Spyder failed upgrade leaves plugin registry inconsistent without guaranteed configuration backup

In current Spyder releases, a failed upgrade can leave the plugin registry in an inconsistent state, preventing the IDE from launching with a ModuleNotFoundError for an upgraded plugin. The goal is to decide whether Spyder should automatically back up the user configuration directory before applying an upgrade.

Spyder offers manual recovery through "Restore Default Settings" under Tools and package reinstallation, but neither guarantees preservation of key bindings, themes, or plugin state. Current behavior does not guarantee a pre-upgrade backup, so recovery depends on manual steps outside the IDE.

• Should Spyder create a timestamped copy of the configuration directory before an in-place upgrade?
• Which files should be included: the full configuration directory or only plugin registry state?
• What verification confirms the pre-upgrade configuration if automatic backup is not implemented?