# How to convert vBulletin 4 database to Discourse?

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-convert-vbulletin-4-database-to-discourse/50029
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [September 12, 2016, 7:45pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-convert-vbulletin-4-database-to-discourse/50029 "2016-09-12T19:45:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 7

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### Author: ![pfaffman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/pfaffman/32/120154_2.png) [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2016, 6:42pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-convert-vbulletin-4-database-to-discourse/50029/7 "2016-09-13T18:42:59Z")

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It should be similar to the [Kunena3](https://meta.discourse.org/t/importing-from-kunena-3/43776) import. You’re probably better off installing a Development environment than trying to it in a container.

> [@Matheeus](#):
>
> I really hope so, because it is so strange that there’s guide for minor boards like XenForo and bbPress and not for largely adopted major forum software like vBulletin and Invision.

The importers that get developed are the ones that Discourse’s customers need.

> [@Matheeus](#):
>
> Anyway, I think that you should invest seriously more time and attention on the database convert/importing question because it is something of crucial for many forums that want to switch to Discourse and not all can spend hundreds bucks only to get a script, with severe lack of documentation (this could make troubles also to an experienced dev), to work.

You get the script for free. For $100-200 bucks you could get someone to import your data for you and give you a backup file that you could restore on your server. It’s likely that there’s something funky with your database, or the script doesn’t import everything you want, though. (I don’t know about the vBulletin script, but the Kunena3 script doesn’t deal with attachments, for example.) When I do an import, I clean up the script a bit, and if when I get time, I submit those improvements back to the community. (And Real Soon Now, I’ll submit code for providing links to attachments in Kunena3. Sometime later, someone will fix it so that those attachments get squirted into Discourse rather than linked to where Kunena is storing them.)

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