FAQ

Common questions about how Recall reads your screenshots and groups them into matches.

When should I take my screenshots?

Take them after the match ends, on the post-match screens: the final SUMMARY scoreboard, your PERSONAL performance tab, and (in competitive) the RANK progress screen. Capture them within a minute or two of each other.

Recall doesn't watch the game live. It reads still screenshots and stitches the ones from the same match back together afterward. The post-match SUMMARY is the anchor: it's the only screen that shows the map, the result (victory, defeat, or draw), the date, and the time the match finished. Those are exactly what let Recall place a match on your timeline and tell two matches apart.

The in-game TEAMS scoreboard (the one you can pull up mid-match with Tab) is read for combat stats only: eliminations, assists, deaths, damage, healing, and mitigation. It doesn't carry the map, hero, or result, so on its own it can't identify which match it belongs to.

Can I screenshot the scoreboard during the match?

You can, and Recall will use its combat stats, but pair it with a post-match SUMMARY of the same game. Recall matches the two up by their identical elimination / assist / death numbers and how close together they were taken. A lone in-game scoreboard with no matching SUMMARY can't be pinned to a map or result, so it may land in the Unknown or Ambiguous triage instead of merging into one complete match.

Why did a screenshot land in "Unknown" or "Ambiguous"?

• Unknown usually means the OCR couldn't read a map or hero name: a brand-new map, a heavy overlay, or a low-resolution capture. A future roster update can often recognize it later without you re-capturing anything.
• Ambiguous means a screenshot's stats matched more than one nearby match and Recall couldn't decide which one. This is most likely when you captured only the in-game scoreboard (with no identifying SUMMARY) for two games that had very similar stats and were taken close together. Capturing the post-match SUMMARY for each game avoids it.

Which screens does Recall read?

You don't need all four. The SUMMARY alone is enough to log a match; the others add detail and cross-check the numbers against the SUMMARY.

Do I have to take screenshots manually every time?

No. Point Recall at your screenshots folder and turn on Watch (Settings → Folders). Recall then picks up new captures automatically as you save them, so your only habit to build is pressing the screenshot key on the post-match screens. See How it works for the full workflow.

I updated Recall and now it won't open, or my matches look wrong

Recall has no database migrations before 1.0, so an update that changes the database layout can leave your old database incompatible. The fix is to wipe the database — Recall rebuilds an empty one on next launch and re-parses your screenshots folder, so your matches come back.

Use the guided reset script (it backs up first): double-click C:\Program Files\recall\Reset-Database.bat, which ships with the installer, or download recall-{version}-Reset-Database.bat from the releases page. Full steps — and what's kept vs. lost — are in Resetting your database.

Will I lose my matches if I reset or wipe the database?

Your matches come back — your screenshots are the source of truth, and Recall re-parses them to rebuild the database. What you lose is anything that lives only in the database because it isn't on a screenshot: match notes, tags, tagged teammates, leaver flags, replay codes, review state, queue / play-mode overrides, and hidden-match flags. The Windows reset script backs the database up first, so you can copy it back if you change your mind.

Does Recall change or delete my screenshots?

No. Recall only reads your screenshots to parse them — it never edits or deletes the image files. You can keep, move, or back up your screenshots folder however you like; if you move it, re-point Recall at the new location under Settings → Folders.

How do I back up Recall, or move it to a new computer?

Everything Recall knows — settings plus the match database, per profile — lives in one folder, %AppData%\Recall\. Close Recall, then copy it to back it up or carry it to another machine.

Drop it in the same place on the other machine (Recall closed) and your profiles, settings, and matches come over. Your screenshots live separately — copy that folder too if it isn't on cloud/shared storage, and re-point Settings → Folders if its path is different there. One caveat: with no migrations, a database only reliably loads in the same Recall version, so install the matching version first — or just copy your screenshots and re-parse on the new machine.

What are profiles, and how do I delete the sample "test" one?

A profile is a self-contained match history with its own settings and database — keep one per account (or per role queue, per smurf, however you split your play). The active profile shows in the chip at the top-right of the masthead; click it to switch between profiles or create a new one.

The guided tour can spin up a sample "test" profile — 500 example matches across the last eight months — so you can explore Recall's views on a full history before you've parsed your own. When you're done looking around, remove it:

1. Click the profile chip (top-right) and switch back to your own account — you can't delete the profile you're currently in.
2. Open Settings → Profiles, find test, and click Delete (a two-step confirm). That wipes only that profile's database; your other profiles and your screenshots are untouched.

The same two steps delete any profile you no longer want.

A new hero or map shows as "Unknown" — do I need to reinstall?

No. Recall ships its hero/map roster separately from the app, so a new season's content can be recognized without a reinstall. Click Check for updates in the masthead; if a roster update is available, apply it and re-parse (or let the watcher do it). Previously-Unknown screenshots for the new content get recognized on the next parse — you don't re-capture anything. See Updates & game data.