Database migration did not find place after upgrading from python to rust

[tobixen]

If I understand https://docs.activitywatch.net/en/latest/migrating.html correctly, when starting aw-server-rust, the old database should automatically be migrated. It apparently didn't happen for me. Some observations:

• Python version was configured without "storage" set in the toml-file, default peevee assumed
• The web interface does show that new events come into the database, but it does not show any old events
• The database file $HOME/.local/share/activitywatch/aw-server-rust/sqlite.db is 60MB big, that clearly indicates it still has old data.
• Here are the logs:

$ journalctl --user -u aw-server
Dec 08 09:25:20 archlinux systemd[1099]: Starting ActivityWatch Server (Rust implementation)...
Dec 08 09:25:20 archlinux aw-server[3765361]: [2025-12-08 09:25:20][INFO][aw_server]: Using DB at path "/home/tobias/.local/share/activitywatch/aw-server-rust/sqlite.db"
Dec 08 09:25:20 archlinux aw-server[3765361]: [2025-12-08 09:25:20][INFO][aw_server]: Using aw-webui assets at path None
Dec 08 09:25:20 archlinux aw-server[3765361]: [2025-12-08 09:25:20][INFO][aw_server::endpoints]: Starting aw-server-rust at 127.0.0.1:5600
Dec 08 09:25:20 archlinux aw-server[3765361]: [2025-12-08 09:25:20][WARN][rocket::launch]: Rocket has launched from http://127.0.0.1:5600
Dec 08 09:25:20 archlinux systemd[1099]: Started ActivityWatch Server (Rust implementation).
Dec 08 09:26:00 archlinux aw-server[3765361]: [2025-12-08 09:26:00][WARN][rocket::response::responder::_]: Response was `None`.
Dec 08 09:26:00 archlinux aw-server[3765361]: [2025-12-08 09:26:00][WARN][rocket::server::_]: No 404 catcher registered. Using Rocket default.

[TimeToBuildBob]

The 60MB database file suggests the data is indeed present. A few things to check:

1. Bucket names: The Python server and Rust server may create buckets with slightly different naming. Check what buckets exist:

   curl http://localhost:5600/api/0/buckets | python3 -m json.tool | grep '"id"'
   

   Compare with the bucket names from your old Python server data.

2. Migration status: aw-server-rust performs automatic migration from the Python peewee database on first startup. The migration log should appear in the server output. If you don't see migration messages, the migration may not have been triggered (e.g., if the Rust database file already existed from a previous attempt).

3. Database inspection: You can check the raw data:

   sqlite3 ~/.local/share/activitywatch/aw-server-rust/sqlite.db "SELECT id, created FROM buckets ORDER BY created;"
   

   This will show all buckets with their creation dates — old migrated buckets should have historical dates.

4. The None webui path warning in your logs suggests aw-webui assets aren't found, but that shouldn't affect the API or data availability.

If the buckets and events are in the database but not showing in the webui, it might be a date range or hostname mismatch issue. The webui filters by hostname, so if the bucket hostname changed between the Python and Rust servers, data won't appear in the default view.

[TimeToBuildBob]

The automatic migration from aw-server (Python) to aw-server-rust should happen on first launch, but there are a few known cases where it silently fails:

1. Different database locations: The Python server uses peewee-sqlite.v2.db while aw-server-rust uses sqlite.db. The migration script looks for the Python database in the default location — if your Python server was configured with a custom storage setting, it may not find the old database.

2. 60MB database but no old events visible: This suggests the data IS in the database but may be in a different schema format. You can verify with:

   sqlite3 ~/.local/share/activitywatch/aw-server-rust/sqlite.db "SELECT name FROM sqlite_master WHERE type='table';"
   sqlite3 ~/.local/share/activitywatch/aw-server-rust/sqlite.db "SELECT count(*) FROM events;"

3. Manual migration: If auto-migration failed, you can export from the Python server and import into rust:

   # Export from Python server (start it on a different port)
   curl http://localhost:5666/api/0/export > backup.json
   # Import into rust server
   curl -X POST http://localhost:5600/api/0/import -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d @backup.json

Could you share the relevant log output? The lines around startup should show whether migration was attempted and what happened.