How to Reset Your CaptureGem Installation

Updated October 13, 2026

This guide explains how to reset CaptureGem 2.14.14: with the Reset Data window in Settings, or by hand when you need a guaranteed fresh configuration or the app won't open. A reset can permanently delete recordings, so read the whole guide first.

Try a narrower fix first

Many problems don't need a reset:

The app shows an IPC error or the recorder seems stuck: select Restart Recorder Process in Settings.
Failed recordings are using disk space: in Advanced Settings, Delete All Temp Files deletes the files of recordings that failed to convert and the source files kept after conversions. To delete just one recording, click the small status dot in the top-right corner of CaptureGem (its tooltip says Transcoding Status) to open Queue Status, then use the Unfinished recordings tab.
You changed settings and want the defaults back: select Reset to Defaults next to Save Changes, then Save Changes. This keeps your models, folders and license, but removes your saved Chaturbate request headers. See the settings guide.

Before any reset

End all recordings. Reset Data stops the recorder right away, so any active recording ends.
Export your models. Export Models in Settings saves your model list to a CSV file, with each model's site, notes, rating and recording group, but not its auto-record mode. Use Import Models to add them back afterwards.
Back up what you might need. Copy finished videos, and the source files of any unfinished or failed recording you want to keep, to a place outside the folders you're resetting. A failed conversion is a reason to keep its source files, not to clear them.
Keep your configuration private. If you might want your old settings back, copy config.json and the config_backups folder from the data folder. They can contain passwords, cookies, authentication headers, tokens and a license key.
Check your folders. The path next to Open Settings Folder is the desktop app's data folder, and the folder settings show where your videos and temporary files are. Older installations may keep settings in a legacy folder; see the file locations guide.
Make sure there is only one settings folder. If both a legacy folder and the new default folder contain a config.json, the desktop app and the background recorder can use different folders. The Reset Data window shows the recorder's folders, but Reset Data deletes the folders listed in the settings file of the desktop app's data folder, so it can clear a folder the window doesn't show. Back up both folders and use the manual steps below instead of Reset Data until only one of them has settings.

Reset Data in the app

Open Settings and select Reset Data in the right column. The Reset Application Data window opens with nothing selected.
Select what to clear:
- Full Reset selects every option below and also clears the desktop app's display settings (viewState.json). CaptureGem then relaunches.
- Clear Configuration resets all settings to their defaults and removes your model list. See below for what that changes.
- Clear Temp Data deletes everything in your Temporary Files Location, including unfinished recordings that have not been converted into videos yet.
- Clear Metadata deletes everything in your Metadata Files Location, such as thumbnails and video details. CaptureGem creates them again for the videos it finds when Enable Startup Metadata Validation is on (the default). If you turned that setting off, turn it back on and save before clearing metadata; otherwise your videos can disappear from Review.
- Clear Video Data deletes everything in your Video Save Location, including files you put there yourself. Selecting it also selects Clear Metadata and locks it on.
Select Reset Data, read the warning, then select Confirm Reset.

A Full Reset relaunches the whole app. Any other choice restarts only the background recorder, and Settings reloads.

Reset Data doesn't delete your retained temp files, proxy downloads, the config_backups folder or log files.

What Clear Configuration changes

Every setting returns to its default and your model list is removed.
Folders return to the defaults in the data folder. Unfinished recordings in a custom temporary folder move to the default one. Finished videos in a custom video folder are not moved; set that folder again with Set Video Save Location to see them in Review.
Your Chaturbate custom headers are cleared.
Your license status and email are reset, so you need to activate Premium again with Activate Premium.
Display settings, such as dark mode, stay as they are unless you choose Full Reset.

CaptureGem keeps daily backups of config.json in config_backups and restores the newest one when config.json is missing. If your old settings or models are back after Clear Configuration or a Full Reset, follow the manual steps below.

Start fresh by hand

Use these steps when you need a clean configuration, or when the app won't open.

If the app still opens, export your models and note the path shown next to Open Settings Folder.
Quit CaptureGem completely with Settings → Exit CaptureGem. Closing the window only hides CaptureGem. If CaptureGem or recorderd still appears in Task Manager (Windows) or Activity Monitor (macOS), wait until it has closed.
Open that data folder. By default it is %LOCALAPPDATA%\capturegem on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/capturegem on macOS and ~/CaptureGem_Data on Linux.
Move both config.json and the config_backups folder to a private place outside the data folder. If you move only config.json, CaptureGem restores your old settings from the newest backup. Don't delete them: they are your way back to the old settings.
Optionally, also move viewState.json to reset the display settings.
Start CaptureGem. It opens with default settings and no models, in the free version until you activate Premium again. If you used custom folders, set them again in Settings, then import your models.

If your settings are in a legacy folder

On older installations, settings can be in a legacy folder: on Windows, the folder that contains CaptureGem.exe; on macOS, ~/CaptureGem_Data. Moving config.json out of a legacy folder doesn't reset that folder. Instead, the recorder switches to the new default folder (%LOCALAPPDATA%\capturegem on Windows or ~/Library/Application Support/capturegem on macOS) and starts fresh there, while your videos stay in the old folder.

If that's what you want, move config.json, config_backups and viewState.json out of the legacy folder so the desktop app switches too. If the new folder already contains a config.json or config_backups from an earlier setup, move those aside as well. After starting CaptureGem, check that the path next to Open Settings Folder is the new folder. To see your old videos, use Set Video Save Location to choose the videos/out folder inside the legacy folder.

What not to do

Do not delete an entire capturegem or CaptureGem_Data folder. It may contain recordings, temporary segments, metadata and recoverable source files. Putting the old config.json back may also bring back the problem that prompted the reset.