[ShadowKatmandu]

WordPress version 5.8
BuddyPress version 9.0.0
bbPress version 2.6.6

I have attempted to import from BuddyPress by going to Tools > Forums, Import Forums. I entered all of the needed information and clicked Start. The progress box reported nothing was imported, but our BuddyPress Groups has 1 forum with a fair number of messages.

I found documentation at https://codex.bbpress.org/getting-started/importing-data/import-forums/bbpress-1-x-buddypress-group-forums/ which purports to be documentation for importing from BuddyPress groups but only links to what appears to be a possibly out-of-date article about importing from an older version of bbPress.

What is the best method to migrate from BuddyPress 9.0 to bbPress 2.6.6?

[r-a-y]

You don’t need to import. That codex page is referring to an older version of bbPress (v1.0) when it was required to do an import to bbPress v2.0.

[ShadowKatmandu]

The BuddyPress Group forum I have set up is not showing up in bbPress. How do I get the BuddyPress forum migrated to bbPress?

[r-a-y]

How are you setting up the forum for your BuddyPress group?

You might want to check out this guide:

Installing Group and Sitewide Forums

[ShadowKatmandu]

The BuddyPress Group was set up long ago. I am setting up the bbPress plugin. There is a link at the bottom of the page you linked for migrating forums, but the page this points to seems a little outdated. It references BuddyPress 1.6.1, and we have version 9. It references Group Forums (Legacy) on the Components tab, but that is not present.

To be clear, BuddyPress 9.0.0 was installed long ago and has been used. It has a forum with posts. I have now installed bbPress 2.6.6, and I want to migrate the forum and posts from BuddyPress to bbPress.

[r-a-y]

Like I said before, you do not need to migrate. If you disable BuddyPress, the forum content is still in WordPress and bbPress.

Try it. Disable BuddyPress and go to the admin dashboard and go to either “Forums” or “Topics” and attempt to view the item you wish to view.

[r-a-y]

Perhaps you are thinking that the BuddyPress group activity stream is a forum, it is not. If that’s the case, then there is no script to import the BuddyPress group activity stream to bbPress.

[mophilly]

Is it correct to say that if the BuddyPress group exists with some posts, and I set up a new bbPress forum in the backend, the existing posts will appear in the bbPress forum?

I understand that the two are not the same. I also have a pretty good understanding of how data is handled in WordPress… not expert by any stretch, but not a beginner either. Also, I have decades of experience with dbms. So I assume the answer to my question is “no.”

It would be cool to be able to recreate the posts from the BuddyPress group in the new bbPress forum. I don’t mind a bit of query and/or script writing to make things come together.

Any suggestions or insights are very welcome.

[r-a-y]

Is it correct to say that if the BuddyPress group exists with some posts, and I set up a new bbPress forum in the backend, the existing posts will appear in the bbPress forum?

Depends what you mean by “some posts”. If the BuddyPress group was originally set up with bbPress integration as mentioned here: https://codex.buddypress.org/getting-started/installing-group-and-sitewide-forums/ (The B and C options only). And forum posts were created in those groups, then yes. You just need to disable BuddyPress and those forum posts should still be viewable.

Otherwise, no. You are probably thinking of the BuddyPress group activity stream that uses Twitter-style status updates, which is not a forum.

[mophilly]

Thanks for the clarification. The original installation did not include bbPress. As an aside, I was quite surprised to learn bbPress is a separate product, which may offer a clue to why the original designer did not install it.

So, the “streams” are locked forever in BuddyPress, without any hope of redemption. This, too, is surprising since these “streams” are merely text in a database. Alas and anon, I will push forward, delete BuddyPress, light up bbPress, and force the end users to start anew.

I hope for the best, plan for the worst, and pull a nice wine from the rack to comfort myself.

[r-a-y]

So, the “streams” are locked forever in BuddyPress, without any hope of redemption.

Not necessarily. You can write your own import script. Of course, that would take development time, but it’s possible. One issue is BuddyPress group activity status updates usually do not have a title, so if you import a group status update, there would be no topic title unless you auto-generate one from the content.

[mophilly]

That is encouraging. I am willing to look at developing a migration script.

I have taken a quick look at bbPress and BuddyPress documentation. I looking for a set of functions for getting/setting posts in each product, and a data model. So far, I haven’t seen what I think I am looking for.

I don’t mean to be demanding, but perhaps you can share a link that will help me find my way along?

[r-a-y]

Documentation is lacking. Your best bet is to dive into the code.

bbp_insert_forum() to create a forum:
https://github.com/bbpress/bbPress/blob/master/src/includes/forums/functions.php#L24

bbp_insert_topic() to create a topic: https://github.com/bbpress/bbPress/blob/master/src/includes/topics/functions.php#L24

For BuddyPress, look at the wp_bp_activity DB table with the component column set to groups. You could use BP_Activity_Activity::get() (https://github.com/buddypress/buddypress/blob/master/src/bp-activity/classes/class-bp-activity-activity.php#L380) to fetch activity items, but probably querying the DB is faster.

The rest is up to you.

[mophilly]

Thank you. I will take a shot at these.