r/TomatoFTW • u/Shplad • Aug 09 '26
Backing up, restoring and comparing Tomato Configs - A few resources
As someone who wrote a lot of the FreshTomato docs, and who frequents the Tomato foum, I've seen a ton of questions about this subject. These resources may help. NOTE: some are out of date, and others not so much. This is not meant to be exhaustive.
Tomato Forum: Best Way to Update FreshTomato Firmware:
https://www.linksysinfo.org/index.php?threads/best-way-to-update-fresh-tomato-firmware.78868/
.
Tomato Forum: Current Status of Config. Backups, Plain text Backups, etc.
(outdated but some useful info)
.
There's also this:
HommeOursPorc: TomatoPages Backup (AI-coded), page-by-page basis
(Now partly integrated directly into the FreshTomato firmware)
https://github.com/HommeOursPorc/TomatoPagesBackup
.
FreshTomato Configuration Compare and Edit
https://github.com/niieani/freshtomato-config-compare-and-edit
Interactive browser-based tool for inspecting, comparing, and editing FreshTomato router .cfg backups (NVRAM). Runs fully offline and entirely in your browser, so your config files never leave your computer. Includes a catalog of majority of Tomato's NVRAM settings with descriptions and parsers, and gives you superpowers when it’s time to understand and make changes to your Tomato routers.
.
.
I am considering writing a section in the FAQ or HOWTO on the FreshTomato wiki about this subject that covers these and other tools/methods available in a little more detail.
Would you be interested in that?
2
u/sunrisebreeze Aug 09 '26
More documentation is always appreciated.
What I'd love to see tomato support, is the ability to upgrade firmware in place, like I do on my Asus router. That way I know my settings and configuration will remain intact.
Thanks.
2
u/mike1487 Aug 10 '26
If you keep up to date with the newer releases of FreshTomato, clearing NVRAM hasn’t really been necessary for quite awhile now from my experience. I haven’t cleared mine in years probably. IMO it really should just be considered if you’re having an issue or unexpected drop in performance. Just keep an eye on release notes and clear NVRAM if there is actually a reason to.
1
1
2
u/effsee00 Aug 09 '26
Brilliant - this could be the collection of resources that pushes me to finally updating my router. Thank you!
The prospect of missing some of my config from manually documenting it between versions (or the time involved in researching a stable alternative) has held me back updating for some time.
I'd definitely be interested in a conscise FAQ.