Migrating Audiobookshelf From Instance to Instance

Yesterday I switched from Ubuntu on the Pi5 to Raspberry Pi's version of Debian. I experimented this because I had just moved the data from one file system to another so it seemed like the right time to switch from one OS to another.

## ExFat to Ext4

The first step was to move my data from an Exfat volume to an Ext4 volume. The next was to mount the drive and connect both Photoprism and Audiobookshelf to their new volumes. I also copied the audiobookshelf folder from the system drive for the old OS to the system on the new OS. I then adapted the docker-compose files with the correct information and started both Photoprism and Audiobookshelf.

## Photoprism

Photoprism is now reindexing all photographs from the photos folder. Once that is done I will migrate the photos from the import folder. I am not doing that yet, because I don't want it to confuse which files are already in the archive, and which ones are duplicates during the upcoming import. I expect this to take several days.

## Audiobookshelf

With Audiobookshelf I was able to copy over the books with ease but I need to add some new books that I bought since the last update. I did not migrate podcasts. Although I enjoy using Audiobookshelf to listen to podcasts I find that it is quite fiddly. You need to login as the admin to add podcast series, and configure how many podcasts to download and how often to check.

If there was an app for iOS for Audiobookshelf then I would really enjoy using the service. It's easier to use the default apps. If I listen to podcasts on two to three apps I need to mark them as read in one or two other places and that's work. For now I will keep audiobookshelf for books and the most recent podcasts from one or two podcasteers.

## And Finally

Although the server changed from one OS to another, the hard drive where files are stored changed the applications behave as if nothing had changed. This means that I do not need to login to services yet again. This also means that I can now start duplicating a server setup between machines once I understand how to synchronise changes.