CFEngine 2 to 3 migration? Beware of data loss

CFEengine 3 bootstrapping can result in the loss of CFEngine 2 inputs. A common strategy to migrate from CFEngine 2 to 3 is to run both in parallel. --- Both versions share the same default inputs directory of /var/cfengine/inputs. A CF3 bootstrap deletes all files in the inputs directory:

[root@atlrhel5is cfengine]# cf-agent -IB hub.example.com 
2013-10-29T12:37:43-0400     info: Removing all files in '/var/cfengine/inputs/'

Now your working CF2 inputs are gone. I've reported a bug about this, but I do not know when or if it will be addressed. As a work around I suggest a wrapper script to your bootstrap procedure. Something like this snippet:

TS=$(date +%s)

mkdir /var/cfengine/inputs-${TS}
cp -r /var/cfengine/inputs/* /var/cfengine/inputs-${TS}

if [ $? -eq 0 ]
   then
      cf-agent -B hub.example.com
      cp -nr /var/cfengine/inputs-${TS}/* /var/cfengine/inputs/
fi

This will preserve and restore your pre-bootstrap inputs, while keeping any new files created by the bootstrap. Be sure to test any bootstrap or upgrade procedure thoroughly. Contact us for more help and information.