First Launch & Setup

Choose a data root folder and set up LapInsight the first time you open it.

Last updated 6/10/2026

On first launch, LapInsight asks you to choose a data root — the folder where all your session data, videos, and documents will live.

Choosing a Data Root

  1. When the setup prompt appears, click Choose Folder.
  2. Pick or create a folder with plenty of space — video files can be large.
  3. A good location is a dedicated folder like Documents\LapInsight or a fast external drive.
  4. Click OK to confirm.

Tip: Put the data root on a drive with at least 50 GB free if you plan to store video. On a slow USB 2 drive, playback may stutter — USB 3 or an internal SSD is recommended.

Changing the Data Root Later

Go to File → Settings → General and update the Data Root path. Existing data stays in the old location; move it manually if needed and then update the path to match.

Folder Structure

LapInsight creates this structure inside your data root:

`` LapInsight/ ├── LapInsight.db ← all session, notes, metadata ├── 2025-06-15 Brands Hatch/ │ ├── videos/ │ └── documents/ └── ... ``

Subfolders are created automatically when you start a new day.

Your First Backup

Before you start adding data you care about, take a baseline backup:

  1. File → Backup Now...
  2. LapInsight writes a snapshot to <data_root>/_backups/ and shows you the path.

That's it. The backup is a SQLite copy of your database plus a small JSON sidecar. It costs ~seconds to take and gives you a one-step recovery if anything goes wrong later. LapInsight also auto-creates a backup before any destructive operation (legacy merge, library bundle import, restore in replace mode), so the _backups/ folder builds up on its own as you use the app.

See Backup & Restore for the full picture, including how to restore later.

Next Steps