Exports and archives

An export is for reading: Markdown files you can keep in a repository or open anywhere. An archive is for moving: a project's complete content and history, which another Lific instance can import. Exports cannot be imported.

Exports

Exports need viewer on the project, or an administrator for a workspace page when enforcement is on. Two exports run at a time across the instance; a third is refused with 429 and Retry-After: 30. A download that makes no progress for 30 seconds, or runs longer than 30 minutes, is ended. Very large exports are refused with 400 before anything is written; Limits lists the ceilings.

GET /api/export/issues/{identifier}

One issue as Markdown, with its comments. Query: format, either markdown (default) or json. Any other value is 400.

markdown answers text/markdown; charset=utf-8 as a download named after the file. json answers the export bundle described below, holding that one file.

GET /api/export/pages/{identifier}

One page, the same way. identifier is APP-DOC-3, or DOC-3 for a workspace page.

GET /api/export/projects/{identifier}

The whole project. Query: format, either zip (default) or json.

zip answers application/zip, named <identifier>-export.zip. json answers the bundle: root and files, where each file has path and content.

{
  "root": "APP",
  "files": [
    { "path": "APP/issues/app-1-example.md", "content": "# Example\n" }
  ]
}

The bundle is a listing of the ZIP's files, not a stable schema. Expect new files and do not assume a fixed set.

Project archives

An archive copies one project, with its issues, pages, plans, comments, attachments, history and activity log, into a new private project on another instance. Memberships, credentials, saved views and repository bindings do not travel, and an import never merges into an existing project. Project archives explains the whole procedure and what to check afterwards.

Because an archive holds a project's full history, including text that was later deleted, these three routes accept only a browser session token in the Authorization header. API keys, operator keys, OAuth tokens, connected tools, and the first-administrator identity of an instance without authentication all get 403. The session is checked again at every step, including inside the transaction that reads or writes the project.

One archive export or import runs at a time on the instance; another is 429 with Retry-After: 30.

GET /api/project-archives

What the signed-in person may do, and the size limits an archive must fit. Returns:

An archive can be under every per-item limit and still exceed the total, so check both.

GET /api/project-archives/{identifier}

Downloads the project as <identifier>.lific.tar.gz (application/gzip). Lead on the project, or administrator. The response is never cached. An export that would exceed the limits above is refused rather than cut short.

POST /api/project-archives

Imports an archive as a new project. Administrator, even when enforcement is off, because it creates a project and makes you its lead.

Send multipart/form-data with exactly one field, named archive, holding the file. Any other field, or a second copy, is 400. An upload over 128 MiB is 413. An upload that stalls for 20 seconds, or takes longer than two minutes, is 400.

Answers 201 with:

• project: id, identifier and is_public, which is always false. Publish it separately, after reviewing it.
• report: project, rows (how many records of each kind were imported), blobs, external_references (at most 100 notes about references to things outside the project, such as issues in other projects) and external_reference_count (how many there were in total).

The identifier must be free on the destination; an archive for a project whose identifier already exists is refused.

curl -X POST "$LIFIC/api/project-archives" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SESSION_TOKEN" \
  -F "archive=@APP.lific.tar.gz"