# Discourse Productive Instance 1:1 Migrate to Test Server
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/altere-discourse-produktiv-instanz-1-1-auf-testserver-migrieren/388222
**Category:** Self-hosting
**Tags:** unsupported-install, hosting
**Created:** [12 november 2025 om 09:01 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/altere-discourse-produktiv-instanz-1-1-auf-testserver-migrieren/388222 "2025-11-12T09:01:58Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@elRicharde](https://meta.discourse.org/u/elRicharde)
#### Post date: [12 november 2025 om 09:01 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/altere-discourse-produktiv-instanz-1-1-auf-testserver-migrieren/388222/1 "2025-11-12T09:01:58Z")
Hello, I have taken over the admin position in a community and am currently facing the challenge of bringing the forum back up to date.
It has not been updated for a long time because the Calendar plugin caused issues.
I have rented another server and would like to first set up a 1:1 copy of the production environment there.
Since I am using an older version, I am not yet sure how to do this, as during a fresh setup, only the latest versions are pulled.
We are running on:
Discourse 3.2.0.beta1-dev (19567daeb9)
with the following plugins and versions:
and PG 13.
I would like to first get a 1:1 copy running, secure it via a full backup, and then determine how to start the update process without destroying the instance. Once I have found a working method, the production instance will also be updated.
The current difficulty is:
How do I first create a 1:1 copy of my old version, including the old PG database and old plugins?
As a beginner, I am very grateful for any hints and/or links.
Thank you very much for your time and best regards,
Richarde
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### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [12 november 2025 om 16:00 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/altere-discourse-produktiv-instanz-1-1-auf-testserver-migrieren/388222/2 "2025-11-12T16:00:57Z")
Hi!
This may be a good starting point:
> [@Create, download, and restore a backup of your Discourse database](https://meta.discourse.org/t/create-download-and-restore-a-backup-of-your-discourse-database/122710):
>
> bookmark This guide provides step-by-step instructions for creating, downloading, and restoring a backup of your Discourse database. person_raising_hand Required user level: Administrator Discourse allows site administrators to create and download a copy of the site’s database. The backup can then be uploaded and restored to any Discourse forum. Discourse backups include the full site database, which contains everything on the site: topics, posts, users, groups, settings, themes, etc. D…
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### Author:  [@elRicharde](https://meta.discourse.org/u/elRicharde)
#### Post date: [12 november 2025 om 16:06 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/altere-discourse-produktiv-instanz-1-1-auf-testserver-migrieren/388222/3 "2025-11-12T16:06:44Z")
Thank you for your help!
As I understand it, the backup does not include any software, so plugins and their software versions, nor does it include Discourse itself with its version. Therefore, it is not suitable for the above issue.
Fortunately, the plugin that was preventing our update is now compatible again with the current version of Discourse, so I was able to set up a new server with the latest version and restore our backup there.
Nevertheless, it could be very useful for some (including our community during the time when the plugin was not compatible with the software) to know how to set up a test instance as a 1:1 copy to test further steps in a safe environment without affecting production.
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### Author:  [@ToddZ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/ToddZ)
#### Post date: [12 november 2025 om 20:24 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/altere-discourse-produktiv-instanz-1-1-auf-testserver-migrieren/388222/4 "2025-11-12T20:24:33Z")
If you’re using a provider that can clone your whole VPS, that might be a shortcut to explore:
> [@Creating a duplicate of production environment](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-a-duplicate-of-production-environment/61966/11):
>
> I cloned my entire droplet on DigitalOcean, then logged into the droplet and disabled all of the ssl/https settings in the app.yml. This at least gave me a clone of my community content to screw with settings on.
Also, this process for a site move using rsync would appear to bring the entire site over 1:1…
[Move a Discourse site to another VPS with rsync - Community wiki / Sysadmins](https://meta.discourse.org/t/move-a-discourse-site-to-another-vps-with-rsync/43812)
_[EDIT: not 1:1 if you do the prescribed rebuild. Would need to start up without rebuild.)_
The basic process looks pretty straightforward, though there are many comments offering modified approaches and command parameters. I haven’t done it myself. If I had to, I suppose I’d start with the basics and see how it goes. Several possible gotchas are discussed in the comments.
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### Author:  [@NateDhaliwal](https://meta.discourse.org/u/NateDhaliwal)
#### Post date: [13 november 2025 om 07:26 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/altere-discourse-produktiv-instanz-1-1-auf-testserver-migrieren/388222/5 "2025-11-13T07:26:48Z")
> [@ToddZ](#):
>
> [Move a Discourse site to another VPS with rsync - Community wiki / Sysadmins](https://meta.discourse.org/t/move-a-discourse-site-to-another-vps-with-rsync/43812)
But that involves rebuilding the forum, no?
Then again, it just might work:
> [@Backup Prod -\> Snap -\> Build Test -\> Change Address](https://meta.discourse.org/t/backup-prod-snap-build-test-change-address/387853/4):
>
> You might be able to do a `./launcher destroy app;./launcher start app` and then restore the backup from the command line.
>
> What I would recommend is [Move a Discourse site to another VPS with rsync](https://meta.discourse.org/t/move-a-discourse-site-to-another-vps-with-rsync/43812) and [Set up a staging server](https://meta.discourse.org/t/set-up-a-staging-server/225951)
>
> > [@Backup Prod -\> Snap -\> Build Test -\> Change Address](https://meta.discourse.org/t/backup-prod-snap-build-test-change-address/387853/1):
> >
> > However, I absolutely do not want to perform a rebuild, but rather get a 1:1 copy running in the first step.
>
> Then what you’d do is push your docker image somewhere, and then use `./launcher start-cmd app` to see how to start it. So you’ll need to figure out enough about docker to push the image to a private repo and start it up and then restore the backup.
(While I’m at it, how is this topic different from the linked one?)
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### Author:  [@elRicharde](https://meta.discourse.org/u/elRicharde)
#### Post date: [13 november 2025 om 07:39 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/altere-discourse-produktiv-instanz-1-1-auf-testserver-migrieren/388222/6 "2025-11-13T07:39:04Z")
> [@NateDhaliwal](#):
>
> (While I’m at it, how is this topic different from the linked one?)
The quoted one from myself is what I tried, and didn´t Work.
Making a 1:1 with a Snap via the Provider, disabling https.
I tried a lot also changing Conf. via rails but couldn´t get it to work, so the Way via snap isn´t working for me at all. So I´m asking here, for a way how to do it. (even if i solved my Problem already, this might be helpful in the future)
> [@NateDhaliwal](#):
>
> But that involves rebuilding the forum, no?
Yes, which again leads to updates, why this shouldn´t work.
Thanks guys
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### Author:  [@ToddZ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/ToddZ)
#### Post date: [13 november 2025 om 08:10 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/altere-discourse-produktiv-instanz-1-1-auf-testserver-migrieren/388222/7 "2025-11-13T08:10:37Z")
> [@NateDhaliwal](#):
>
> But that involves rebuilding the forum, no?
Oof, yes, good catch. I must have been up too late. Pfaffman’s idea is interesting, though.
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### Author:  [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [13 november 2025 om 12:22 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/altere-discourse-produktiv-instanz-1-1-auf-testserver-migrieren/388222/8 "2025-11-13T12:22:48Z")
What problem do you think you’re solving by creating another site using the same container?
I guess if that’s what you want to do then the thing to do is to build the image and launch it behind a reverse proxy for both sites.
Also, there some new images that aren’t supported yet that can be launched directly, so you might look for topics about those.