# Need Help with Exporting and Importing Data in Paperless

**URL:** <https://community.umbrel.com/t/need-help-with-exporting-and-importing-data-in-paperless/18546>\
**Category:** Support and Troubleshooting\
**Created:** [July 25, 2024, 12:28pm UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/need-help-with-exporting-and-importing-data-in-paperless/18546 "2024-07-25T12:28:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![CaptainDigital](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@CaptainDigital](https://community.umbrel.com/u/CaptainDigital)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 12:28pm UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/need-help-with-exporting-and-importing-data-in-paperless/18546/1 "2024-07-25T12:28:11Z")

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Hello everyone,

I have recently started using umbrelOS and was delighted to find out that Paperless is now available there. I have been using Paperless on a Raspberry Pi for a long time and always create a backup using the export function. I now have two questions:

1. How can I use the export function for Paperless in umbrelOS?
2. How can I import my old Paperless data?

I am grateful for any tips and help. Thank you!

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**Author:** ![octolance](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.umbrel.com/octolance/32/7829_2.png) [@octolance](https://community.umbrel.com/u/octolance)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 1:18pm UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/need-help-with-exporting-and-importing-data-in-paperless/18546/2 "2024-07-25T13:18:24Z")

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Hey @CaptainDigital,

Welcome to the Umbrel Community! 🫂 I recommend you check out the [Paperless](https://docs.paperless-ngx.com/) documentation for guidance on how to use it and get the most out of it.

As for your two questions:

1. Document exporting: [Administration/Exporter - Paperless-ngx](https://docs.paperless-ngx.com/administration/#exporter)
2. Document importing: [Administration/Importer - Paperless-ngx](https://docs.paperless-ngx.com/administration/#importer)

You can execute commands inside the Paperless-ngx app on umbrelOS by going to “Settings” → “Advanced settings” → “Terminal” → Choose “App” and select “Paperless-ngx”. This will launch the terminal session in the same environment as the app where you should be able to perform the commands to export/import your documents.

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**Author:** ![CaptainDigital](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@CaptainDigital](https://community.umbrel.com/u/CaptainDigital)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 1:34pm UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/need-help-with-exporting-and-importing-data-in-paperless/18546/3 "2024-07-25T13:34:02Z")

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Hey @octolance  
Thank you very much for your answer. I have tried it, but unfortunately it doesn’t seem to work.

```auto
root@ecb720a24efb:/data# docker-compose exec webserver document_exporter ../export
bash: docker-compose: command not found
root@ecb720a24efb:/data# exec webserver document_exporter ../export
bash: exec: webserver: not found

root@ecb720a24efb:/data# document_exporter
bash: document_exporter: command not found
root@ecb720a24efb:/data#

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![octolance](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.umbrel.com/octolance/32/7829_2.png) [@octolance](https://community.umbrel.com/u/octolance)\
**Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 12:31pm UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/need-help-with-exporting-and-importing-data-in-paperless/18546/4 "2024-07-30T12:31:54Z")

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Hey @CaptainDigital

Thanks for being patient. I’ve had a closer look and it turns out when using the app terminal, umbrelOS is opening up the wrong container (it’s trying to launch the Redis container shell instead of Paperless).

If you follow the steps below you should be able to execute the `document_` commands:

- Launch the umbrelOS terminal. (go to “Settings” → “Advanced settings” → “Terminal” → Choose “umbrelOS”)
- Run `sudo docker exec -it paperless_webserver_1 /bin/bash`
- Then run `cd /usr/local/bin`

From this point, you should be able to run the commands.

Let me know if you need any further guidance. 🙂

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CaptainDigital](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@CaptainDigital](https://community.umbrel.com/u/CaptainDigital)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 5:05pm UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/need-help-with-exporting-and-importing-data-in-paperless/18546/5 "2024-07-31T17:05:28Z")

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Thanks @octolance for your help, now it works!