ub.BackupMover is an Autodesk Revit add-in from underbim, a Portugal-based BIM consultancy that has worked in BIM, Revit training, consulting, and software development since 2001. It is one of eight independent add-ins in ub.Suite Edition 1, which launched in late October 2026, and is positioned as a file safety utility. Its tagline, "Move the backups. Keep the folder clear," sums up the approach. It finds genuine Revit project and family backup files beside the current document and moves them into a controlled subfolder, keeping the working folder readable. It can run manually or automatically after each Save.
Note on sources: This summary is based mainly on underbim's full BackupMover product page, which covers the workflow, feature explorer, detection rules, manual and automatic modes, destination handling, and licensing. Background on how Revit creates backups comes from Autodesk documentation, Autodesk forums, and Revit community blogs. An independent review or hands-on test was not found, and gaps are listed under Open Questions.
The Problem Area: Revit Backup Files
Revit creates backup files automatically whenever a model is saved or synchronized. Where they go and how they behave depends on the type of model, and the sources below describe several recurring problems:
- Backups are saved beside the model, with no setting to change it: For standalone (non-workshared) models, Revit places backups in the same folder as the project, named like "project name.0001.rvt," "project name.0002.rvt," and so on. Forum answers confirm there's no built-in way to choose a different location. Once the maximum backup count is reached, Revit overwrites the oldest backup.
- Folders fill up with clutter: The numbered backup files pile up next to the files people actually work with, and they're easy to mistake for real project files. Revit family files create the same kind of backups.
- Cloud sync and server replication get overloaded: Users report that OneDrive uploads every backup, which wastes bandwidth and data. An IT manager described tens of gigabytes of extra data slowing synchronization between four offices.
- Workshared models use a separate backup folder: Revit stores central and local model backup information in a folder named [model name]_backup next to the model. Autodesk says not to delete or rename files in it, and to keep the folder with the model if it's moved or copied, renaming it to match if the model is renamed. Backups in this folder are incremental, so they aren't ordinary .rvt files.
- Manual and scripted workarounds: Common approaches include deleting backup files by hand, batch files with wildcards, Dynamo or Python scripts that move or delete files matching the numbered pattern, and older add-ins such as MoveBackup (later Wormhole for Revit), which moved backups into a subfolder or a chosen directory.
BackupMover addresses the clutter problem for standalone project and family files. Like the older add-ins, it moves numbered backups out of the working folder. Unlike broad scripts, it works only from the active document and applies strict matching rules, so it only ever moves files that are clearly that document's own backups.
Key Facts
- Purpose: Detect the current document's Revit backup files and move them into a controlled subfolder.
- Product family: One of eight independent add-ins in ub.Suite Edition 1.
- Files: Project (.rvt) and family (.rfa) backups that match the current document's naming pattern.
- Run modes: Manual (Move Backups) or automatic after a successful Save (Auto on Save).
- Source: The current document's own folder only, on a local drive or an accessible network path. Cloud and Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) models are excluded.
- Destination: A configurable subfolder beside the document, conventionally named BAK, created when needed.
- Safety: The current file is never moved, existing files are never silently overwritten, and results are reported as moved, ignored, or errors.
- Licensing: Perpetual license by Edition. Updates within the Edition are included, and major Edition upgrades are optional. Single-activation and two-activation options are offered.
- Documentation: The product page links to setup and documentation. underbim also has a Downloads area, a Customer Portal, and a public GitHub repository for signed releases and update manifests.
The Product Idea
The tool is built on one idea: protect the backups, remove the folder noise. Revit backups are useful because they preserve earlier states of a model. BackupMover doesn't replace or change that mechanism. It just recognizes the real backup files around the current .rvt or .rfa file, moves them out of the working folder, and keeps the operation narrow and predictable. The process has four stages: Detect (exact Revit backup pattern), Protect (current file untouched), Move (configured subfolder), and Report (moved, ignored, errors).
Workflow: Recognize First, Move Only What Belongs
- Source: Use the saved current .rvt or .rfa file to identify the working folder and base file name.
- Detect: Find only files in that folder (not subfolders) that match Revit's numbered backup pattern.
- Destination: Locate the configured backup subfolder beside the document, and create it if needed.
- Protect: Exclude the current file, and never silently overwrite a file that already exists in the destination.
- Move: Move eligible backups manually, or automatically after a successful Save when Auto on Save is turned on.
- Result: Report what was moved, ignored, or caused an error, without interrupting Revit's save process.
Backup Detection: Exact Pattern, Narrow Scope
underbim describes it as "a small utility with very strict rules." Moving files is only useful if you can trust what gets selected, so BackupMover deliberately limits what counts as a backup, where it looks, and where files can go. It doesn't scan arbitrary folders. Everything is worked out from the active, saved document:
- Saved document required: The document must have a valid file path, which ties the operation to a real local or network location.
- Exact pattern: Only files named with the current document's base name, then four digits, then the current extension (Name.####.rvt or Name.####.rfa) qualify.
- That folder only: The scan covers only the folder containing the current document. It doesn't search subfolders or unrelated directories.
- Current file protected: The working .rvt or .rfa file is never treated as one of its own backups.
- Environment: Local and accessible network paths are supported. Cloud and ACC models, and documents without a usable file path, are excluded.
Example from the product page, with Project_A.rvt as the current document:
Because only files in the document's own folder that match Name.####.rvt are considered, the incremental contents of a workshared model's separate _backup folder fall outside these rules. underbim doesn't mention workshared models directly, so this is inferred from the stated rules.
Manual and Automatic Modes
The same narrow rules apply whether you start the move from the BackupMover window or it runs automatically after a Save:
- Move Backups (manual): Open the BackupMover window, check the source folder, destination, and detected files, then move the eligible files when you're ready.
- Auto on Save: After each successful Save, the same move runs in the background without interfering with the save itself.
- Save As: When a local Save As creates a new valid path, including a detached local copy, later automatic moves follow the document to its new location.
Destination and Results
- Subfolder beside the project: Backups go to a configurable subfolder inside the document's folder, conventionally named BAK, not to an unrelated outside location. Backups stay with the project they belong to.
- No overwrite: If a file with the same name already exists in the destination, BackupMover doesn't replace it. It gives the moved file a timestamped name instead, so both files are kept.
- Non-matches left alone: Files that don't match the backup pattern, unsupported file types, cloud models, and documents without a usable path are excluded.
- Clear results: A results area reports what was moved, what was ignored, and any errors, so every manual run ends with a clear account of what happened.
Place Within ub.Suite 1
ub.Suite 1 includes FilterToSchedule, ModelData, InterferenceInvestigator, ProjectManager, ConstraintScanner, ScopeViews, Elevations, and BackupMover. BackupMover is the only one aimed at files on disk. The other seven work on the contents of the Revit model itself. It's most closely related to one tool:
- ProjectManager: Audits and cleans up model content such as views, view templates, filters, and scope boxes. BackupMover does a similar tidying job for files in project folders. This fits the suite's "project organization" theme, though underbim hasn't said the two tools work together.
The suite's other tools rely on Revit Undo for safety. BackupMover works on files on disk, so it gets its safety from strict rules instead:
- It acts only on the current document's own numbered backups.
- It never moves the working file.
- It never silently overwrites anything, renaming with a timestamp instead.
- It keeps backups beside the project.
- It reports every result.
underbim doesn't mention an undo or restore command for moved files. Since nothing is deleted, moved backups stay in the BAK subfolder, where you can still open them.
Compared with Native Revit and Manual Methods
Open Questions
- Can the destination subfolder name be set per project or office-wide, and can it point anywhere other than inside the document's folder?
- Are template (.rte) and family template (.rft) backups supported, or only .rvt and .rfa?
- Are results from automatic runs logged anywhere, or shown only in the window during manual runs?
Bottom Line
BackupMover targets a small but persistent Revit annoyance: numbered backup files piling up beside the model, with no setting in Revit to put them anywhere else. It keeps Revit's backup system intact and simply moves each document's genuine .rvt and .rfa backups into a BAK subfolder beside it. It can do this on demand or automatically after every Save. Its strict rules keep it safe: only the current document's numbered backups are touched, the working file is never moved, nothing is silently overwritten, and every run is reported. Cloud and ACC models are excluded, and moving backups into a subfolder doesn't by itself stop cloud sync from uploading them.
Sources
- ub.BackupMover product page
- underbim home page and ub.Suite overview
- ub.Suite 1 launch announcement
- Trimble Help Center: Revit Backup files
- Autodesk Help: About Backup Files for Workshared Projects
- Autodesk Community: Moving Revit backup files
- Autodesk Community: Revit Backup Location change
- Autodesk Community: Backup files in a different folder
- What Revit Wants: Cleanup and Move Revit Backup Files
- BIMicon: Delete or Move Revit Backups
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