Personalize the app without weakening recovery.

Display settings are local. Credentials stay encrypted. Profile exports and encrypted device backups have deliberately different security boundaries.

Open the user guide

Themes, wallpapers, and sound

Choose System, Dark, or Light theme; Standard, Large, or Extra large text; and Framed or Edge-to-edge presentation in Settings. HerdRanger also includes 20 bundled wallpapers. A local background can be repositioned by dragging its preview; the app stores only the focal position and does not alter or back up the source image.

The bundled wallpapers are AI-generated HerdRanger assets. Notification sound is selected in Settings → Agent notifications; Android controls final volume, vibration, and interruption.

Credentials and biometrics

Profiles, host pins, passwords, passphrases, and private keys are stored in encrypted app storage excluded from automatic Android backup. Existing secrets are never prefilled or revealed.

Optional strong-biometric protection gates new credential use, not an already-open SSH session. Changing enrolled biometrics or device lock may invalidate protected material. Disable protection before a planned enrollment change or be ready to replace the credential through an independent path.

Plain profile transfer excludes secrets

JSON or CSV profile export can transfer connection metadata. It excludes profile IDs, credential references, passwords, private keys, passphrases, biometric settings, and SSH host pins.

Imported profiles receive fresh local IDs, skip duplicate host/port/user endpoints, have no credential, and follow normal host verification.

Create an encrypted device backup

This is an explicit export through the Android document picker (opens in a new tab), not automatic device backup.

Open Settings and choose Create encrypted backup.
Select the records to transfer.
Choose a strong password of at least 12 characters.
Save the .hrb file through Android’s document picker.
Keep the backup and password separately.

The backup can contain saved servers, credentials, private keys, plans, notes, project-discovery settings, and bounded local UI metadata. It excludes the Android Keystore key, biometric wrapper, SSH host pins, monitoring state, and transient caches.

Treat the file and password together as server access. A forgotten password cannot be recovered by HerdRanger. Do not send a backup through support.

Restore onto a new device

The destination validates and re-encrypts imported records. Existing profiles are retained and duplicate endpoints are skipped. Re-establish SSH host fingerprints independently and re-enable biometric protection if wanted.

A restore cannot silently start monitoring. Verify each host before depending on the new device, and retain the old recovery path until testing is complete.