diff --git a/pkg/cmd/restore.go b/pkg/cmd/restore.go
index 41c57d750..e5e590103 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/restore.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/restore.go
@@ -23,8 +23,11 @@ import (
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
+var preserveConfig bool
+
 func init() {
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(restoreCmd)
+	restoreCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&preserveConfig, "preserve-config", false, "Preserve existing configuration instead of restoring from dump")
 }
 
 var restoreCmd = &cobra.Command{
@@ -35,7 +38,7 @@ var restoreCmd = &cobra.Command{
 		initialize.FullInitWithoutAsync()
 	},
 	Run: func(_ *cobra.Command, args []string) {
-		if err := dump.Restore(args[0]); err != nil {
+		if err := dump.Restore(args[0], !preserveConfig); err != nil {
 			log.Critical(err.Error())
 		}
 	},
diff --git a/pkg/modules/dump/restore.go b/pkg/modules/dump/restore.go
index 9a37d3a77..c01623148 100644
--- a/pkg/modules/dump/restore.go
+++ b/pkg/modules/dump/restore.go
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ import (
 const maxConfigSize = 5 * 1024 * 1024 // 5 MB, should be largely enough
 
 // Restore takes a zip file name and restores it
-func Restore(filename string) error {
+func Restore(filename string, overrideConfig bool) error {
 
 	r, err := zip.OpenReader(filename)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -101,9 +101,14 @@ func Restore(filename string) error {
 
 	///////
 	// Restore the config file
-	err = restoreConfig(configFile, dotEnvFile)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
+	if overrideConfig {
+		err = restoreConfig(configFile, dotEnvFile)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	} else {
+		log.Warning("Preserving existing configuration (--preserve-config flag used)")
+		log.Warning("Configuration preserved - ensure your current config is compatible with the restored data")
 	}
 	log.Info("Restoring...")
 
@@ -188,7 +193,9 @@ func Restore(filename string) error {
 	///////
 	// Done
 	log.Infof("Done restoring dump.")
-	log.Infof("Restart Vikunja to make sure the new configuration file is applied.")
+	if overrideConfig {
+		log.Infof("Restart Vikunja to make sure the new configuration file is applied.")
+	}
 
 	return nil
 }