Arena to Linkwarden Migration Tool

Export channels from Are.na and import them into Linkwarden with preserved timestamps and uploaded files.

Quick Start

npm install
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your API tokens
npm start export <arena-username>
npm start import export-<username>-*.json

Setup

Get API Tokens:

• Are.na: dev.are.na → Create application → Copy token
• Linkwarden: Settings → Access Tokens → Create new

Configure .env:

ARENA_ACCESS_TOKEN=your_arena_token
LINKWARDEN_URL=https://your-linkwarden.com
LINKWARDEN_API_TOKEN=your_linkwarden_token

Commands

npm start export <username>        # Export all Are.na channels
npm start import <file.json>       # Import to Linkwarden (preserves dates & uploads files)
npm start verify <file.json>       # Verify import completeness
npm start clean                    # Delete all Linkwarden collections

What Gets Migrated

Type	Imported	Files Uploaded
PNG/JPEG images	✅	✅
PDF files	✅	✅
GIF images	✅ Link only	❌ Not supported by Linkwarden
Videos	✅ Link only	❌ Not supported
Text blocks	❌	-

Note: GIFs and videos create links pointing to Are.na's CDN but files aren't uploaded (Linkwarden limitation).

How It Works

Two-step import process:

1. Migration - Uses Linkwarden's migration API to preserve Are.na timestamps
2. File Upload - Fetches created links and uploads PNG/JPEG/PDF files

This workaround is necessary because Linkwarden's API can either preserve dates OR upload files, but not both at once.

Are.na → Linkwarden mapping:

• Channel → Collection
• Block (with URL) → Link
• created_at → createdAt
• connected_at → importDate

Troubleshooting

Import is slow - Normal for large collections (30-60min for 100 collections/3000 links)

Missing files - Run npm start verify <file.json> to check what's missing

Private channels - Requires ARENA_ACCESS_TOKEN in .env

License

MIT