Data Persistence & Backup

Auto-saved data, backup, and restore across Burp Suite sessions.

Table of contents

1. Data Storage Location
2. Auto-Save
3. Backup & Restore
   1. Exporting a Backup
   2. Importing a Backup
4. Data Lifecycle
   1. During a Testing Session
   2. Managing Data
5. Privacy & Security

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Data Storage Location

All VISTA data is stored locally in your home directory:

~/.vista/
├── data/                       # Auto-saved data
│   ├── traffic.json               # HTTP traffic transactions
│   ├── findings.json              # Exploit findings
│   └── traffic-findings.json     # Traffic analysis findings
├── prompts/
│   ├── built-in/                  # Built-in prompt templates
│   └── custom/                    # User-created templates
├── payloads/
│   ├── built-in/                  # Built-in payload libraries
│   └── custom/                    # User-created payloads
├── sessions/                   # Chat conversation history
~/.vista-ai-config.json         # AI provider configuration

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Auto-Save

VISTA automatically saves data with multiple safety mechanisms:

Mechanism	Timing
Periodic auto-save	Every 60 seconds
Shutdown hook	When Burp Suite closes
Atomic writes	Prevents data corruption during save

No manual save required — your data is always persisted.

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Backup & Restore

Exporting a Backup

Save all VISTA data to any location:

1. Go to Settings tab
2. Click “Export Backup”
3. Choose a destination folder
4. VISTA creates a complete backup including:
   • Traffic data and findings
   • Custom templates
   • Custom payloads
   • Conversation history
   • AI configuration

Importing a Backup

Restore from a previous backup:

1. Go to Settings tab
2. Click “Import Backup”
3. Select the backup folder
4. VISTA restores all data
5. Restart recommended after import

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Data Lifecycle

During a Testing Session

Start Testing → Auto-save every 60s → Close Burp → Shutdown hook saves
                                                            │
Restart Burp → VISTA loads → All data restored ◄────────────┘

Managing Data

Action	How
Clear traffic	Traffic Monitor → Clear button
Clear findings	Traffic Monitor → Clear findings
Delete templates	Prompt Templates → Delete
Delete payloads	Payload Library → Delete
Full reset	Delete ~/.vista/ directory

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Privacy & Security

• All data stays local — stored only in ~/.vista/ on your machine
• No external storage — VISTA never sends data to its own servers
• AI provider data — Request data sent to your configured AI provider (OpenAI/Azure/OpenRouter) per their data policies
• API keys — Stored in plaintext in ~/.vista-ai-config.json

Protect ~/.vista-ai-config.json with appropriate file permissions, especially on shared systems. It contains your AI provider API key.

Use Export Backup before upgrading VISTA to a new version, just in case.