Advice for Upgrading Legacy emonPi (RPi3, Stretch) to Current OS – Preserve Config?

Emoncms
1

Hello,

I’ve been running a legacy emonPi system on a Raspberry Pi 3 for several years without issues, but it’s still using the original stretch-based OS. I’m now preparing to upgrade to the current official emonPi image and wanted to check if there are any specific pitfalls or steps I should be aware of to preserve my configuration.

Current Setup:

  • Hardware: Raspberry Pi 3 + original emonPi board
  • OS: Raspbian Stretch (never updated since install)
  • Database: Includes years of temperature and power data
  • Use case: Fully local system, no cloud sync
  • Backup: I have a full SD card image cloned and ready

Goals:

  1. Upgrade to the latest emonPi OS image (bookworm?)
  2. Preserve configuration: emonHub, MQTT, inputs, feeds, dashboards, and all historical data
  3. Avoid breaking data logging or visualization post-upgrade

Questions:

  • Is there an upgrade path that allows me to retain my existing configuration and database?
  • Should I consider exporting/importing certain files or MySQL data manually?
  • Are there any compatibility issues with existing config files or feed formats?
  • Is it safe to copy emonhub.conf, emoncms/settings.ini, and emoncms phpfina/phptimeseries folders to the new image?

Happy to provide more info (logs, version files, etc.) if needed. Just let me know what would be helpful to attach.

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

2

Yes :slight_smile:

Update & Upgrade — OpenEnergyMonitor 0.0.1 documentation

and

Import / Backup / Restore / Update — OpenEnergyMonitor 0.0.1 documentation

There are occasionally issues with the emonhub.conf so worth having a copy off the old system.

Everythiing else should just migrate with the USB migration method.