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Plan What Must Be Rebuilt After a digiKam Database Migration

By ImgHeal · Updated

A digiKam database migration does not necessarily move every supporting database in the same way. Inventory core records and rebuildable application data before starting. Preserve a working recovery arrangement and test the migrated catalog with actual photos, descriptions, and expected relationships.

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Inventory data by its role

Record the database type, location, collection roots, and source-photo locations. Distinguish descriptions and organization from cached thumbnails, similarity fingerprints, and face-related data. Note which functions your project depends on. A folder backup containing images alone may not retain catalog-specific organization, while a database copy alone does not include every source photo. Close or stop writes as required by the documented backup procedure and keep a known recovery copy before any conversion experiment.

Read the migration limits before starting

The digiKam database documentation describes its migration tool and explicitly distinguishes core-database conversion from supporting data that must be rebuilt. Review those limits for the installed version and selected source/destination types. Plan time and storage for required maintenance afterward. Do not perform a migration just to repair a single missing thumbnail; that is a different problem with a narrower diagnostic path. Keep the original setup recoverable until the migrated arrangement has passed real catalog and image-opening checks.

Validate the functions the family uses

Open a small set spanning old scans, recent imports, captioned fronts and backs, and restored derivatives. Confirm the descriptions, collection paths, tags, and expected version relationships. Rebuild supporting data through the documented maintenance operations where required, then test searches that use them. Keep a record of what was migrated and what was regenerated. Successful database conversion is not proof that every image is intact, so retain separate file-integrity and backup checks. Hand over configuration notes with the collection rather than assuming a later researcher will infer why some caches were newly built.

Check this workflow

  • Inventory core and supporting data separately.
  • Keep a working recovery setup.
  • Test image access and catalog functions after migration.

Sources and further reading

Questions about this restoration task

Does migration replace my photo backup plan?

No. Database migration and preservation of image files are different tasks. Protect and verify both.

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