Migrating to HumHub from Slack, Microsoft Teams or a forum
A migration is mostly about people, not data. This guide gives the plan we follow with customers: map what you have to HumHub spaces, bring members in with the account they already use, decide what old content deserves to move, and switch on a date everybody knows.
1. Map what you have to HumHub
| In the old tool | In HumHub |
|---|---|
| Slack channel, Teams team or channel | A space (public, private or hidden), or a topic inside a space for small channels |
| Facebook or Workplace group | A space with its stream, events and gallery |
| Forum category | A space, with the Q&A module for question-and-answer threads |
| Pinned messages, files tab, SharePoint pages | Wiki pages and the Files module of the space |
| Direct messages | Messenger conversations (not migrated; members start fresh) |
| Announcement channel | A space where only administrators post, with Mass Notification to reach everyone by email |
Most organizations end up with fewer spaces than they had channels: merge the quiet ones.
2. Bring people in with the account they already have
- Google Workspace: the Google Sign-In module.
- Microsoft 365 (Entra ID), LDAP or SAML directories: a Keycloak server with the Keycloak Sign-In module.
- No central directory: invitations by email, or members imported from a list with our help.
3. Decide what content deserves to move
Old conversations are rarely worth importing: they lose their context and bury the new content. Export the history from the old tool for your archives (Slack, Teams, Discourse and Circle all offer an export to their administrators), and recreate in HumHub what people still use: procedures, contact lists, key documents, the calendar. CUZY assesses larger imports case by case during the trial.
4. Run both for a few weeks
- Week 1: the core group (managers, organizers) uses HumHub and fills the spaces.
- Week 2: everyone is invited; announcements are posted in both places, with a link to HumHub.
- Weeks 3 to 4: announcements only in HumHub; the old tool stays for small talk.
- Cut-over day: the old tool becomes read-only, then is closed after its export is archived.
5. Moving from a self-hosted HumHub
This one is a real migration: send CUZY a database dump and the uploads folder; we import them, check modules and theme, and switch your domain when you say so. Included in Business onboarding, on request for Team. See already running HumHub.
Questions
Can Slack or Teams messages be imported into HumHub?
There is no one-click importer. Old conversations are usually exported and archived by the source tool, and only reference content (documents, pinned messages, procedures) is recreated in HumHub, often as wiki pages. CUZY assesses larger imports case by case.