Export your organization

These instructions are specific to the hosted Zulip Cloud service. If you're running your own server, you may be looking for our documentation on server export and import or server backups.

Zulip has high quality export tools that can be used to migrate from the hosted Zulip Cloud service (zulip.com) to your own servers. There are three types of Zulip Cloud exports.

  • Export of public data: An export of all users, settings, and all the data that appears in public streams.
  • Full export with member consent: Everything in export of public data, plus all the private data of members that opt-in to the export.
  • Full export without member consent: All the data in the organization.

All organizations have access to the first two kinds of export. Only corporate Zulip Cloud Standard customers have access to full export without member consent.

Export of public data

This feature is only available to organization owners and administrators.

  1. Go to Data exports.

  2. Click Start export of public data.

  3. After a few minutes, you'll be able to download the export as a .tar.gz file from that page.

  4. Import the tarball using Zulip's logical data import tool.

Note that generating the export can take up to an hour for organizations with lots of messages or uploaded files.

This feature is only available to organization owners.

  1. Email support@zulip.com with your organization's zulip.com URL, asking for a full export with member consent. Email us from the same address that you use to sign in to Zulip.

  2. We will verify that you are an organization administrator, and email you instructions on how to collect member consent.

  3. The end result of that process with be an archive in the same format as the exports of public data discussed above, including extra private stream and private message data for users who gave consent.

  4. Import the tarball using Zulip's logical data import tool.

Note that such an export will include all the messages received by any user in the organization that consents to the data export. In particular, it will include all public stream content and any private stream or private message content where at least one of the participants gives consent.

Users who do not provide consent will have their settings and stream subscriptions exported, but will otherwise be treated as new users after import.

This feature is only available to organization owners.

This export is limited to paid Zulip Cloud Standard customers, though in rare cases may be available to other organizations in case of due legal process.

To start this export, email support@zulip.com with your zulip.com URL, asking for a full export without member consent.

You'll also need to email us evidence that you have authority to read members' private messages. Typically, this will be because the zulip.com URL is administered by a corporation, and you are an official representative of that corporation. By requesting and approving this export, you will also assume full legal responsibility that the appropriate employment agreements and corporate policy for this type of export are in place. Note that many countries have laws that require employers to notify employees of their use of such an export.