How can I migrate Alby Hub to a different machine?
Important Notice: Please Read Before Continuing
You can migrate your Alby Hub to another device while maintaining full access to your funds.
Alby Hub is encrypted with the password you chose during setup. Only you can decrypt and access its data even if your Hub is running in the cloud. This also means that only you can perform a migration.
Scope of This Guide
This guide only refers to migrating Alby Hubs using the embedded lightning node. If you connected an external lightning node (e.g. LND), you can install Alby Hub on any other device and link it again.
Migrations from or to Alby Hubs with an externally connected lightning node (e.g. LND) are not supported currently.
Before You Start
Make sure to have your 12-word recovery phrase and unlock password securely backed up.
During and after the migration, do not restart your original Alby Hub instance. Running both instances may cause issues such as force-closing lightning channels.
1. Self-hosted (Free) -> Self-hosted (Free) migration
How to migrate your self-hosted Alby Hub (without a subscription) to another device
These steps help you move your self-hosted Alby Hub to another device without a subscription, while keeping all channels active.
2. Self-hosted Pro -> Self-hosted Pro
How to migrate your self-hosted Alby Hub (Pro) to another device
These steps help you move your self-hosted Alby Hub with an active Pro subscription to another device, while keeping all channels active. You will only need to reconnect your apps afterward.
Before you start
A self-hosted Alby Hub with an active Pro subscription
Dynamic Channels Backup enabled: Alby Hub → Settings → Backup
Access to your 12-word recovery phrase
Migration steps
Shut down your old self-hosted Hub.
⚠️ Important: Do not start it again. Restarting the old instance may force-close your lightning channels.
Install your self-hosted Alby Hub on the new device. ⚠️ Important: We recommend using a device that is always online (e.g., a cloud server, Start9, or Umbrel).
Start your new Alby Hub and go through the onboarding process.
During onboarding, connect the Hub to the same Alby Account you used previously. This keeps your Pro subscription active — there is no need to unsubscribe or subscribe again.
Click “Advanced Setup”.
Click "Import Existing Recovery Phrase".
Choose an unlock password (can be the same as your old one, or a new one) and then enter your 12-word recovery phrase.
That's it. The migration is done. 🎉
Note, at the moment it is not possible to migrate a self-hosted Alby Hub with a Pro subscription with enabled dynamic channels backup to a self-hosted Alby Hub without a subscription. If you would like this feature, please submit a feature request to our feedback board.
3. Hosted Hub -> Self-hosted (Pro) migration
How to migrate your Alby Hub from a hosted Hub (Alby Cloud) to a self-hosted setup with a Pro subscription
These steps help you move your Alby Hub from a hosted Hub to a self-hosted device with a Pro subscription, while keeping all channels active. Apps connected via NWC keep working as before.
Before you start
Enable Dynamic Channels Backup In your current Alby Hub, go to: Settings → Backup Make sure Dynamic Channels Backup is enabled.
If it is not enabled, activate it.
Click the red restart button in the top-right corner.
Unlock your Hub again.
Double-check that Dynamic Channels Backup is now enabled.
Confirm access to your 12-word recovery phrase.
Install Alby Hub on your new device, but do not go through the onboarding yet. ⚠️ Important: We recommend using a device that is always online (e.g., a cloud server, Start9, or Umbrel).
Migration steps
In your hosted Hub, go to Settings → Migrate Alby Hub → Create Migration File. This creates an encrypted backup of your Hub (size dependent on usage - typically around 10 MB) and downloads it to your computer. It takes a few seconds.
⚠️ Important: After creating the migration file, do not use your hosted Hub anymore. Running both instances may force-close your lightning channels.
Open the onboarding page of your new self-hosted Hub and click "Advanced Setup".
Skip connecting to an Alby Account (once the migration file is imported you'll be directed to connect again).
Click "Import wallet from migration file" and select the file you downloaded in step 1.
If you run your hub as a system service, or in Umbrel/Start9, your Hub should restart automatically. Otherwise, wait for it to fully exit, and then start it again.
Once your Alby Hub is online, you will be asked to connect your Alby Account. — simply log in once more.
Enter your unlock password to start the node. The initial sync can take a while, even on a fast connection — this is expected. Your channels and balances will show up once the sync is complete.
After the migration
⚠️ Make sure your new hub is synced and running before continuing.
Go to getalby.com/subscription, click Cancel Subscription and confirm the deletion of your hosted Hub deployment.
This permanently deletes your hosted Hub. Your channels and funds are now safely running on your self-hosted Hub.
Your self-hosted Hub will now show a warning that your channel data is stored by Alby's Versioned Storage Service, which is a paid feature. Click Subscribe to Alby Pro (or go to getalby.com/subscription/pro) and subscribe. The warning disappears once the subscription is active.
Deleting the hosted Hub unlinks your Hub from your Alby Account. Re-link it from your self-hosted Hub: go to Connections → Connected Apps and click "Link your Alby Account".
If you installed Alby Hub as a PWA (Progressive Web App) on your phone or computer, remove it and add it again from the new address of your self-hosted Hub. Apps connected via NWC (e.g. Alby Go, the browser extension) keep working as before.
That's it. The migration is done. 🎉
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