Can someone tell me the steps to migrate and upgrade my BBS.

source:
v3.20 on a raspberry pi bullseye armv71

target:
v3.21 on a Intel i5 with ubuntu 25.04

I've compiled and built the synchronet v3.21 on my target system.
I've got all the directories and links setup.

I just don't really understand what copy from the source to the target. -------------------------------------------------

I've attempted to copy the following:

./ctrl
./data
./extra
./fido
./mods

then run the upgrade_to_v320 script, which seems wrong because my build is at 3.21 on the target, and there is no upgrade_to_v321 script.
nonetheless I did receive an error about user.dat to user.tab no such file user.dat.

when I start up the bbs I get a critical error about name.dat doesn't match expected lenght of 0.
Also some of my emails are gone, but not all of them.

---
þ Synchronet þ Lunar Outpost BBS

Re: upgrade and move bbs raspbian to ubu intel
By: Digital Man to bbsing on Thu Mar 12 2026 16:58:53

Thanks Digital Man,

Re: upgrade and move bbs raspbian to ubu intel
By: bbsing to All on Thu Mar 12 2026 02:38 pm

Can someone tell me the steps to migrate and upgrade my BBS.

source:
v3.20 on a raspberry pi bullseye armv71

target:
v3.21 on a Intel i5 with ubuntu 25.04

Migration instructions are here: https://wiki.synchro.net/faq:misc#migration Upgrade instructions are here:

https://wiki.synchro.net/install:dev

I've combining the info in the two links, but started running into problems doing a pull into my repo.

On my source system:

stopped my sbbs via systemctl stop sbbs.service
tared up the sbbs directory.

waited a few days due to taking care of babies.
then last night.

I tried to update the repo on my raspberry pi using git -C ./sbbs/repo pull that got me abort due to 3rdp
-----------------------------
git -C ./sbbs/repo pull
hint: Pulling without specifying how to reconcile divergent branches is
hint: discouraged. You can squelch this message by running one of the following hint: commands sometime before your next pull:
hint:
hint: git config pull.rebase false # merge (the default strategy)
hint: git config pull.rebase true # rebase
hint: git config pull.ff only # fast-forward only
hint:
hint: You can replace "git config" with "git config --global" to set a default hint: preference for all repositories. You can also pass --rebase, --no-rebase, hint: or --ff-only on the command line to override the configured default per hint: invocation.
remote: Enumerating objects: 242, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (231/231), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (178/178), done.
remote: Total 181 (delta 148), reused 1 (delta 0), pack-reused 0 (from 0) Receiving objects: 100% (181/181), 50.37 KiB | 353.00 KiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (148/148), completed with 34 local objects.
From https://gitlab.synchro.net/main/sbbs
04435dcc64..95e02a2968 master -> origin/master
6f295340a2..95e02a2968 dailybuild_linux-x64 -> origin/dailybuild_linux-x64
6f295340a2..95e02a2968 dailybuild_win32 -> origin/dailybuild_win32
5ffb2397fa..76a0b498fd syncterm-1.8 -> origin/syncterm-1.8
Updating 57c2367a57..95e02a2968
error: Your local changes to the following files would be overwritten by merge:
exec/gopherservice.js
Please commit your changes or stash them before you merge.
error: The following untracked working tree files would be overwritten by merge:
3rdp/build/CMakeLists-cl.txt
3rdp/build/CMakeLists.txt
3rdp/build/cl-dont-validate-va-list.patch
3rdp/build/cl-fix-cbli-incompatible.patch
3rdp/build/cl-fix-cpuid-order.patch
3rdp/build/cl-haiku-build.patch
3rdp/build/cl-lowercase-versionhelpers.patch
3rdp/build/cl-mingw64-is-really-new.patch
3rdp/build/cl-mingw64-thread-handles.patch
3rdp/build/cl-mingw64-unicode-gibble.patch
3rdp/build/hashpatch.pl
3rdp/build/js-include-headers.patch
3rdp/build/js-int-main-conf.patch
3rdp/build/js-isfinite.patch
3rdp/build/js-macos-configure.patch
3rdp/dist/libffi.tgz
exec/batchxfer.js
exec/make_areas_ini.js
install/install-sbbs.mk
src/conio/ciolib.adoc
src/conio/cterm.adoc
src/sbbs3/scfg/resource.h
src/sbbs3/scfg/scfg.rc
src/sbbs3/sync.ico
src/sbbs3/trashman.c
src/sbbs3/trashman.vcxproj
src/sexpots/.gitignore
src/sftp/CMakeLists.txt
src/syncterm/CMakeLists.txt.top
src/syncterm/FBSD-mingw64.cmake
src/syncterm/PackageInfo.in
src/syncterm/haiku.rdef
src/syncterm/icons/README.md
src/syncterm/icons/generate-unix.sh
src/syncterm/icons/generate-win.sh
src/syncterm/icons/generate.sh
src/syncterm/icons/syncterm-Haiku.iom
src/syncterm/icons/syncterm-Haiku.rdef
src/syncterm/icons/syncterm-Haiku.svg
src/syncterm/icons/syncterm-mini.svg
src/syncterm/icons/syncterm.iom
src/syncterm/icons/syncterm.rdef
src/syncterm/icons/syncterm.svg
src/syncterm/relcheck.txt
src/syncterm/syncterm.ico
src/syncterm/syncterm16.png
src/syncterm/syncterm22.png
src/syncterm/syncterm24.png
src/syncterm/syncterm256.png
src/syncterm/syncterm32.png
src/syncterm/syncterm36.png
src/syncterm/syncterm48.png
src/syncterm/syncterm64.png
src/syncterm/updvers.sh
src/xpdev/lockfile.c
src/xpdev/showlocks.c
src/xpdev/sopenfile.c
web/root/error/429.html
xtrn/dicewarz/exit.bin
xtrn/minesweeper/graphics.ppm
xtrn/minesweeper/selmask.pbm
xtrn/mrc/mrc-theme-aqua.ini
xtrn/mrc/mrc-theme-default.ini
xtrn/mrc/mrc-theme-garden.ini
xtrn/mrc/mrc-theme-hot.ini
xtrn/mrc/mrc-theme-lilac.ini
xtrn/mrc/mrc-theme-midnight.ini
xtrn/mrc/mrc-theme-neon.ini
xtrn/mrc/mrc-theme-rustic.ini
xtrn/mrc/mrc-theme-stone.ini
Please move or remove them before you merge.
Aborting

---------------------------------
Any idea why 3rdp is having problems?
Is this because of a different install/build process with the raspberrypi vs intel/amd?



Not really understanding how to proceed and working late before I had to go to be to get some sleep before my twin babies wake up, I tried the path to least resistance. I read I can copy over the sbbs directory, but knowing armv71 is different than intel i5, I'll try to copy the ssbbs directory to my target server and then just run the next command in the instructions, do a rebuild this way I would be on the same version as my source system.



---------------------------------
cd /sbbs/repo/src/sbbs3/

make RELEASE=1 setcap symlinks
------------------

make[2]: Leaving directory '/sbbs/repo/3rdp/src/cl'
make[1]: Leaving directory '/sbbs/repo/3rdp/src/cl'
make[1]: Leaving directory '/sbbs/repo/3rdp/build'
Compiling getctrl.c
Compiling load_cfg.c
Compiling readtext.c
Compiling text_id.c
Compiling text_defaults.c
Compiling scfglib1.c
Compiling scfglib2.c
Compiling str_util.c
Compiling findstr.c
Compiling ars.c
Compiling nopen.c
Compiling ansiterm.cpp
In file included from ansiterm.cpp:22:
sbbs.h:101:10: fatal error: jsversion.h: No such file or directory
101 | #include <jsversion.h>
| ^~~~~~~~~~~~~
compilation terminated.
make: *** [/sbbs/repo/src/sbbs3/../build/Common.gmake:546: gcc.linux.x64.obj.release-mt/ansiterm.o] Error 1

---------------------------------------

When I copied over the tar archive and untared it the file is there.
11953 2024-09-19 05:59 ./sbbs/repo/3rdp/win32.release/mozjs/include/jsversion.h

but when I try to rebuild something happens and the file vanishes, so I get the error.

---
þ Synchronet þ Lunar Outpost BBS

Re: upgrade and move bbs raspbian to ubu intel
By: Digital Man to bbsing on Sun Mar 15 2026 16:07:01

Hi Digital Man,

Thanks for the help on links to great documentation.

You changed that file in exec (you normally should not do that, copy to "mods" and modify there instead). To work around that git error you can pull

I really have to understand this, and maybe I shouldn't be building with symlink option. I have more to learn about how that works, because files I totally intended to mod in the exec directory like the gopherservice.js, or sbbs.service to run under a different user,..etc, and xtrn end up showing up as mods, when doing a pull.

I think some of the installs in the xtrn folder symlink (startrek) need to be modded to update FQDN, and it seems like after running the auto install the only ini file was linked within the repo directory. But this is just me attempting to understand the system. YOu know far better than I do.

with rebase and autostash options: https://wiki.synchro.net/howto:git#up_alias

I tried many different options on the documentation and the only thing I could do to get a pull without errors was reset, then a pull --rebase.

Or just "git checkout" the file, though you'll lose your local changes if you do that.
You likely originally built sbbs using the system's libmozjs (?) by specifying the JSINCLUDE and JSLIB build options. https://wiki.synchro.net/howto:raspbian_install

The spidermonkey js libmozjs185-dev doesn't exist for ubuntu 25.04. The lbmozjs dev debs for ubuntu 25.04 don't contain a jsinclude.h file. .. I think its version 115, or 128. 185 which has the jsinclude.h was removed from ubuntu sometime around 2018 ... I think ... just guessing based on posts on the internets. I tried to build on my target to version 115 and 128, but still got the error about jsinclude.h.

I don't know how to pull a sbbs 3.20 version to my target system. If you or anyone else does, please let me know, and I'll try to build it on target, then migrate my data over, then pull again and get up to date on target system.

Otherwise I think I have to just try and migrate the data files over to target without building a like systems on source and target.

I may try to reset my repo, then rebuild without the JSINCLUDE and JSLIB ... basically using the current instructions for the respbian_install.

---------------------------------
The raspberrypi 2w was a fun device to try using for my bbs, but with my setup it just doesn't have the compute power to stay stable. Also its running on an micro ssd, and since its been online for almost two years, I'm scared the ssd is going to fail since they usually do after a couple of years on systems that are not read only. ->-> Going to move it to something with more resources, and more options.

A raspberry pi 4, or 5x or even a 3b+ with a ethernet port may have been better. I could have put the sbbs files on an NFS server, backups would have been easier as well. I just don't have an NFS i can expose to internets. The raspi wifi device did offer a good way to isolate it from all other hosts.

---
þ Synchronet þ Lunar Outpost BBS

Re: upgrade and move bbs raspbian to ubu intel
By: Digital Man to bbsing on Wed Mar 18 2026 14:42:19

a
different user,..etc, and xtrn end up showing up as mods, when doing a pull.

the "mods" directory isn't in the git repo, so I'm not sure what you're saying.

sorry for the use of the word mods.
when doing a pull, anything modified produces an error because I believe they haven't been resolved.
I did not put anything in the the sbbs/mods/ directory.

I did modify some files because I believe the autoinstall process linked some of the files, or I just didn't understand what to do after the autoinstall process. mrc, startrek.

Stuff I didn't modify was 3rdp, but some of those came with reason for aborting the pull.

Use the copy of spidermonkey included in the Synchronet git repo, in the 3rdp directory instead. That's the normal/default build
option. Using the system's libmzojs185 is the exception.

for whatever reason when I try to use that the build fails, looking for file jsversion.h

my original build command was:
make -f install-sbbs.mk SYMLINK=1 JSINCLUDE=/usr/include/js JSLIB=mozjs185

my repo has in 3rdp:
./3rdp/win32.release/mozjs/include/jsversion.h

but my target (ubuntu 25.04 on i5 arch) nor did my source system raspi2w raspbian bullseye on arm7l, like it.

my target can build the current release, but not the release from my source system.


target build attempt on target:
------------------------------
build command>
make RELEASE=1 setcap symlinks JSINCLUDE JSLIB
-------------------------
output>
-------------------------
checking for mawk... mawk
checking for perl5... no
checking for perl... /usr/bin/perl
checking for gcc... cc
checking whether the C compiler (cc ) works... no
configure: error: installation or configuration problem: C compiler cannot create executables.
make[1]: *** [GNUmakefile:92: ../build/../../src/../3rdp/gcc.linux.x64.release/mozjs/lib/libmozjs185-1.0.a] Error 1
make[1]: Leaving directory '/sbbs/repo/3rdp/build'
make: *** [/sbbs/repo/src/sbbs3/../build/Common.gmake:608: js] Error 2
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
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* Synchronet * Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net

Re: upgrade and move bbs raspbian to ubu intel
By: Digital Man to Grant Weasner on Wed Mar 18 2026 15:50:20

Hi Rob,

Don't include JSINCLUDE or JSLIB (and why are they not =<some path>?) on the build command-line unless you have a specific reason/need to use the system's libmozjs rather the one included with ("vendored" for) sbbs.

I've tried with and without and I end up with errors.

make RELEASE=1 setcap symlinks
-------------------------
produces the an error.
------------------------------------------------------
make -C /sbbs/repo/src/sbbs3/../../3rdp/build cryptlib
make[1]: Entering directory '/sbbs/repo/3rdp/build'
make[1]: Nothing to be done for 'cryptlib'.
make[1]: Leaving directory '/sbbs/repo/3rdp/build'
Compiling ansiterm.cpp
In file included from ansiterm.cpp:22:
sbbs.h:101:10: fatal error: jsversion.h: No such file or directory
101 | #include <jsversion.h>
| ^~~~~~~~~~~~~
compilation terminated.
------------------------------------------------------

I'll keep working on it.
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
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* Synchronet * Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net

Re: upgrade and move bbs raspbian to ubu intel
By: Digital Man to Grant Weasner on Wed Mar 18 2026 23:02:53

Hi Rob,

Here is my update to my adventure.
good news. I'm getting closer ... I think.

Take a look at your src/build/localdefs.mk file, it stores your original installation/build options and you might need to edit it. https://wiki.synchro.net/install:nix#clean_rebuild

I tried stuff in there and played with cleanall.sh and localdefs.mk

every time during my attempt to build I the same two problems.
cc can't write files
or
jsversion.h wasn't found.

here is how I resolved it at least to complete a building the system.
right now I'm still testing the results.

my current questions are is there no source for sbbs320.tgz?
I see sbbs320b.tgz, and sbbs320d.tgz.

Seems like once I've build using system js its not possible to build again without it even on a different system, at least with the instructions I've been reading.

------------------------------------------------------
on my ubuntu 25.04 system.

I had to run through my original build process from year 2024,
mostly taken from
https://wiki.synchro.net/howto:raspbian_install
modified just a bit from
https://wiki.synchro.net/install:nix

Then collect the debs I used with my raspberrypi build back in 2024.
except I need the ones for amd64 type systems.

I went to the following sites:

http://archive.debian.org/debian/pool/main/libf/libffi/
http://archive.debian.org/debian/pool/main/m/mozjs/

collect the following debs:
libffi-dev_3.2.1-6_amd64.deb
libmozjs185-1.0_1.8.5-1.0.0+dfsg-4.3_amd64.deb
libmozjs185-dev_1.8.5-1.0.0+dfsg-4.3_amd64.deb
libmozjs185-dev_1.8.5-1.0.0+dfsg-6_amd64.deb
libffi6_3.2.1-6_amd64.deb


put them in a directory, debs
cd debs
sudo dpkg -i *.deb

copied my tar ball from my source system to my target system.
source = raspberrpy 2w bullseye
target = i5 ubuntu 25.04

untar the tgz to /sbbs on target.

Then build via:
cd /sbbs/

make -f install-sbbs.mk SYMLINK=1 JSINCLUDE=/usr/include/js JSLIB=mozjs185

---------------------------------

---
þ Synchronet þ Lunar Outpost BBS

Re: upgrade and move bbs raspbian to ubu intel
By: Digital Man to bbsing on Fri Mar 20 2026 05:28:12

Take a look at your src/build/localdefs.mk file, it stores your original installation/build options and you might need to edit it. https://wiki.synchro.net/install:nix#clean_rebuild

I tried stuff in there and played with cleanall.sh and localdefs.mk

So, what *was* in your localdefs.mk file?

from my source system raspi2w:
MAKEFLAGS=
os=linux
RELEASE=1

JSLIB=mozjs185
localdefs.mk (END)

every time during my attempt to build I the same two problems.
cc can't write files

That sounds like a permissions issue (i.e. you're mixing what user your building sbbs as).

or
jsversion.h wasn't found.

You're not using the 3rdp/libmozjs included in the repo.

here is how I resolved it at least to complete a building the system. right now I'm still testing the results.

my current questions are is there no source for sbbs320.tgz?
I see sbbs320b.tgz, and sbbs320d.tgz.

Those are the source release archives for v3.20b and d. There never was an sbbs320.tgz because there never was such a thing. Synchronet versions have always included a revision (after v2.00, the revision was always a letter).

Seems like once I've build using system js its not possible to build again without it even on a different system, at least with the instructions I've been reading.

So I'm not clear why you would move the source tree to another computer and try to build it. Just get it fresh from git and build like everyone else does. :-)

Because in one of links or posts it was recommended to make sure the source and target system are on the same version. Since I couldn't pull the newest version from git, I attempted to build the same version as the source on the target.

make -f install-sbbs.mk SYMLINK=1 JSINCLUDE=/usr/include/js JSLIB=mozjs185

Don't include JSINCLUDE and JSLIB unless you have a reason to.

I didn't have to include JSINCLUDE and JSLIB on the target.

In the end I just did a clean build starting fresh on the target and migrated.

ctrl
data
fido
mods
node1
node2
node3
node4

folders over. From what I can tell everything is working OK. I have to make a few tweaks, to fix TLS errors, and other configs I had set.

This time I put mrc in my mods directory. Later I'll try a pull and see if all that works. I'm just happy my system has been migrated and is back up and running.

Thanks for all your help.
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