# Clone a previous configuration: restore flows\_raspberrypi.json is enough?

**URL:** <https://discourse.nodered.org/t/clone-a-previous-configuration-restore-flows-raspberrypi-json-is-enough/10791>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [3 May 2019 17:02 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/clone-a-previous-configuration-restore-flows-raspberrypi-json-is-enough/10791 "2019-05-03T17:02:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![GiovanniG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@GiovanniG](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/GiovanniG)\
**Post date:** [3 May 2019 17:02 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/clone-a-previous-configuration-restore-flows-raspberrypi-json-is-enough/10791/1 "2019-05-03T17:02:48Z")

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Hi mates, yesterday for the first time I restored flow from a clipboard backup. All was fine exept one module, which communicates with Amazon Echo.  
After the restore Alexa couldn't control more the modules, I think because the module sent to her its node ID during the first discovery, she saved it and send that ID on every object, when I restore a flow NR gives to the same nodes other IDs, and this is why it doesn't work I suppose. I should on Alexa delete devices and search again all.

My questions are:  
Is enough to copy flows\_raspberrypi.json and overwrite it back to have a perfect clone of what was running before? (of course close browser page aand reload it after the overwrite.). Any other file to restore?

I always had the problem to find the node ID number of every node in the flow, I can only know it if a message error is created by a module without a name and I see it in the debug window. Can you please introduce in NR a chance to see its ID on the node window property? Thanks

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**Author:** ![pmknowles](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/pmknowles/32/33880_2.png) [@pmknowles](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/pmknowles)\
**Post date:** [18 December 2020 08:37 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/clone-a-previous-configuration-restore-flows-raspberrypi-json-is-enough/10791/2 "2020-12-18T08:37:29Z")

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Just had to re-install myself.  
flows\_rasperrypi.json gets you so far but the additional nodes are in package.json which won't import so I needed to manually add them to the Pallette

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**Author:** ![Colin](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/colin/32/17040_2.png) [@Colin](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Colin)\
**Post date:** [18 December 2020 09:00 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/clone-a-previous-configuration-restore-flows-raspberrypi-json-is-enough/10791/3 "2020-12-18T09:00:13Z")

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Welcome to the forum.

If you had restored package.json and gone into the .node-red folder and run `npm install` then that should have installed everything you need.  
If you want to restore exactly the same versions of nodes then also restore package-lock.json before running install.

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**Author:** ![pmknowles](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/pmknowles/32/33880_2.png) [@pmknowles](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/pmknowles)\
**Post date:** [18 December 2020 11:07 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/clone-a-previous-configuration-restore-flows-raspberrypi-json-is-enough/10791/4 "2020-12-18T11:07:10Z")

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As I said, I couldn't load the package.json because Node-Red said that something in the file wasn't json compliant.  
Having said that I was surprised that I couldn't find anything in the docs about restoring and the post I was replying to was 18 months old without any replies.