Docker Migration: MacBook to Mac Studio Reference Guide

May 30, 2026

Prerequisites

Source machine: MacBook Pro (Apple Silicon) with Docker/OrbStack running
Destination machine: Mac Studio (or any macOS desktop)
Both machines on the same network (or Tailscale tailnet)
rsync installed on both machines

Phase 1: Export from Source Machine

export-for-migration.sh

#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail

EXPORT_DIR="$HOME/migration-export"
mkdir -p "$EXPORT_DIR"

# 1. Collect all .env files (including gitignored ones)
GITIGNORED_COMPOSE_FILES=(
    "$HOME/projects/family-office/docker-compose.override.yml"
    # Add other gitignored compose files here
)

find "$HOME/projects" -name ".env" -not -path "*/node_modules/*" \
    -exec cp --parents {} "$EXPORT_DIR/" \;

for f in "${GITIGNORED_COMPOSE_FILES[@]}"; do
    [[ -f "$f" ]] && cp --parents "$f" "$EXPORT_DIR/"
done

# 2. Validate .env completeness
for env_file in $(find "$EXPORT_DIR" -name ".env"); do
    dir=$(dirname "$env_file")
    example="$dir/.env.example"
    if [[ -f "$example" ]]; then
        # Flag variables in example but missing from .env
        comm -23 \
            <(grep -oP '^[A-Z_]+' "$example" | sort) \
            <(grep -oP '^[A-Z_]+' "$env_file" | sort) \
        | while read -r var; do
            echo "WARNING: $var in .env.example but missing from $env_file"
        done
    fi
done

# 3. Export Docker volumes (ClickHouse + MinIO data)
echo "Exporting ClickHouse data..."
docker cp local-clickhouse:/var/lib/clickhouse/data "$EXPORT_DIR/clickhouse-data/"
docker cp local-clickhouse:/var/lib/clickhouse/metadata "$EXPORT_DIR/clickhouse-metadata/"

echo "Exporting MinIO data..."
docker cp langfuse-minio:/data "$EXPORT_DIR/minio-data/"

# 4. Postgres dumps (not just volume copy)
for container in $(docker ps --format '{{.Names}}' | grep postgres); do
    echo "Dumping $container..."
    docker exec "$container" pg_dumpall -U postgres \
        > "$EXPORT_DIR/${container}-dump.sql"
done

# 5. Package
echo "Export complete: $EXPORT_DIR"
du -sh "$EXPORT_DIR"

rsync to destination

# From source machine
rsync -avz --progress \
    "$HOME/migration-export/" \
    user@mac-studio-tailscale-ip:~/migration-export/

Phase 2: Setup on Destination Machine

setup-mac-studio.sh

#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail

# 1. Homebrew
if ! command -v brew &>/dev/null; then
    /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
fi

# 2. Core tools
brew install --cask orbstack
brew install node python3 jq gh

# 3. OrbStack config
orb config set power.pause_in_sleep false
osascript -e 'quit app "OrbStack"'
sleep 3
open -a OrbStack
sleep 10

# 4. Tailscale (standalone pkg, NOT App Store)
# Download from https://tailscale.com/download/mac
# App Store version breaks tailscale serve (bundle identity issue)

# 5. If using App Store Tailscale, create wrapper script
cat > /usr/local/bin/tailscale << 'WRAPPER'
#!/bin/bash
exec /Applications/Tailscale.app/Contents/MacOS/Tailscale "$@"
WRAPPER
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/tailscale

Tailscale App Store fix

If you installed Tailscale from the App Store instead of the standalone pkg:

# Symlinks break tailscale serve (bundle identity error)
# DON'T do this:
# sudo ln -sf /Applications/Tailscale.app/Contents/MacOS/Tailscale /usr/local/bin/tailscale

# DO this instead (wrapper script with exec):
sudo tee /usr/local/bin/tailscale << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
exec /Applications/Tailscale.app/Contents/MacOS/Tailscale "$@"
EOF
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/tailscale

Phase 3: Restore Data

ClickHouse restore

# 1. Copy data into container
docker cp ~/migration-export/clickhouse-data/ local-clickhouse:/var/lib/clickhouse/data/
docker cp ~/migration-export/clickhouse-metadata/ local-clickhouse:/var/lib/clickhouse/metadata/

# 2. CRITICAL: Remove stale .tmp files before restart
docker exec local-clickhouse bash -c \
    'find /var/lib/clickhouse/metadata -name "*.sql.tmp" -delete'

# 3. Restart and verify
docker restart local-clickhouse
sleep 5

# 4. Verify all databases are visible
docker exec local-clickhouse clickhouse-client --query "SHOW DATABASES"

# 5. Spot-check row counts
docker exec local-clickhouse clickhouse-client \
    --query "SELECT database, table, sum(rows) as row_count FROM system.parts WHERE active GROUP BY database, table ORDER BY database, table"

Postgres restore

# For each Postgres container
docker exec -i postgres-container psql -U postgres < ~/migration-export/postgres-container-dump.sql

# Verify schema exists
docker exec postgres-container psql -U postgres -c "\l"
docker exec postgres-container psql -U postgres -c "\dt"

MinIO restore

docker cp ~/migration-export/minio-data/ langfuse-minio:/data/
docker restart langfuse-minio

Phase 4: Post-Restore Verification

The full verification checklist

# 1. All containers healthy
docker ps --format "table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}" | grep -v healthy && echo "UNHEALTHY CONTAINERS FOUND" || echo "OK: all healthy"

# 2. ClickHouse databases present
docker exec local-clickhouse clickhouse-client --query "SHOW DATABASES"

# 3. ClickHouse row counts (spot check)
docker exec local-clickhouse clickhouse-client \
    --query "SELECT count() FROM family_office.transactions"

# 4. Postgres schemas present
docker exec postgres-container psql -U postgres -c "\l"

# 5. Tailscale connected
tailscale status

# 6. Tailscale serve working (NOT just tailscale status)
tailscale serve status

# 7. .env completeness on destination
for env_file in $(find ~/projects -name ".env" -not -path "*/node_modules/*"); do
    dir=$(dirname "$env_file")
    example="$dir/.env.example"
    if [[ -f "$example" ]]; then
        missing=$(comm -23 \
            <(grep -oP '^[A-Z_]+' "$example" | sort) \
            <(grep -oP '^[A-Z_]+' "$env_file" | sort))
        [[ -n "$missing" ]] && echo "MISSING in $env_file: $missing"
    fi
done

# 8. End-to-end service test (not just "container is running")
curl -s http://localhost:8123/ping && echo "ClickHouse: OK" || echo "ClickHouse: FAIL"
curl -s http://localhost:3050/api/public/health && echo "Langfuse: OK" || echo "Langfuse: FAIL"

The Five Export Gaps

Quick Diagnostic Commands

# ClickHouse: database invisible after restore
docker exec local-clickhouse bash -c \
    'ls /var/lib/clickhouse/metadata/*.sql.tmp 2>/dev/null'
# If files found: remove them, restart container

# Tailscale: serve crashes with bundle identity error
which tailscale && file $(which tailscale)
# If symlink: replace with wrapper script (see above)

# .env: container restart loop with undefined variables
docker logs --tail 20 container-name 2>&1 | grep -i "undefined\|missing\|blank"
# Check docker-compose.override.yml on source machine

Signal Over Noise — by Doneyli

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