ikiwiki/ tips/ Movable Type to ikiwiki

this script can be used to convert your existing Movable Type blog/database to a ikiwiki blog.

First, go to your MT Admin panel and purge all spam comments/trackbacks. Then use this script: http://anti.teamidiot.de/static/nei/*/Code/MovableType/mtdump_to_iki.pl

If you wrote your posts with markdown already you're pretty much ikiwiki compatible

    DATABASE_NAME=your_mt_database
    DATABASE_USER=your_mysql_user

    mkdir -p conv/posts

    mysqldump $DATABASE_NAME -v -nt --compatible=ansi,postgresql \\
      --complete-insert=TRUE --extended-insert=FALSE --compact   \\
      --default-character-set=UTF8 -u $DATABASE_USER             \\
    | perl mtdump_to_iki.pl

the script will spit out one file for every post into the conv/posts directory. you can manually clean them up or however you like. next, you must set the output directory where your ikiwiki resides:

    export OUT=$HOME/my_ikiwiki_blog

make sure there is a 'posts' subdirectory inside (default if you start with the blog-setup script)

now you can import one or all posts and comments by running the post file through zsh:

    zsh ./1__my_first_post.mdwn

or to do it all:

    zsh
    for import (<->__*.*) { zsh $import }

the files will be created in your $OUT directory and committed onto git. now the important last step: run

    ikiwiki --gettime --setup your.setup

only with the gettime flag will ikiwiki reread the file dates as recorded in the git. Enjoy!