Migrating from SQLite to PostgreSQL

Migrate your existing Pulsarr SQLite database to PostgreSQL.

Prerequisites

• Existing Pulsarr installation on SQLite
• PostgreSQL server running and accessible
• Empty PostgreSQL database created (migration creates tables, not the database)
• Database user with ALL PRIVILEGES

Create Database First

CREATE DATABASE pulsarr;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE pulsarr TO your_username;

Migration Steps

1. Create Migration Compose File

Create docker-compose.migration.yml:

services:
  pulsarr-migrate-sqlite:
    image: lakker/pulsarr:latest
    container_name: pulsarr-migrate-sqlite
    volumes:
      - ./data:/app/data
      - .env:/app/.env
    env_file:
      - .env
    profiles:
      - migration
    command: npm run migrate

  pulsarr-migrate-postgres-setup:
    image: lakker/pulsarr:latest
    container_name: pulsarr-migrate-postgres-setup
    volumes:
      - ./data:/app/data
      - .env:/app/.env
    env_file:
      - .env
    profiles:
      - migration
    command: npm run migrate:postgres-setup

  pulsarr-migrate-data:
    image: lakker/pulsarr:latest
    container_name: pulsarr-migrate-data
    volumes:
      - ./data:/app/data
      - .env:/app/.env
    env_file:
      - .env
    profiles:
      - migration
    stdin_open: true
    tty: true
    command: npm run migrate:sqlite-to-postgres

2. Update SQLite Schema

docker compose -f docker-compose.migration.yml --profile migration run --rm pulsarr-migrate-sqlite

3. Configure PostgreSQL in .env

dbType=postgres
dbHost=your-postgres-host
dbPort=5432
dbName=pulsarr
dbUser=postgres
dbPassword=your-secure-password

# Or use connection string (takes priority):
# dbConnectionString=postgresql://user:pass@host:port/database

4. Setup PostgreSQL Schema

docker compose -f docker-compose.migration.yml --profile migration run --rm pulsarr-migrate-postgres-setup

5. Migrate Data

# Interactive (prompts for confirmation)
docker compose -f docker-compose.migration.yml --profile migration run --rm pulsarr-migrate-data

# Non-interactive (auto-confirm)
echo "y" | docker compose -f docker-compose.migration.yml --profile migration run --rm pulsarr-migrate-data

The script will:

• Verify both database connections
• Create SQLite backup in ./data/backups/
• Migrate all data with type conversions
• Update PostgreSQL sequences
• Verify row counts match

6. Start Pulsarr

docker compose up -d
docker compose logs pulsarr  # Verify startup

Migration Options

Option	Description
--verbose	Show detailed progress per batch
--batch-size=N	Rows per batch (default: 1000)
--help	Show all options

echo "y" | docker compose -f docker-compose.migration.yml --profile migration run --rm pulsarr-migrate-data npx tsx migrations/scripts/sqlite-to-postgresql.ts --verbose

Troubleshooting

Error	Solution
Connection failed	Verify PostgreSQL is running, check .env settings, test with psql client
Permission denied	Ensure user has ALL PRIVILEGES on the database
Table doesn't exist	Run step 4 (schema setup) before data migration
Invalid input syntax	Check logs for specific data causing issues

Rollback

1. Stop Pulsarr
2. Update .env:

   dbType=sqlite
   dbPath=./data/db/pulsarr.db

3. Restore from ./data/backups/ if needed
4. Start Pulsarr