[BUG] App settings are reset after update

[lee-grand]

Please confirm these before moving forward

• I have searched for my issue and have not found a work-in-progress/duplicate/resolved issue.
• I have tested that this issue has not been fixed in the latest (beta or stable) release.
• I have checked the FAQ section for solutions.
• This issue is about a bug (if it is not, please use the correct template).

UniGetUI Version

2026.3.0

Windows version, edition, and architecture

Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC Version 21H2 19044.7725

Describe your issue

All manual settings for app updates are gone (like new install of UniGet) after latest version of UniGetUI.x64.zip is used. Before such way of updating was working ok.
Why update from UniGetUI.x64.zip and not from .exe or in app? Because in app update of UniGetUI is not respecting non-standard location of UniGet and installs somewhere in default location.

Steps to reproduce the issue

1. Download UniGetUI.x64.zip
2. Extract/overwrite into non-standard location (where old version was), like D:\Apps\UniGet
3. After start a lot of cargo packages updated
4. All manual settings for app updates are gone (like new install of UniGet)

UniGetUI Log

there is nothing about it in a log

Package Managers Logs

not relevant

Relevant information

No response

Screenshots and videos

No response

[GabrielDuf]

Hi lee-grand,

Your existing settings have not been lost. They should still be available under %LOCALAPPDATA%\UniGetUI.

As of 2026.3.0, UniGetUI.x64.zip ships in portable mode and includes a ForceUniGetUIPortable marker file at its root. In portable mode, UniGetUI stores its data in a Settings folder next to the executable instead of %LOCALAPPDATA%\UniGetUI.

After extracting the archive over D:\Apps\UniGet, UniGetUI therefore started using D:\Apps\UniGet\Settings. This is why it appears as a fresh installation and why the Cargo packages are showing as updatable again.

When UniGetUI starts with a new portable folder and detects settings from a previous installation, it offers a one-time migration through a toast notification. If the notification was dismissed, you can still migrate the settings manually.

To restore your settings:

• Keep portable mode: Close UniGetUI and copy the Configuration and InstallationOptions folders from %LOCALAPPDATA%\UniGetUI to D:\Apps\UniGet\Settings, then start UniGetUI again.
• Switch back to per-user storage: Delete D:\Apps\UniGet\ForceUniGetUIPortable and restart UniGetUI. It will use %LOCALAPPDATA%\UniGetUI again. The marker is deliberately excluded from the integrity check, so removing it is safe.

Regarding the updater: portable mode also addresses updates when UniGetUI is installed in a non-standard location. When running in portable mode, the updater keeps the existing installation directory instead of falling back to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\UniGetUI.

So, if you keep portable mode and migrate your existing settings, future in-app updates should remain in D:\Apps\UniGet.

Full details on what portable mode changes:
https://github.com/Devolutions/UniGetUI/blob/main/docs/PORTABLE.md