The discussion revolves around downloading all data from a Discourse platform in a presentable format, such as PDF, for audit purposes. RobD is seeking tips on how to achieve this, having already downloaded the backup SQL files but struggling to convert them into a readable format. Falco responds that the SQL files are the correct ones for a full data audit but notes that the data is too extensive for a single PDF file. Falco suggests loading the SQL files into another PostgreSQL instance and then performing the analysis using it.
Hi!
I’m wanting to download all the data from our discourse platform and have it presentable in a PDF or similar format for possible audit purposes in the future.
I’ve been shown how to download the back-up SQL files, but haven’t had any luck in converting this to anything presentable.
Has anyone done this and give me a few tips?
All the data of any Discourse instance is way too much data for a PDF file.
Those are the correct files if you want an audit of the full data of a Discourse instance. While they are somewhat human-readable
--
-- Data for Name: posts; Type: TABLE DATA; Schema: public; Owner: falco
--
COPY public.posts (id, user_id, topic_id, post_number, raw, cooked, created_at, updated_at, reply_to_post_number, reply_count, quote_count, deleted_at, off_topic_count, like_count, incoming_link_count, bookmark_count, score, reads, post_type, sort_order, last_editor_id, hidden, hidden_reason_id, notify_moderators_count, spam_count, illegal_count, inappropriate_count, last_version_at, user_deleted, reply_to_user_id, percent_rank, notify_user_count, like_score, deleted_by_id, edit_reason, word_count, version, cook_method, wiki, baked_at, baked_version, hidden_at, self_edits, reply_quoted, via_email, raw_email, public_version, action_code, locked_by_id, image_upload_id) FROM stdin;
15426 -2 2405 1 Thanks for joining Discourse, and welcome!\n\n- I’m only a robot, but [our friendly staff](/about) are also here to help if you need to reach a person.\n\n- For safety reasons, we temporarily limit what new users can do. You’ll gain [new abilities](https://blog.discourse.org/2018/06/understanding-discourse-trust-levels/) (and [badges](/badges)) as we get to know you.\n\n- We believe in [civilized community behavior](/guidelines) at all times.\n\nIf you’d like to learn more, select <img src="/plugins/discourse-narrative-bot/images/font-awesome-ellipsis.png" width="16" height="16"> below and <img src="/plugins/discourse-narrative-bot/images/font-awesome-bookmark.png" width="16" height="16"> **bookmark this personal message**. If you do, there may be a :gift: in your future! <p>Thanks for joining Discourse, and welcome!</p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>I’m only a robot, but <a href="/about">our friendly staff</a> are also here to help if you need to reach a person.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>For safety reasons, we temporarily limit what new users can do. You’ll gain <a href="https://blog.discourse.org/2018/06/understanding-discourse-trust-levels/">new abilities</a> (and <a href="/badges">badges</a>) as we get to know you.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>We believe in <a href="/guidelines">civilized community behavior</a> at all times.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p>If you’d like to learn more, select <img src="//127.0.0.1:4200/plugins/discourse-narrative-bot/images/font-awesome-ellipsis.png" width="16" height="16"> below and <img src="//127.0.0.1:4200/plugins/discourse-narrative-bot/images/font-awesome-bookmark.png" width="16" height="16"> <strong>bookmark this personal message</strong>. If you do, there may be a <img src="//127.0.0.1:4200/images/emoji/twitter/gift.png?v=12" title=":gift:" class="emoji" alt=":gift:" loading="lazy" width="20" height="20"> in your future!</p> 2022-06-23 20:35:49.119227 2022-06-23 20:35:49.119227 \N 0 0 \N 0 0 0 0 0.2 1 1 1 -2 f \N 0 0 0 0 2022-06-23 20:35:49.136783 f \N 0 0 0 \N \N 128 1 1 f 2022-06-23 20:35:49.119201 2 \N 0 f f \N 1 \N \N \N
18333 -2 5312 1 Thanks for joining Discourse, and welcome!\n\n- I’m only a robot, but [our friendly staff](/about) are also here to help if you need to reach a person.\n\n- For safety reasons, we temporarily limit what new users can do. You’ll gain [new abilities](https://blog.discourse.org/2018/06/understanding-discourse-trust-levels/) (and [badges](/badges)) as we get to know you.\n\n- We believe in [civilized community behavior](/guidelines) at all times.\n\nIf you’d like to learn more, select <img src="/plugins/discourse-narrative-bot/images/font-awesome-ellipsis.png" width="16" height="16"> below and <img src="/plugins/discourse-narrative-bot/images/font-awesome-bookmark.png" width="16" height="16"> **bookmark this personal message**. If you do, there may be a :gift: in your future! <p>Thanks for joining Discourse, and welcome!</p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>I’m only a robot, but <a href="/about">our friendly staff</a> are also here to help if you need to reach a person.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>For safety reasons, we temporarily limit what new users can do. You’ll gain <a href="https://blog.discourse.org/2018/06/understanding-discourse-trust-levels/">new abilities</a> (and <a href="/badges">badges</a>) as we get to know you.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>We believe in <a href="/guidelines">civilized community behavior</a> at all times.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p>If you’d like to learn more, select <img src="//127.0.0.1:4200/plugins/discourse-narrative-bot/images/font-awesome-ellipsis.png" width="16" height="16"> below and <img src="//127.0.0.1:4200/plugins/discourse-narrative-bot/images/font-awesome-bookmark.png" width="16" height="16"> <strong>bookmark this personal message</strong>. If you do, there may be a <img src="//127.0.0.1:4200/images/emoji/twitter/gift.png?v=12" title=":gift:" class="emoji" alt=":gift:" loading="lazy" width="20" height="20"> in your future!</p> 2022-06-23 20:43:07.420056 2022-06-23 20:43:07.420056 \N 0 0 \N 0 0 0 0 0.2 1 1 1 -2 f \N 0 0 0 0 2022-06-23 20:43:07.460739 f \N 0 0 0 \N \N 128 1 1 f 2022-06-23 20:43:07.420023 2 \N 0 f f \N 1 \N \N \N
An audit would involve loading those into another PostgreSQL instance and then performing the analysis using it.