Moving SummitPSA to a new server

Because SummitPSA is a self-contained Docker Compose stack, moving it to a new server means moving its configuration and its data volumes.

What holds your data

The stack keeps state in two places defined in docker-compose.yml:

• The database volume (MariaDB data).
• The app data volume, which holds uploads (avatars, ticket attachments, KB images, branding).

The install's secrets and settings live in .env.docker in the install directory (default /opt/summitpsa).

Move procedure

1. On the new host, install the same prerequisites (Docker Engine, the Compose v2 plugin, openssl).
2. On the old host, stop the stack cleanly: cd /opt/summitpsa && docker compose down.
3. Back up the database. The documented pattern dumps it from the running db container with mariadb-dump using the root password from .env.docker; preserve the app data volume contents as well.
4. Copy .env.docker and docker-compose.yml to the same path on the new host, then restore the database dump and the app data into the new volumes.
5. If the public URL or allowed hosts change, update APP_BASE_URL and ALLOWED_HOSTS in .env.docker.
6. Bring the stack up: docker compose --env-file .env.docker up -d. The app re-runs migrations on boot and then serves.

Keep the same APP_SECRET_KEY and database credentials from the original .env.docker so existing sessions and data stay valid.