diff --git a/packages/node_modules/@node-red/runtime/lib/storage/localfilesystem/settings.js b/packages/node_modules/@node-red/runtime/lib/storage/localfilesystem/settings.js
index d0b6dd512..a4567293d 100644
--- a/packages/node_modules/@node-red/runtime/lib/storage/localfilesystem/settings.js
+++ b/packages/node_modules/@node-red/runtime/lib/storage/localfilesystem/settings.js
@@ -14,41 +14,99 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  **/
 
-var when = require('when');
-var fs = require('fs-extra');
-var fspath = require("path");
+const fs = require('fs-extra');
+const fspath = require("path");
 
-var log = require("@node-red/util").log; // TODO: separate module
-var util = require("./util");
+const log = require("@node-red/util").log;
+const util = require("./util");
+
+const configSections = ['nodes','users','projects'];
+let initialisePromise;
+
+const settingsCache = {};
 
 var globalSettingsFile;
 var globalSettingsBackup;
 var settings;
 
+async function migrateToMultipleConfigFiles() {
+    const data = await util.readFile(globalSettingsFile,globalSettingsBackup,{});
+    return writeSettings(data).then( () => fs.remove(globalSettingsFile) );
+}
+
+
+/**
+ * Takes the single settings object and splits it into separate files. This makes
+ * it easier to backup selected parts of the settings and also helps reduce the blast
+ * radius if a file is lost.
+ *
+ * The settings are written to four files:
+ *  - .config.nodes.json - the node registry
+ *  - .config.users.json - user specific settings (eg editor settings)
+ *  - .config.projects.json - project settings, including the active project
+ *  - .config.runtime.json - everything else - most notable _credentialSecret
+ */
+function writeSettings(data) {
+    const configKeys = Object.keys(data);
+    const writePromises = [];
+    configSections.forEach(key => {
+        const sectionData = data[key] || {};
+        delete data[key];
+        const sectionFilename = getSettingsFilename(key);
+        const sectionContent = JSON.stringify(sectionData,null,4);
+        if (sectionContent !== settingsCache[key]) {
+            settingsCache[key] = sectionContent;
+            writePromises.push(util.writeFile(sectionFilename,sectionContent,sectionFilename+".backup"))
+        }
+    })
+    // Having extracted nodes/users/projects, write whatever is left to the runtime config
+    const sectionFilename = getSettingsFilename("runtime");
+    const sectionContent = JSON.stringify(data,null,4);
+    if (sectionContent !== settingsCache["runtime"]) {
+        settingsCache["runtime"] = sectionContent;
+        writePromises.push(util.writeFile(sectionFilename,sectionContent,sectionFilename+".backup"));
+    }
+    return Promise.all(writePromises);
+}
+
+async function readSettings() {
+    // Read the 'runtime' settings file first
+    const runtimeFilename = getSettingsFilename("runtime");
+    const result = await util.readFile(runtimeFilename,runtimeFilename+".backup",{});
+    const readPromises = [];
+    // Read the other settings files and add them into the runtime settings
+    configSections.forEach(key => {
+        const sectionFilename = getSettingsFilename(key);
+        readPromises.push(util.readFile(sectionFilename,sectionFilename+".backup",{}).then(sectionData => {
+            result[key] = sectionData;
+        }))
+    });
+    return Promise.all(readPromises).then(() => result);
+}
+
+function getSettingsFilename(section) {
+    return fspath.join(settings.userDir,`.config.${section}.json`);
+}
+
 module.exports = {
     init: function(_settings) {
         settings = _settings;
         globalSettingsFile = fspath.join(settings.userDir,".config.json");
         globalSettingsBackup = fspath.join(settings.userDir,".config.json.backup");
+
+        if (fs.existsSync(globalSettingsFile) && !settings.readOnly) {
+            initialisePromise = migrateToMultipleConfigFiles();
+        } else {
+            initialisePromise = Promise.resolve();
+        }
     },
     getSettings: function() {
-        return when.promise(function(resolve,reject) {
-            fs.readFile(globalSettingsFile,'utf8',function(err,data) {
-                if (!err) {
-                    try {
-                        return resolve(util.parseJSON(data));
-                    } catch(err2) {
-                        log.trace("Corrupted config detected - resetting");
-                    }
-                }
-                return resolve({});
-            })
-        })
+        return initialisePromise.then(readSettings)
     },
     saveSettings: function(newSettings) {
         if (settings.readOnly) {
-            return when.resolve();
+            return Promise.resolve();
         }
-        return util.writeFile(globalSettingsFile,JSON.stringify(newSettings,null,1),globalSettingsBackup);
+        return initialisePromise.then(() => writeSettings(newSettings));
     }
 }
diff --git a/packages/node_modules/@node-red/runtime/lib/storage/localfilesystem/util.js b/packages/node_modules/@node-red/runtime/lib/storage/localfilesystem/util.js
index 65a3c40e4..b91a99129 100644
--- a/packages/node_modules/@node-red/runtime/lib/storage/localfilesystem/util.js
+++ b/packages/node_modules/@node-red/runtime/lib/storage/localfilesystem/util.js
@@ -14,11 +14,10 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  **/
 
-var fs = require('fs-extra');
-var fspath = require('path');
-var when = require('when');
+const fs = require('fs-extra');
+const fspath = require('path');
 
-var log = require("@node-red/util").log; // TODO: separate module
+const log = require("@node-red/util").log;
 
 function parseJSON(data) {
     if (data.charCodeAt(0) === 0xFEFF) {
@@ -27,7 +26,7 @@ function parseJSON(data) {
     return JSON.parse(data);
 }
 function readFile(path,backupPath,emptyResponse,type) {
-    return when.promise(function(resolve) {
+    return new Promise(function(resolve) {
         fs.readFile(path,'utf8',function(err,data) {
             if (!err) {
                 if (data.length === 0) {