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4.3. How to Move HelpSpot

How you move a HelpSpot installation is dependent upon how it was initially installed. The instructions differ based on if the installation was first installed manually or via the Windows Installer. Instructions for moving both types of installation methods are provided below.

Moving a Manually Installed Installation

Moving a manual installation is much like doing a backup. These instructions presume you've already setup a proper environment on the new server, PHP, database, web server, etc.

Put the old system in maintenance mode (Admin->System Overview) to prevent any requests being created in there via email or portal form.
Backup the database: How to Backup HelpSpot
Restore the database on the new server (this presumes you're moving the database. If the database is not moving then skip this)
Copy the HelpSpot files to the new server, be sure to move in a binary safe manner
On the new server edit .env in the root HelpSpot folder to be sure it includes the proper database connection information and correct APP_URL for the new location
On the new server setup the queue worker and cron jobs.

Your new installation should now be available. Check that the system is running correctly and you can take the old system offline.

Moving a Windows Installer Installation

The easiest way to move an installation done via the Windows Installer is to use the installer again to re-install on the new server and then move the database.

Run the Windows Installer on the new server, allow it to create a new empty database in SQL Server or MySQL. No need to run installer.php when it pops up.
Place your old server into maintenance mode.
Backup your old servers database
Restore your database, overwriting the new one the installer just created

Your new installation should now be working. Be sure to uninstall your old installation or at least turn off the scheduled tasks so that no emails are imported into the old installation.

Other Considerations

Attachments Saved to Disk - If you've configured HelpSpot to save attachments to the file system (Admin->Settings->System->Attachment Storage Location), then you'll need to move those files as well and update the file path to them in the new servers settings.

Upgrading While Moving - If on the new server you're using a newer version of HelpSpot files than the old server was running then after the move you'll need to run installer.php to upgrade the HelpSpot database. This can only be done inside of major versions. You must use the documented upgrade process to move from v3 to v4 or v4 to v5.

Knowledge Tags

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