use + HMAC signing. If it leaks and the recipient uses it before you do, the account migrates to them. If you suspect leakage, check Telegram's "active sessions" - end unknown devices and re-issue the code in Replyer.

Q. Does a backup zip restore overwrite new PC data?

By default, yes. Partial restore (just personas / just settings) means extracting and copying files from inside the zip manually. If the new PC already has data, back it up separately before restore.

Q. Should the previous operator stay in the chatroom after handover?

Ideally, shadow the new operator for ~1 week (response patterns, auto-reply QA). Then the previous operator leaves or becomes a regular member. Abrupt handovers hurt trust.

Q. What if dry-run shows conflicts when importing a persona zip?

Conflicts happen when a persona name already exists. Options:

• Overwrite - replace with the incoming persona (the old version stays in persona prompt history)
• Rename - import under a different name (e.g. "info_tone" → "info_tone_v2")
• Skip - ignore conflicting personas, import the rest

Default recommendation is rename - keeps the old persona for comparison.

Q. Can I skip the model download by copying .gguf from the old PC?

Yes. Copy the .gguf files from ~/Library/Application Support/Replyer/models/ (mac) or %LOCALAPPDATA%\Replyer\models\ (Windows) on the old PC to the same folder on the new PC. Replyer auto-detects them on launch. Useful when bandwidth is slow.

Q. Can I use cloud sync (iCloud / Dropbox) to keep two PCs in lockstep?

Risky. Pointing Replyer's data folder at a cloud-sync folder leads to SQLite lock conflicts and data corruption when both PCs try to write at once. Keep one PC active at a time.

Q. The previous operator wants to recover their personas (company split, etc.) - how?

On the new operator's PC, persona tools → delete the previous operator's persona. The response history and stats tied to that persona stay. For a clean wipe, back up first, then reset the data folder entirely.

Q. What's a good announcement message for chatroom members after handover?

Recommended pattern:

"Chatroom operator notice - starting today, operator X is handing the room over to operator Y. The auto-reply tone trained on X's operating data will continue for a transition period. Over 1-2 weeks we'll shift gradually toward Y's voice, and Y will handle important inquiries directly. Concerns welcome anytime."

This pattern is consistent with the post-detection recovery flow.

Next step

Grab the build for your OS from the Replyer download page and follow the usage manual for step-by-step setup.