Migrating Data

Migrating Data to a Different Database¶

In the case that data needs to be migrated from one database installation to another, the following procedure can be used to export data, initialize the new database, and re-import the data. The following instructions apply to bare-metal and docker installations, although the particular commands required may vary slightly in each case.

Backup Database

Ensure that the original database is securely backed up first!

Database Versions

It is crucial that both InvenTree database installations are running the same version of InvenTree software! If this is not the case, data migration may fail, and there is a possibility that data corruption can occur. Ensure that the original database is up to date, by running invoke update.

Export Data¶

Export the database contents to a JSON file using the following command:

invoke export-records -f data.json

When using docker the command above would produce output inside the ephemeral container. To make sure your JSON file persists in the docker volume used for backups use the following command:

docker compose run inventree-server invoke export-records -f data/backup/data.json

This will create JSON file at the specified location which contains all database records.

Specifying filename

The filename of the exported file can be specified using the -f option. To see all available options, run invoke export-records --help

Usage: inv[oke] [--core-opts] export-records [--options] [other tasks here ...]

Docstring:
  Export all database records to a file.

  Write data to the file defined by filename.
  If --overwrite is not set, the user will be prompted about overwriting an existing files.
  If --include-permissions is not set, the file defined by filename will have permissions specified for a user or group removed.
  If --delete-temp is not set, the temporary file (which includes permissions) will not be deleted. This file is named filename.tmp

  For historical reasons, calling this function without any arguments will thus result in two files:
  - data.json: does not include permissions
  - data.json.tmp: includes permissions

  If you want the script to overwrite any existing files without asking, add argument -o / --overwrite.

  If you only want one file, add argument - d / --delete-temp.

  If you want only one file, with permissions, then additionally add argument -i / --include-permissions

Options:
  -c, --include-sso              Include SSO token data in the output file
                                 (default = False)
  -e, --exclude-plugins          Exclude plugin data from the output file
                                 (default = False)
  -f STRING, --filename=STRING   Output filename (default = 'data.json')
  -i, --include-permissions      Include user and group permissions in the
                                 output file (default = False)
  -l, --include-session          Include user session data in the output file
                                 (default = False)
  -n, --include-tokens           Include API tokens in the output file (default
                                 = False)
  -o, --overwrite                Overwrite existing files without asking first
                                 (default = False)
  -r, --retain-temp              Retain temporary files (containing
                                 permissions) at end of process (default =
                                 False)

Initialize New Database¶

Configure the new database using the normal processes (see Configuration)

InvenTree Version

Ensure that the new installation is running exactly the same version of InvenTree as the installation from which you exported the data.

Then, ensure that the database schema are correctly initialized in the new database:

invoke update

This step ensures that the required database tables exist, and are at the correct schema version, which must be the case before data can be imported.

Import Data¶

The new database should now be correctly initialized with the correct table structures required to import the data. Run the following command to load the database dump file into the new database.

Empty Database

If the database is not empty (i.e. it contains data records) then the data import process will fail. If errors occur during the import process, run invoke import-records with the -c option to clear all existing data from the database.

invoke import-records -c -f data.json

Import Filename

A different filename can be specified using the -f option

Character Encoding

If the character encoding of the data file does not exactly match the target database, the import operation may not succeed. In this case, some manual editing of the database JSON file may be required.

Copy Media Files¶

Any media files (images, documents, etc) that were stored in the original database must be copied to the new database. In a typical InvenTree installation, these files are stored in the media subdirectory of the InvenTree data location.

Copy the entire directory tree from the original InvenTree installation to the new InvenTree installation.

File Ownership

Ensure that the file ownership and permissions are correctly set on the copied files. The InvenTree server process must have read / write access to these files. If not, the server will not be able to serve the media files correctly, and the user interface may not function as expected.

Directory Structure

The expected locations of each file is stored in the database, and if the file paths are not correct, the media files will not be displayed correctly in the user interface. Thus, it is important that the files are transferred across to the new installation in the same directory structure.

Migrating Data to Newer Version¶

If you are updating from an older version of InvenTree to a newer version, the migration steps outlined above do not apply.

An update from an old version to a new one requires not only that the database schema are updated, but the data held within the database must be updated in the correct sequence.

Follow the sequence of steps below to ensure that the database records are updated correctly.

Backup Database

When updating, it is always prudent to ensure that the database records are backed up first

Stop InvenTree¶

Ensure that the InvenTree server and worker processes are not running.

Example: Docker

If running under docker, run docker compose down

Fetch New InvenTree Version¶

Download the specific version of InvenTree you wish to update to.

Example: Docker

If running under docker, edit docker-compose.yml and then run docker compose pull

Run Update Process¶

Run the update and migration script using invoke update. This ensures that the database schema and records are updated in the correct order.

Restart Server¶

Once the migration process completes, the database records are now updated! Restart the server and the process is complete.

Example: Docker

If running under docker, run docker compose up -d