# Uploading 17500 users and their avatars using PHP
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/uploading-17500-users-and-their-avatars-using-php/71685
**Category:** Development
**Created:** [10월 9, 2017, 2:39오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/uploading-17500-users-and-their-avatars-using-php/71685 "2017-10-09T14:39:06Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Frank\_Bailey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Frank_Bailey)
#### Post date: [10월 9, 2017, 2:39오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/uploading-17500-users-and-their-avatars-using-php/71685/1 "2017-10-09T14:39:06Z")
I have been tasked with moving a Ning community of 17500 users to Discourse. I have gotten the user adding part working using a modified version of the Discourse API for PHP from here `https://github.com/communiteq/discourse-api-php`.
I plan to parse in the full 17500 users and then work on them one at a time, looping through with a `foreach` statement.
The sticking point is that there isn’t a clear example of how to upload each user’s avatar (present on my local disk) to the API using the `uploads.json` endpoint. I see how it can be done if the file is uploaded through a standard browser upload, but the mechanism of using a file loaded from disk programmatically in PHP instead of a browser upload is eluding me.
If anyone can offer any advice on this issue I would appreciate your help enormously. Thanks!
---
### Author:  [@gerhard](https://meta.discourse.org/u/gerhard)
#### Post date: [10월 9, 2017, 2:47오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/uploading-17500-users-and-their-avatars-using-php/71685/2 "2017-10-09T14:47:30Z")
Why aren’t you using the [ning import script](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/blob/master/script/import_scripts/ning.rb)? 🤔
---
### Author:  [@Frank\_Bailey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Frank_Bailey)
#### Post date: [10월 9, 2017, 2:49오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/uploading-17500-users-and-their-avatars-using-php/71685/4 "2017-10-09T14:49:37Z")
Because I don’t know Ruby at all and I do know PHP. If it’s possible to use without extensive Ruby knowledge then I’ll gladly use that instead.
---
### Author:  [@DeanMarkTaylor](https://meta.discourse.org/u/DeanMarkTaylor)
#### Post date: [10월 9, 2017, 2:59오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/uploading-17500-users-and-their-avatars-using-php/71685/5 "2017-10-09T14:59:26Z")
There is a #howto topic here:
> [@Migrate a Ning forum to Discourse](https://meta.discourse.org/t/migrating-from-ning-to-discourse/49749):
>
> Want to migrate from Ning to Discourse? Great! Let’s get started. What data can be imported? Users Avatars Directories/Categories Topics & Posts Images Attachments Prerequisites Set up Discourse development environment on [macOS](https://meta.discourse.org/t/beginners-guide-to-install-discourse-on-mac-os-x-for-development/15772), [Ubuntu or Debian](https://meta.discourse.org/t/beginners-guide-to-install-discourse-on-ubuntu-for-development/14727) or [Windows](https://meta.discourse.org/t/install-discourse-on-windows-for-development/75149). Clear existing data from your local Discourse instance: cd ~/discourse rake db:drop db:create db:migrate Open [Ning import script](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/blob/main/script/import_scripts/ning.rb) in the editor of your choice. Replace JSON\_FILES\_DIR value with the location of your Ning export…
---
### Author:  [@Frank\_Bailey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Frank_Bailey)
#### Post date: [10월 9, 2017, 3:05오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/uploading-17500-users-and-their-avatars-using-php/71685/6 "2017-10-09T15:05:50Z")
So I can do the import to a local Discourse instance and then restore that to the production version? Will the restore override the settings on the production version? If so then this won’t be viable as loads of configuration has been done on the production version.
---
### Author:  [@DeanMarkTaylor](https://meta.discourse.org/u/DeanMarkTaylor)
#### Post date: [10월 9, 2017, 3:10오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/uploading-17500-users-and-their-avatars-using-php/71685/7 "2017-10-09T15:10:01Z")
> [@Frank\_Bailey](#):
>
> So I can do the import to a local Discourse instance and then restore that to the production version?
Yes, restoring a backup does this.
> [@Frank\_Bailey](#):
>
> Will the restore override the settings on the production version?
Yes, except for those settings in your `app.yml` / configuration file - the backup will be restored as it has been backed up.
> [@Frank\_Bailey](#):
>
> If so then this won’t be viable as loads of configuration has been done on the production version.
I believe you could (not done this myself)…
1. backup your existing production Discourse instance.
2. restore to the development instance.
3. process import.
4. backup dev
5. restore to production.
Keep in mind depending on your DB size etc you import can take some time.
---
### Author:  [@Frank\_Bailey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Frank_Bailey)
#### Post date: [10월 9, 2017, 3:32오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/uploading-17500-users-and-their-avatars-using-php/71685/8 "2017-10-09T15:32:12Z")
Dean, your final suggested process is what I settled on. I’m going to give it bash and see how it goes. I’ll set up two local instances and try restoring from the one to the other and, if all goes well, then do the same to the production server. Thanks very much for your advice!
---
### Author:  [@Frank\_Bailey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Frank_Bailey)
#### Post date: [10월 9, 2017, 8:39오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/uploading-17500-users-and-their-avatars-using-php/71685/9 "2017-10-09T20:39:55Z")
Okay thus far I have tried installing Discourse locallt using the Vagrant method mentioned in the howto. This wasn’t successful as I got stuck with a fatal error during the bundle install. The debug\_inspector failed to install and the bundle could not complete the build.
I then tried the Bitnami Discourse image, which worked great and I got into Discourse without much trouble. I then ran into a wall with the restore of a backup from the production server, where an error was encountered and the restore failed and was rolled back. The error was
```
[2017-10-09 22:31:14] EXCEPTION: failed to execute:
pg_dump -s -x -O -f /opt/bitnami/apps/discourse/htdocs/db/structure.sql bitnami_discourse
```
So I’m now in a quandary. I’ve already exceeded the hours I quoted my client to do this user import from Ning, and I’m no closer to the goal.
All I really need to get right is the avatar upload, as I can already add the users from the json export with the custom fields I’ve set up in Discourse. It’s just the avatars. There is no need for any other data except the user profiles and their pictures. Is there perhaps a way to load an image from disk in PHP and somehow get it into the \_FILES collection programmatically, or fake the \_FILES collection in PHP with an array, so as to be able to get the pictures in?
---
### Author:  [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [10월 9, 2017, 8:46오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/uploading-17500-users-and-their-avatars-using-php/71685/10 "2017-10-09T20:46:54Z")
The Bitnami Discourse install is not supported or recommended.
You need the Discourse that you’re restoring to to be the same or newer version as the one that you did the backup from.
I’m pretty sure that the avatar import on Ning works as expected.
---
### Author:  [@Frank\_Bailey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Frank_Bailey)
#### Post date: [10월 10, 2017, 3:56오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/uploading-17500-users-and-their-avatars-using-php/71685/11 "2017-10-10T15:56:50Z")
After starting from scratch with the Discourse Vagrant container and once again hitting a wall, I have decided to cut my losses and upload the users with the PHP Discourse API helper. Once the users are uploaded I will upload the avatars.
Can anyone possibly give me an example of what the curl syntax should look like to include the $\_FILES as part of the POST, please?