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Migrating to Samovar

Samovar is designed to complement, not replace your existing setup. You don't need to rip out what works before you can use it.

From Portainer

Keep Portainer running. Samovar and Portainer talk to the same Docker daemon at /var/run/docker.sock. They do not conflict.

Add Samovar for backup orchestration:

  1. Install Samovar alongside Portainer
  2. Any app Portainer started will appear in Samovar's Containers tab
  3. You can install new apps via Samovar's Catalog, or keep using Portainer for deployment and just use Samovar for backup
  4. Point Samovar at the volumes of your existing containers — it will back them up on schedule

The one thing to check: volume names. Samovar's catalog installs name volumes as samovar_{app_id}_{volume_name}. If you already have a Vaultwarden container with a volume named vaultwarden_data, Samovar won't know to back that up unless you configure it manually. The catalog install creates a fresh container; migrating existing data into the Samovar-managed volumes is a one-time copy.

Migration path for existing Portainer apps:

# Example: moving existing vaultwarden data into a Samovar-managed volume
docker volume create samovar_vaultwarden_vaultwarden-data
docker run --rm \
  -v vaultwarden_data:/source:ro \
  -v samovar_vaultwarden_vaultwarden-data:/dest \
  alpine sh -c "cp -a /source/. /dest/"
# Then install Vaultwarden from Samovar's catalog (it will use the new volume)

From Cosmos Cloud

Cosmos wraps Docker with its own networking layer (using a custom reverse proxy and service mesh). To migrate to Samovar:

  1. Export your app data from each Cosmos-managed app (use each app's native export tool)
  2. Stop the Cosmos-managed containers
  3. Install the same apps via Samovar's Catalog
  4. Import your data into the new containers
  5. Point your DNS/reverse proxy at the new container ports

The reverse proxy: Cosmos has its own built-in reverse proxy. Samovar does not ship a proxy — it integrates with whatever you already have. You'll need to set up Traefik, NPM, or Caddy separately (or your existing Cosmos proxy may continue working if you reconfigure it to point at the new ports).

The differentiator: Cosmos's backup feature is behind their commercial tier. With Samovar, you get consistent, quiesce-recipe-backed backups on every app, for free.

From Dockge

Dockge is essentially a docker compose UI. Samovar and Dockge can coexist.

Dockge manages stacks as compose files. Samovar installs apps as individual Docker containers with labels. They do not interfere.

If you want to move apps from Dockge stacks to Samovar:

  1. Note the volume names from your compose files
  2. Stop the Dockge-managed stack
  3. Install the app from Samovar's catalog
  4. Copy existing volume data into the Samovar-managed volumes (same docker run ... alpine cp pattern as above)
  5. Start the Samovar-managed container

If you want to keep Dockge for deployment and only use Samovar for backup: this works as-is. Your Dockge-managed containers appear in Samovar's Containers tab. You can run manual backups against any volume regardless of who created the container.

From CasaOS / Umbrel / YunoHost

These platforms have custom app installation systems and often wrap Docker in ways that make the containers difficult to manage directly.

General approach:

  1. Export your data from each app using the app's built-in export (Nextcloud exports, Vaultwarden CSV export, etc.)
  2. Uninstall the platform (or just stop its managed containers)
  3. Install Samovar and the apps you want via the Catalog
  4. Import your data

This is a more involved migration than from Portainer or Dockge. If you're on CasaOS/Umbrel, the main reason to move is the backup situation (all three platforms have unreliable or missing backup features). The migration cost is real but one-time.

General notes

You can always run Samovar alongside your existing platform first. Install Samovar, poke at it, run a few manual backups of low-stakes containers, and verify the restore works — all without touching your existing setup. Then migrate apps one at a time.

Samovar backs up volumes, not containers. Your container configuration (image, env vars, ports) is not backed up by Samovar — only the data volumes are. Document your container setup separately (or use Samovar's install feature so the catalog entry serves as the documentation). A future version will export the install configuration as part of the backup manifest.