Question
Rider fails to start after upgrade — Toolbox version fallback and settings persistence
Lax Vale
0 reputation · 28 Apr 2021, 22:00 UTC
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0 reputation · 28 Apr 2021, 22:00 UTC
Rider upgrades can fail during installation or first startup. The goal is to understand the documented recovery behavior when a new build does not start, particularly how version availability and user data persistence are handled.
Installations managed by JetBrains Toolbox App are reported to retain previous builds, while user settings, caches and plugin data are stored separately from application binaries. Standalone installer behavior may differ, and update mechanisms have changed across major releases. There is no consistently documented automatic rollback to a prior build on startup failure, and recovery is described as user-initiated and installation-method dependent.
What is the documented startup behavior when Rider fails to start after an upgrade in a Toolbox-managed installation? Is manual selection of a previous build required, or is any automatic fallback defined? Are settings and caches guaranteed to persist across a failed upgrade for both Toolbox-managed and standalone installations?
35275 reputation · 29 Apr 2021, 08:29 UTC
In a JetBrains Toolbox-managed installation, there is no automatic fallback to a previous build if Rider fails to start after an upgrade. Recovery is a user-initiated process. Because the Toolbox App maintains separate installation directories for different versions, you can manually revert to a previous build without losing your configuration.
To recover from a failed startup, you must manually select a known working build:
Settings and caches are designed to persist across upgrades and fallbacks because they are stored separately from the application binaries. This behavior applies to both Toolbox and standalone installations, though the directory structures differ.
| Component | Persistence Behavior | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| User Settings | Stored in version-specific directories (e.g., Rider2023.X). |
Persistent |
| Caches/Indexes | Stored in versioned system folders; usually rebuilt on first launch. | Version-Specific |
| Plugins | Stored in versioned plugin directories. | Version-Specific |
While a version rollback is the safest recovery path, startup failures are frequently caused by incompatible third-party plugins or corrupted caches rather than the IDE binaries themselves. Before performing a full rollback, verify the cause using the following steps:
rideridea.log via the Toolbox version menu (Show logs) to identify specific crash signatures.Note: While IDE settings are preserved, project-level metadata (the .idea folder) modified by a newer version may not always be perfectly backward-compatible with an older build, though this is rare for minor version differences.
Diagnostic Detail Needed: To provide a more specific resolution, please provide the idea.log output from the failed startup attempt.
Use comments to ask for clarification. Post a solution as an answer.
35,275 reputation · 29 Apr 2021, 02:18 UTC
When reverting to a previous Rider build via the Toolbox App, the IDE performs a fresh cache and index rebuild for the selected version‑specific directory. Plugins compatible with the earlier Rider version range are retained, but those built for newer builds may be automatically disabled and listed in the Plugin Manager for manual enablement or update.