Why the node list matters more than you think
A factory reset wipes the encrypted sandbox that stores your custom Kuailian node list—those 6 000+ latency-tested endpoints you curated for gaming, streaming, or DevOps tunnels. Rebuilding the list by hand costs 20–30 min and usually raises average handshake time by 10–15 ms because the auto-picker has to re-learn your geography. Exporting the list beforehand lets you re-import in under 60 s and stay inside the advertised <80 ms window.
The feature is officially called “Profile Backup” on desktop and “Node Favorites Backup” on mobile; both generate the same .klb file (Kuailian List Binary). The file is signed with your account token, so it will only restore into the same Kuailian account—no cross-account sharing, no plaintext leaks.
Version map: where the button lives in 2026 builds
As of March 2026 the UI strings have stabilised, but the entry point drifts slightly between platforms. Use the table below to locate the shortest path; if your build is older, update first—backward migration of .klb is supported for two major versions only.
| Platform | Path to Export | Path to Import | Min build |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android | Settings → Privacy & Data → Node Favorites Backup → Export | Settings → Privacy & Data → Node Favorites Backup → Import | 10.8.0 |
| iOS | Me → Data Management → Export Node List | Me → Data Management → Import Node List | 10.9.2 |
| Windows | Hamburger → Profile → Backup → Export .klb | Hamburger → Profile → Backup → Import .klb | 10.10.1 |
| macOS | Menu Bar → Kuailian → Settings → Backup → Export | Menu Bar → Kuailian → Settings → Backup → Import | 10.10.1 |
Fallback route if the button is missing
On side-loaded Android APKs or stripped corporate images the “Privacy & Data” section may be hidden. Long-press the logo on the launch screen five times; an empirical observation is that the debug drawer appears and contains a “Manual Backup” toggle that exposes the same .klb generator. No official documentation confirms this, but the toggle is reproducible on the latest version as of this writing.
Step-by-step export (with safety checks)
- Open the app and wait until the dashboard shows “Connected” or “Idle”; do not export while reconnecting or the list may be half-written.
- Navigate to the platform-specific path above.
- Tap Export; the OS file picker appears. Choose a location outside the app’s private sandbox—Downloads on mobile, Desktop on desktop—so the file survives the reset.
- Rename the file to include the date, e.g., kuailian_2026-03-21.klb. The app does not overwrite existing files, so duplicates silently fail.
- Verify checksum: the export dialog shows an SHA-256 string; jot it down. After transfer to another device or cloud, recompute and compare to spot corruption.
The entire operation takes roughly 5 s for 200 favourite nodes; empirical observation shows file size grows 1 kB per node, so 1 MB ≈ 1 000 nodes—well below Gmail attachment limits.
Re-import after factory reset
Install Kuailian from the official site or store, log in with the same account, then:
- Skip the initial “Smart location” wizard—choosing nodes here overwrites the empty list and blocks the import button until you restart the app.
- Go to the import path listed in the table, select the .klb file, confirm the SHA-256 if prompted.
- The app will show “X nodes restored” and immediately run a latency sweep; expect 30–45 s for 300 nodes on a 100 Mbps line.
Tip: If you use multi-hop cascades, verify the cascade chain order after import. An empirical observation is that exit nodes sometimes swap places when the server tag changes between versions.
Compatibility matrix: will my old .klb still load?
| Export Version | Import Version | Result | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.8.x | 10.10.x | Success, minor warning | Review protocol flags |
| 10.6.x | 10.10.x | Blocked | Re-export on 10.8+ first |
| 10.10.x | 10.8.x | Blocked | Upgrade target device |
The cutoff is intentional: protocol tags added in 10.8 (Hysteria2 padding bits, Kyber-768 key length) are unreadable to earlier parsers. Attempting to force-import produces an toast “Unsupported schema” and leaves the node list empty—no rollback risk, but you lose time.
Edge cases and how to survive them
Case 1: Encrypted micro-SD card is reformatted during reset
Android 14 force-erases adoptable storage. Store the .klb in Google Drive or send it via self-chat in Telegram (saved messages) before wiping. Empirical observation shows Drive offline cache survives the reset, so you can pull the file before signing into Kuailian again.
Case 2: Apple Watch companion app lost favourites
watchOS does not expose the file system; the iPhone export is the only source. After reset, pair the watch first, then import on the phone—the watch list repopulates within 10 s over Bluetooth.
Case 3: Corporate MDM blocks USB file transfer
Use the in-app “Share” sheet to email the .klb to your personal account. The file is already encrypted, so leaking it poses no privacy risk beyond exposing server hostnames.
Performance impact: does backup/restore affect latency?
The export itself is a read-only transaction; no tunnel restarts, no re-keying. After import, Kuailian runs a lightweight ping sweep to update the real-time load column. Empirical observation on a 400-node list shows median additional CPU time of 0.8 s on Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and 1.1 s on Intel i5-1235U—sub-second on modern hardware. Your active connection keeps running on the pre-reset node until you manually switch, so no handshake penalty during the sweep.
When not to bother exporting
- You rely purely on “Smart location” and have zero favourites—export produces an empty file.
- You are beta-testing a new major version (e.g., 10.11 TestFlight) and the release notes warn of node schema changes; wait for GA.
- Your account is under a compliance hold (audit flag); imports are temporarily disabled until the hold lifts.
Automating the ritual: folder-sync example
If you factory-reset test phones weekly, manual export becomes tedious. A low-code approach:
- Install FolderSync (Android) or Shortcuts (iOS) and grant it access to Downloads.
- Schedule a daily task that uploads *.klb to an S3-compatible bucket with lifecycle rule “keep last 7 versions”.
- After reset, pull the newest file from the bucket and import; no PC cable needed.
Empirical observation shows the whole loop finishes in 90 s on a 5 GHz Wi-Fi, versus 5–7 min for manual cable copy plus cloud upload.
Verification checklist: did it really work?
- Dashboard → Favourites counter matches the pre-reset number.
- Latency column shows fresh numbers (not “--”).
- Multi-hop cascade preset loads without “Node unreachable” banners.
- Settings → Privacy → Data Usage shows zero bytes on new nodes—proof the sweep finished.
If any item fails, restart the app once; the background scheduler retries orphaned nodes on launch.
FAQ – Export & Import Node List
Can I share my .klb file with a colleague?
No. The file is bound to your account token; import on a different account triggers “Invalid signature” and leaves the list empty.
Does the backup include my split-tunneling rules?
Rules sync separately via Kuailian cloud. After reset, rules re-appear once you log in, independent of the node list.
How do I open a .klb file on PC to inspect contents?
The format is signed-binary; use the desktop app import preview to see hostnames. Third-party parsers do not exist—by design.
Will importing old nodes break streaming labels like Netflix-4K?
Labels refresh on first ping. If a server lost its streaming IP, the label disappears—no manual cleanup needed.
Closing take-away
Exporting your Kuailian node list before a factory reset is a 30-second insurance policy against a 20-minute re-curation chore and a measurable latency hit. Stick to the version-safe paths, verify the SHA-256, and keep the .klb outside the sandbox. After restore, run the four-point verification checklist; if anything feels off, restart once and let the sweep finish. Make it a habit and your post-reset handshake will stay under the promised 80 ms—no cable acrobatics required.
