VayuPress Migration Guide

Import content from any major platform into VayuPress.

Supported Platforms

Built-in: Markdown Folder Import

VayuPress v1.1.0+ ships a migrate subcommand. It imports any folder of Markdown files (with optional YAML frontmatter) directly into your running database.

Quick Start

# Preview what would be imported (safe, no DB writes)
vayupress migrate markdown --dir ./posts --dry-run

# List files without importing
vayupress migrate list --dir ./posts

# Import
vayupress migrate markdown --dir ./posts

# Import a specific database file (when not using the default)
vayupress migrate markdown --dir ./posts --db /var/lib/vayupress/vayu.db

Flags

Frontmatter

Files may include a YAML frontmatter block at the top:

---
title: "My First Post"
slug: my-first-post
date: 2024-03-15
tags: [go, web]
draft: false
---

Content starts here…

All fields are optional. Missing values are derived automatically:

What Gets Created

For each file the importer creates:

1. A row in articles (sanitised HTML content, INSERT OR IGNORE — re-runs are safe)
2. A row in article_sources (raw Markdown body, format = markdown) — this means the Admin v2 editor opens the post in Markdown mode, not HTML mode

Notes

• Duplicate slugs are silently skipped (INSERT OR IGNORE) — re-running after an interrupted import is always safe.
• HTML content is sanitised by bluemonday's UGC policy before being stored (same path as the write queue).
• The importer uses the application database. If you run it while the server is up, VayuPress's WAL mode handles concurrent access safely.

WordPress → VayuPress

Tool: tools/wordpress2vayu

Reads directly from the WordPress MySQL database (does not require an XML export — avoids lossy intermediate formats).

Build the tool

cd tools/wordpress2vayu
go build -o wp2vayu ./cmd/wp2vayu

Usage

# Count posts to import (sanity check, no writes)
./wp2vayu count \
  --wp-host=localhost --wp-user=root --wp-pass=secret --wp-db=wordpress

# Migrate
./wp2vayu migrate \
  --wp-host=localhost --wp-user=root --wp-pass=secret --wp-db=wordpress \
  --vayu-db=/var/lib/vayupress/vayu.db \
  --dry-run      # remove to write

Migrated content includes: posts, published pages, tags, publication dates. Drafts and private posts are skipped by default (--include-drafts to override).

Ghost → VayuPress

Tool: tools/ghost-to-vayu

Reads from a Ghost MySQL or SQLite database.

cd tools/ghost-to-vayu
go build -o ghost2vayu ./cmd/ghost2vayu

# SQLite Ghost database (common for self-hosted)
./ghost2vayu migrate \
  --ghost-db=/var/lib/ghost/content/data/ghost.db \
  --vayu-db=/var/lib/vayupress/vayu.db \
  --dry-run

Hugo → VayuPress

Tool: tools/hugo2vayu

Reads Hugo content directories (Markdown + YAML/TOML frontmatter).

cd tools/hugo2vayu
go build -o hugo2vayu ./cmd/hugo2vayu

./hugo2vayu import \
  --dir=/path/to/hugo/content \
  --vayu-db=/var/lib/vayupress/vayu.db \
  --dry-run

Jekyll → VayuPress

Tool: tools/jekyll2vayu

Reads Jekyll _posts/ and _drafts/ directories.

cd tools/jekyll2vayu
go build -o jekyll2vayu ./cmd/jekyll2vayu

./jekyll2vayu import \
  --dir=/path/to/jekyll/_posts \
  --vayu-db=/var/lib/vayupress/vayu.db

Medium → VayuPress

Tool: tools/medium2vayu

Reads a Medium export ZIP (download from Medium → Account → Export).

cd tools/medium2vayu
go build -o medium2vayu ./cmd/medium2vayu

./medium2vayu import \
  --zip=/path/to/medium-export.zip \
  --vayu-db=/var/lib/vayupress/vayu.db

Notion → VayuPress

Tool: tools/notion2vayu

Reads a Notion HTML export ZIP.

cd tools/notion2vayu
go build -o notion2vayu ./cmd/notion2vayu

./notion2vayu import \
  --zip=/path/to/notion-export.zip \
  --vayu-db=/var/lib/vayupress/vayu.db

Substack → VayuPress

Tool: tools/substack2vayu

Reads the Substack posts CSV export (Settings → Exports → Download).

cd tools/substack2vayu
go build -o substack2vayu ./cmd/substack2vayu

./substack2vayu import \
  --csv=/path/to/posts.csv \
  --vayu-db=/var/lib/vayupress/vayu.db

After Importing

1. Regenerate SEO artefacts — visit /admin/v2/seo and click Regenerate. This rebuilds sitemap.xml, feed.xml, and robots.txt from the new content.

2. Review imported posts — visit /admin/v2/posts to confirm the import looks correct. Use the live search bar to find specific articles.

3. Check for thin content — the SEO dashboard reports articles with fewer than 300 words ("thin content"). Imported content is unchanged; the meter just gives you visibility.

4. Backup — the database auto-backs-up before any self-update apply, but for a one-off migration it is good practice:

   cp /var/lib/vayupress/vayu.db /var/lib/vayupress/vayu.db.pre-migration
   

Troubleshooting