diff --git a/hermes_cli/backup.py b/hermes_cli/backup.py
index 8b5b90ef1f..cae165b908 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/backup.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/backup.py
@@ -454,6 +454,12 @@ def run_import(args) -> None:
 # Critical state files to include in quick snapshots (relative to HERMES_HOME).
 # Everything else is either regeneratable (logs, cache) or managed separately
 # (skills, repo, sessions/).
+#
+# Entries may be individual files OR directories.  Directories are captured
+# recursively; missing entries are silently skipped.  Pairing data lives in
+# platform-specific JSON blobs outside state.db, so it's listed here explicitly
+# — `hermes update` snapshots this set before pulling so approved-user lists
+# are recoverable if anything goes wrong (issue #15733).
 _QUICK_STATE_FILES = (
     "state.db",
     "config.yaml",
@@ -463,6 +469,10 @@ _QUICK_STATE_FILES = (
     "gateway_state.json",
     "channel_directory.json",
     "processes.json",
+    # Pairing stores (generic + per-platform JSONs outside state.db)
+    "pairing",                          # legacy location (gateway/pairing.py)
+    "platforms/pairing",                # new location (gateway/pairing.py)
+    "feishu_comment_pairing.json",      # Feishu comment subscription pairings
 )
 
 _QUICK_SNAPSHOTS_DIR = "state-snapshots"
@@ -498,7 +508,27 @@ def create_quick_snapshot(
 
     for rel in _QUICK_STATE_FILES:
         src = home / rel
-        if not src.exists() or not src.is_file():
+        if not src.exists():
+            continue
+
+        if src.is_dir():
+            # Walk the directory and record each file individually in the
+            # manifest so restore can treat them uniformly.  Empty dirs are
+            # skipped (nothing to snapshot).
+            for sub in src.rglob("*"):
+                if not sub.is_file():
+                    continue
+                sub_rel = sub.relative_to(home).as_posix()
+                dst = snap_dir / sub_rel
+                dst.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+                try:
+                    shutil.copy2(sub, dst)
+                    manifest[sub_rel] = dst.stat().st_size
+                except (OSError, PermissionError) as exc:
+                    logger.warning("Could not snapshot %s: %s", sub_rel, exc)
+            continue
+
+        if not src.is_file():
             continue
 
         dst = snap_dir / rel
diff --git a/hermes_cli/main.py b/hermes_cli/main.py
index a9d25a2a6a..ca0bef6106 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/main.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/main.py
@@ -6333,6 +6333,22 @@ def _cmd_update_impl(args, gateway_mode: bool):
 
         print(f"→ Found {commit_count} new commit(s)")
 
+        # Snapshot critical state (state.db, config, pairing JSONs, etc.)
+        # before pulling so a user can recover if something goes wrong.
+        # Issue #15733 reported missing pairing data after an update; even
+        # though `git pull` can't touch $HERMES_HOME, this is cheap
+        # belt-and-suspenders insurance and gives the user something to
+        # restore from via `/snapshot list` / `/snapshot restore <id>`.
+        try:
+            from hermes_cli.backup import create_quick_snapshot
+
+            snap_id = create_quick_snapshot(label="pre-update")
+            if snap_id:
+                print(f"  ✓ Pre-update snapshot: {snap_id}")
+        except Exception as exc:
+            # Never let a snapshot failure block an update.
+            logger.debug("Pre-update snapshot failed: %s", exc)
+
         print("→ Pulling updates...")
         update_succeeded = False
         try:
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_backup.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_backup.py
index 35089ecd28..805862cd80 100644
--- a/tests/hermes_cli/test_backup.py
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_backup.py
@@ -1141,3 +1141,80 @@ class TestQuickSnapshot:
         deleted = prune_quick_snapshots(keep=3, hermes_home=hermes_home)
         assert deleted == 7
         assert len(list_quick_snapshots(hermes_home=hermes_home)) == 3
+
+    def test_snapshot_includes_pairing_directories(self, hermes_home):
+        """Pairing JSONs live outside state.db — snapshot must capture them
+        recursively (generic + per-platform) so approved-user lists survive
+        disasters like #15733."""
+        from hermes_cli.backup import create_quick_snapshot
+
+        # Generic pairing store (new location)
+        (hermes_home / "platforms" / "pairing").mkdir(parents=True)
+        (hermes_home / "platforms" / "pairing" / "telegram-approved.json").write_text(
+            '{"12345": {"user_name": "alice"}}'
+        )
+        (hermes_home / "platforms" / "pairing" / "discord-approved.json").write_text(
+            '{"67890": {"user_name": "bob"}}'
+        )
+        # Legacy pairing store (old location)
+        (hermes_home / "pairing").mkdir()
+        (hermes_home / "pairing" / "matrix-approved.json").write_text(
+            '{"@charlie:server": {"user_name": "charlie"}}'
+        )
+        # Feishu's separate JSON
+        (hermes_home / "feishu_comment_pairing.json").write_text(
+            '{"doc_abc": {"allow_from": ["user_xyz"]}}'
+        )
+
+        snap_id = create_quick_snapshot(hermes_home=hermes_home)
+        assert snap_id is not None
+
+        snap_dir = hermes_home / "state-snapshots" / snap_id
+        assert (snap_dir / "platforms" / "pairing" / "telegram-approved.json").exists()
+        assert (snap_dir / "platforms" / "pairing" / "discord-approved.json").exists()
+        assert (snap_dir / "pairing" / "matrix-approved.json").exists()
+        assert (snap_dir / "feishu_comment_pairing.json").exists()
+
+        with open(snap_dir / "manifest.json") as f:
+            meta = json.load(f)
+        files = meta["files"]
+        assert "platforms/pairing/telegram-approved.json" in files
+        assert "platforms/pairing/discord-approved.json" in files
+        assert "pairing/matrix-approved.json" in files
+        assert "feishu_comment_pairing.json" in files
+
+    def test_restore_recovers_pairing_data(self, hermes_home):
+        """After restore, deleted pairing files reappear with original content."""
+        from hermes_cli.backup import create_quick_snapshot, restore_quick_snapshot
+
+        pairing_dir = hermes_home / "platforms" / "pairing"
+        pairing_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+        approved = pairing_dir / "telegram-approved.json"
+        approved.write_text('{"12345": {"user_name": "alice"}}')
+        feishu = hermes_home / "feishu_comment_pairing.json"
+        feishu.write_text('{"doc_abc": {"allow_from": ["user_xyz"]}}')
+
+        snap_id = create_quick_snapshot(hermes_home=hermes_home)
+        assert snap_id is not None
+
+        # Simulate the disaster — user loses both pairing files.
+        approved.unlink()
+        feishu.unlink()
+        assert not approved.exists()
+        assert not feishu.exists()
+
+        assert restore_quick_snapshot(snap_id, hermes_home=hermes_home) is True
+        assert approved.exists()
+        assert '"alice"' in approved.read_text()
+        assert feishu.exists()
+        assert '"user_xyz"' in feishu.read_text()
+
+    def test_empty_pairing_dir_does_not_fail(self, hermes_home):
+        """An empty pairing directory should be silently skipped."""
+        from hermes_cli.backup import create_quick_snapshot
+
+        (hermes_home / "platforms" / "pairing").mkdir(parents=True)
+        # Directory exists but contains no files.
+        snap_id = create_quick_snapshot(hermes_home=hermes_home)
+        # Other state still present → snapshot succeeds.
+        assert snap_id is not None