Move AIDA to a New Server

Moving takes about ten minutes. If your AIDA has its own domain (HTTPS), allow about fifteen minutes more for Step 6. Your current AIDA keeps working the whole time and nothing is deleted on either server, so you can always go back.

Do not stop or switch off your old server during the move. The new server keeps its bots, reminders and briefings off until your licence is activated there, so nothing ever runs twice — and the old server has to be running for Step 5 to work.

Before you start

• A new server with Ubuntu (22.04 or 24.04) that you can log in to. Any
  provider works — DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Oracle, AWS, Contabo… Both Intel/AMD
  and ARM servers are fine.
• Your AIDA licence key (Admin → Licenses shows the last four characters; the
  full key is in your purchase email).
• Your current AIDA admin username and password.
• If your AIDA has its own domain: access to your DNS provider (Cloudflare,
  your registrar…) so you can change one record in Step 6.

Step 1 — Download your backup (on your current AIDA)

1. Open Settings → Move to a new server.
2. Choose a passphrase (at least 10 characters) and type it twice. Write it
   down — it is the only way to open the backup. AIDA does not store it.
3. Tick Include generated files if you use a profile picture or want to
   keep files AIDA has made for you. Your profile picture lives there — without
   it you will need to upload it again on the new server.
4. Click Download backup. You get one file ending in .aidamove.

Nothing changes on this server. You can download as many times as you like.

Step 2 — Install AIDA on the new server

Log in to the new server and run the normal install command from autafy.ca/aida-install.

If the installer asks about HTTPS or a domain, answer N for now — you turn it on in Step 6, after your domain points at the new server.

When it finishes it prints an address like http://123.45.67.89:3000. Open that in your browser.

If the page does not load, open port 3000 in your cloud provider's firewall — the installer tells you where. On Oracle Cloud, open ports 80, 443 and 3000 in your VCN's Security List.

Step 3 — Restore your backup (in the browser)

1. On the welcome screen choose the tab Moving from another server.
2. Click Choose backup file and pick the .aidamove file from Step 1.
3. Type your passphrase and click Restore.
4. AIDA unpacks the backup and restarts itself. This takes under a minute.

If you see Wrong passphrase, or the file is damaged, check the passphrase and try again — the file you chose stays selected.

Step 4 — Sign in

The screen now says Welcome back — sign in to continue. Use the same username and password as on your old AIDA. Everything is already here: chats, settings, API keys, plugins, knowledge base, and your Profile and Core instructions (from AIDA 0.6.74 onwards).

Step 5 — Enter your licence key

Type your licence key and click Activate license.

If AIDA says "This license is already in use on another server":

1. Go back to your old AIDA → Settings → Move to a new server.
2. Click Finish move and type MOVE. This releases the licence and pauses
   the old server (its bots, reminders and briefings stop).
3. Return to the new server and click Activate license again.

If the old server shows "The server could not finish the move (error 502)", it is not running — start it and click Finish move again. Nothing was changed.

Your new AIDA is now running. Telegram and Discord work straight away. If you use a domain, WhatsApp, Google sign-in and Microsoft sign-in come back in Step 6.

Step 6 — Point your domain here (if your AIDA has a domain)

Skip this step if you only ever opened AIDA at an http://…:3000 address.

1. In your DNS provider, edit the existing record for your AIDA domain so
   it points at the new server's address. Do not add a second record — when
   you are done the name must have exactly one record. If you use Cloudflare,
   leave the proxy setting as it was.
2. On the new server, run the install command from Step 2 again. It sees that
   AIDA is already installed and offers to set up HTTPS: answer y and type
   your domain. It fetches a certificate, closes port 3000 and restarts AIDA
   once — a few seconds of "502" in the browser at that moment is normal.
   If you use Cloudflare, the installer may warn that the name resolves to a
   different address than this server; that is the Cloudflare proxy, and it
   is fine to continue.
3. Open https://your-domain and sign in.

Because the domain is the same, nothing else needs changing: WhatsApp, Google sign-in and Microsoft sign-in all resume by themselves — there is nothing to edit in Meta, Google or Azure. To check WhatsApp, open Settings → System → WhatsApp and click Save & test.

After moving — the short checklist

On your first sign-in as admin, AIDA shows a card with the one thing only you can do on the new server. It also shows this server's address, which you need for Step 6. What the card says depends on where you are:

• You are still at the http://…:3000 address — the card lists one item:
  point your domain at this server, then run the installer again for HTTPS.
  That is Step 6. If you are moving to a new domain instead, open Moving
  to a new domain instead? on the card: it lists the three things to change
  — the WhatsApp webhook address in Meta's developer console, and the Google
  and Microsoft sign-in redirect URLs in their consoles — with the new
  addresses filled in.
• You have done Step 6 and opened https://your-domain — the card says
  your domain already points here and there is nothing left to do.
• No domain — the card says so. Telegram and Discord already work.

If the old server used a local service such as Ollama, the card lists it under Local services on the old machine — install it here or change the address in Settings.

The date on the card is when the backup was taken, not when you moved.

Click Done, hide this when you have finished.

If something goes wrong

I want to go back to the old server. Your old server is untouched until you press Finish move. If you have pressed it: on the old server, open Settings → Move to a new server and click Cancel move. If the new server already holds the licence, press Finish move on the new server first, then point your domain back at the old server, then Cancel move on the old one. Nothing is deleted at any point — but anything you did on the new server after the move (chats, files, settings) does not come back to the old one.

The new server has HTTPS, but my domain still opens the old server (or "This AIDA has moved"), or it switches between the two. Your domain name has two DNS records, one for each server. Delete the one pointing at the old server so that exactly one remains. This can happen even though the new server obtained its certificate successfully.

The new server shows "Welcome to AIDA" with no Moving tab. The box already has data (someone started setup on it). Use a fresh server, or ask support.

I lost the passphrase. The backup cannot be opened. Download a new one from the old server with a new passphrase.

My old server is gone and the key says "in use on another server". Write to hello@autafy.ca with your licence key; we release it for you.

I'd rather use the terminal. On the new server, instead of Steps 2–3:

curl -fsSL https://autafy.ca/aida-install.sh | sudo bash -s -- --restore ./your-backup.aidamove

The installer asks for the passphrase, restores, and starts AIDA. Continue at Step 4.