Backup format is different between windows and linux?

[ironcladmerc 2]

I just installed emby on my new Linux mint 22.2 install, and I had a backup from windows 10 that I wanted to import the users and userdata from into this new install. Emby 4.9.1.80 is installed in both Windows 10 and Linux, and the backup plugin version 1.8.2.0 is installed on both as well.

I noticed that a full backup from linux results in a radically different folder structure in the backup folder. The one from windows has only 5 files in it, whereas the linux one has a bunch of folders in a complicated structure. 

Needless to say, Emby is only recognizing the full backup from linux, it doesn't show the windows backup as being available for restore.  I have the correct permissions on everything, so I know it's not that. Here are my screenshots for comparison as well as the ls -la for the backup folder

 

Any idea how to get linux to recognize windows backup? I'd rather not have to manually set up the user info with what was watched as we have a large media library and that could take days to do manually.

[GrimReaper 4739]

You're looking at different backups: there's full backup and incremental db backups. You need your Windows full backup if you want to compare them. 

Edited October 28, 2025 by GrimReaper

[Happy2Play 9780]

32 minutes ago, ironcladmerc said:

I wanted to import the users and userdata from into this new install.

Unfortunately, when Emby changed backup systems you can no longer just get users and usersdata as it just does entire system backups.

That being said you would have to uses the users.db and export the usersdata table into a new library.db.  But per testing when you break these database sets on current or new system I personally have seen weird library issues with user access issues the have to be toggled on and off to get working again.

You can restore a full backup but 90 percent of the existing database info is useless do to path changes per platform.  Theoretically Emby should purge it all when you create you new libraries but think there could always just be bloat left behind in here (but have personally not tested cross-platform restores).

Note everything that contains a path that will be different in the new install could have broken links per the cross platform restore,  ie even user images.

[Happy2Play 9780]

We need options per the Legacy backup plugin for uses and userdata.

Not sure how restore user data will work if you don't do a full restore as the users don't exist on a new install so the users.db will not align unless restored also.

Edited October 28, 2025 by Happy2Play

[ironcladmerc 2]

34 minutes ago, GrimReaper said:

You're looking at different backups: there's full backup and incremental db backups. You need your Windows full backup if you want to compare them. 

you're right, once i brought over the "full backup" folder as well, it recognized it and now I was able to import my user data. Seems to work for the tracking data for what is being played, too. All is working now