Migrate from Miro to Nextcloud Whiteboard

Migrate from Miro to Nextcloud Whiteboard: what the move involves

For most teams, moving from Miro to Nextcloud Whiteboard is a content, habit and identity migration more than a file conversion, because Miro exports boards as images, PDFs and CSV tables and does not offer an editable board format that opens in another tool. The usual triggers are a renewal quote, a change to plan pricing, a data residency requirement that the current plan does not cover, or a growing concern about lock-in. Nextcloud Whiteboard is the official whiteboard app for Nextcloud. It is built on Excalidraw, licensed under AGPL-3.0, and stores boards inside Nextcloud, so board data sits on the same servers as the files your teams already keep there.

Plan the work around three groups of material. Boards that are still active, such as a running retrospective or a live discovery map, need to be rebuilt as new boards, which is manual work because no import carries the layout across. Finished workshops and reference boards are usually better archived as PDF or PNG exports stored in Nextcloud with a short index, so people can still find them. Identity matters too. Connect Nextcloud to your directory before inviting users, either through the LDAP app or through the OpenID Connect or SAML backends described in the Nextcloud LDAP documentation, so whiteboard access follows the same accounts and group membership used for files.

The work is usually run by an internal platform or IT team, with an implementation partner brought in for hosting, identity integration and the cutover plan. Effort depends mainly on how many active boards need rebuilding, how many people need training, and whether the Nextcloud instance is already in production. Ask any partner to confirm three things in writing: that live collaboration will run on the separate websocket server the whiteboard needs, and that server will be deployed and monitored alongside Nextcloud; the Nextcloud major version and upgrade path, since upgrades must move one major version at a time with a backup first; and where archived Miro exports will be stored and how they will be indexed. Start with a pilot team before the wider rollout.

Which Miro capabilities move cleanly to Nextcloud Whiteboard

This table maps the main Miro capabilities to Nextcloud Whiteboard and marks each row as clean, needs rework or gap. Read it as a planning list: the rows marked gap or rework decide which boards you can rebuild and which you should archive. Confirm feature-level details of Nextcloud Whiteboard in its repository before running a pilot.

Miro capability	Nextcloud Whiteboard	Status and notes
Infinite canvas and basic shapes	Excalidraw-based canvas with shapes, arrows, text and freehand drawing, stored in Nextcloud	Clean for sketches and workshop boards; confirm canvas limits in the repository
Sticky notes	Available as shapes and text on the canvas, without Miro's sticky note sizing or formatting presets	Needs rework: recreate notes as shapes or text; no direct import path
Templates	No equivalent template library comparable to Miro's catalog	Gap: build your own starter boards and store them in a shared Nextcloud folder
Frames and sections	Grouping and layout must be done manually on the canvas	Needs rework: plan a fixed layout convention for workshop boards
Real-time collaboration	Live multi-user editing depends on a separate websocket collaboration server	Needs rework: deploy and test the collaboration server before pilot users join
Comments and reactions	No native commenting system comparable to Miro's comment threads	Gap: capture comments in a linked Nextcloud Talk chat or document
Sharing and permissions	Boards follow Nextcloud file sharing and folder permissions	Needs rework: map Miro board roles to Nextcloud shares and groups
SSO and SCIM provisioning	Identity comes from Nextcloud's LDAP or Active Directory app, OpenID Connect or SAML backends; user lifecycle is handled by directory sync	Needs rework: confirm the chosen backend and deprovisioning process in your environment
Audit logs and admin reporting	Logging and activity features depend on Nextcloud's own admin tooling	Confirm in Nextcloud's documentation which board events are recorded
Data residency	Boards are stored on your own Nextcloud server in the location you choose	Clean: residency is set by your infrastructure rather than a vendor region list
Third-party integrations	Miro's app marketplace integrations have no equivalent; Nextcloud apps cover file, chat and office scenarios	Gap: list each integration in use and decide whether it is replaced, rebuilt or dropped

Which boards to rebuild and which to archive

Decide board by board, based on whether the content is still used. Rebuild live working boards and recurring workshop templates in Nextcloud Whiteboard, because those are the boards someone will open, edit and reuse after the move. Archive finished boards as images, PDFs or CSV tables, and keep a short index that lists each board name, owner, last-used date, the export format and where the file sits in your storage. Sticky-note content from a closed project rarely justifies rebuilding, and an index lets people find an archived board without a rebuild.

Do not treat Miro's .rtb board backups as your migration path. According to Miro's export documentation, these backups are limited to 1 GB and restore only into Miro, so they work as a frozen record while your Miro subscription is active, not as material you can open in Nextcloud. Full archives that include comments depend on your plan and on the Enterprise Board Export API. Confirm in your own Miro account, with your admin or Miro's current documentation, which export options your plan and board owner settings allow before you promise a comment-level archive to auditors or records teams.

Rebuilt boards stay editable outside Miro. Nextcloud Whiteboard is built on Excalidraw, which saves drawings in an open .excalidraw JSON format and exports to PNG and SVG. For each rebuilt board, record the file's location, its owner and the Nextcloud group that can edit it. Then test one rebuilt board end to end by opening it from a second account, editing it, and exporting it, so you know the format works before you retire the Miro original.

Which data moves, which is archived and which integrations need rebuilding

Miro boards do not convert into an editable format for Nextcloud Whiteboard, so each board needs a decision: rebuild, archive or drop. The cards below cover the board archive, the rebuild, identity, files, integrations and the live collaboration service, and they list what to confirm during inventory.

Board archive formats

Miro's exports give you static copies, not editable boards: images, PDFs and CSV tables for the content on a board, plus .rtb board backups. An image or PDF keeps the layout but not sticky-note links, comments or frame structure. A CSV keeps table data only. An .rtb file restores only into Miro, so it is useful as a sealed record and not as a migration source. Confirm which export options your plan and board owner settings allow before you start the inventory.

Boards rebuilt in Whiteboard

Nextcloud Whiteboard is built on Excalidraw, so it suits sketches, flows and workshop layouts, but it does not import Miro's templates, widgets or board structure. Rebuild only the boards that people still reference, such as recurring retrospectives or architecture sketches. Test a sample board first to see which shapes, text and frames carry over when you move content by hand or from an exported image. Record the rebuilt boards in your migration register.

Users and groups from directory services

Map Miro's user and group membership to the identity source Nextcloud will use. LDAP and Active Directory users can appear in Nextcloud and sign in with directory credentials. Nextcloud also documents OpenID Connect and SAML backends. Confirm which group names control board access in Nextcloud, who owns each board after the move, and how guest or external collaborators are handled, because Miro's sharing roles do not map one to one.

Attachments and reference files

Files attached to Miro boards or linked from them are not carried over by a board export. Export or download the reference material that teams still use, then place it in Nextcloud folders with the sharing rules that match the board's audience. Keep the folder path in your inventory so each rebuilt board can link to its source. Check file names, versions and any content that belongs to a restricted project before you upload it.

Miro integrations needing replacement

Miro integrations with chat, issue trackers, cloud storage and design tools stop working when boards leave Miro. List every integration, app and automation that touches the boards, along with the owner and the data it sends. For each one, choose a replacement workflow, such as a manual step, a link from a wiki page or a scripted export. Confirm with each system owner whether the integration is needed at all, since many workshops only need a shared link.

Collaboration server for live editing

Live multi-user editing in Nextcloud Whiteboard depends on a separate collaboration server, which runs alongside the Nextcloud instance. Plan it as its own component, with hosting, TLS, access rules and backups, and test it with a realistic number of simultaneous editors before go-live. The excalidraw-room project is the MIT-licensed collaboration server for Excalidraw. Confirm the exact setup and supported configuration in the Whiteboard documentation for your Nextcloud version.

The migration sequence from inventory to decommission

This sequence moves Miro boards into Nextcloud Whiteboard in a controlled order, so each team knows which boards are rebuilt, which are archived, and when Miro access ends. Each step closes with a written output that the next step depends on.

Inventory every board and its owner
Build a list of every Miro board the organization still uses, with the owner, the team, the approximate size in objects, whether comments or linked integrations exist, and any retention requirement from legal or compliance. Miro's own export options depend on plan and owner settings, so confirm what each owner can export before you assume a board can be archived in a particular format. Ask each team lead to mark boards as live, reference, or obsolete. The step is done when every board has an owner and a category, and the compliance lead has signed off on which retention requirements apply.
Pilot with two or three real boards
Install Nextcloud Whiteboard on a non-production Nextcloud instance and load two or three real workshop boards that a team actually uses. Choose boards with a mix of sticky notes, frames, and images so the team tests the features it depends on. Check that the team can create, edit, and share boards, and that access follows the Nextcloud users and groups you expect. Note any gaps, such as templates or integrations the team relied on in Miro. The step is done when the pilot team has written a list of gaps and decided which ones block cutover.
Run both tools in parallel
Make Nextcloud Whiteboard available to the teams in scope while Miro stays live. Assign a named owner to each team who answers questions, collects feedback, and decides which boards are rebuilt in Nextcloud and which stay in Miro until cutover. Keep new workshop boards in Nextcloud where possible so the rebuild effort does not grow. The step is done when every team has a named owner, each board in the inventory has a recorded decision, and the list of blocking gaps is either closed or accepted in writing by the business owner.
Cut over with a freeze date
Set a freeze date after which no one edits boards in Miro. Before the freeze, owners export or rebuild the boards marked for migration and check the result with the people who attended the sessions. After the freeze, switch Miro workspaces to read-only for a defined period so teams can find anything missed and copy it across. Confirm the read-only setting with your Miro administrator, since the controls available depend on your plan. The step is done when the freeze has been announced, the read-only period has started, and each owner has confirmed their rebuilt boards.
Verify archives and remove access
Check that every archived board can be opened and read by someone with the right access, in the format you chose for it, and that retained comments and attachments are present where the retention rule requires them. Store the archive in a location that the retention policy covers. Once the verification is signed off by the record owner, remove Miro seats, revoke integrations and API tokens, and cancel the subscription on the date that Miro's contract allows. Ask your procurement team to confirm the notice period before the decommission date. The step is done when the archive check is recorded, access has been removed, and the subscription end date is confirmed in writing.

What drives the cost and duration of the move

This table lists the factors that change how long the move takes and what it costs, with the reason each one matters and how to keep it under control. Read it before requesting a quote, because most of the spend follows from the board inventory, identity design and hosting choices rather than from the software itself.

Driver	Why it changes effort or cost	How to keep it down
Number and age of boards	Each board that must be reviewed, rebuilt or archived adds time. Old boards often hold stale content that nobody wants to keep but someone must still classify.	Inventory boards by owner and last-edited date first. Archive anything untouched for a long period after owner sign-off, and move only active workshops.
Share of boards with comments or attachments	Miro's standard exports (images, PDFs, CSV) do not carry comments in a form that Nextcloud Whiteboard can use, so boards with discussion threads need manual capture or a decision to keep a read-only archive.	Ask owners which boards need comment history. Store those as PDF or image archives in Nextcloud Files rather than rebuilding them live.
Number of Miro integrations	Each connected tool (for example Jira, Slack or Confluence embeds) needs a replacement path or a decision to drop it. Nextcloud Whiteboard does not reproduce Miro's integration catalog.	List integrations from the Miro admin side before scoping. Confirm which ones have a Nextcloud app or an alternative workflow, and drop the rest.
Identity source and group design	Board sharing in Nextcloud follows Nextcloud users and groups. If LDAP or Active Directory groups are messy, mapping them to board access takes design work. The LDAP app and the OpenID Connect and SAML backends each need configuration and testing.	Clean up directory groups before the move. Agree a small set of team folders with matching groups, and test one login path end to end before bulk onboarding.
Hosting model and server sizing	Nextcloud Whiteboard needs its collaboration server running alongside Nextcloud. The team must size compute, database and storage for expected concurrent users and board volume, and choose between Nextcloud All-in-One and a manual stack. Each choice drives infrastructure cost and admin hours.	Use Nextcloud All-in-One for a single-server deployment if it meets the sizing. Confirm supported database and PHP versions in the system requirements before procurement.
Nextcloud upgrade cadence	Nextcloud publishes a new major version every four months, supports each for one year, and does not allow skipping major releases. Each upgrade needs a backup, a one-version step and a check that third-party apps, including the whiteboard app, are compatible.	Budget recurring admin time for upgrades. Keep a staging instance, pin the whiteboard app version under test, and schedule upgrades into a quiet window.
Data residency requirements	If the organization must keep boards in a specific country or inside its own network, the hosting location and backup location become design decisions. These requirements can also rule out some hosted options, which shifts work toward self-hosting.	Write the residency requirement into the scope before design. Confirm where backups and the collaboration server run, and record it for the data protection file.
Overlap period with the Miro subscription	Running Miro and Nextcloud Whiteboard in parallel doubles the license cost for the overlap period and splits user attention. The overlap length depends on how many workshops are still in flight.	Set a cutover date per team. Freeze new boards in Miro for migrating teams, and ask Miro about the terms for shortening the subscription at renewal.
Facilitator training	Facilitators used Miro templates, timers and voting features. Nextcloud Whiteboard offers a different, Excalidraw-based drawing model, so facilitators need time to learn the tool before live workshops.	Run one pilot workshop per team. Build a short template set that covers common formats, and record a short internal walkthrough for new facilitators.
Cost components: internal team time	Recurring and one-time. Board owners, IT admins, a security reviewer and facilitators all spend time on inventory, sign-off, testing and training. This is usually the largest share of effort in an internal move.	Name one owner per team and set a fixed review window. Ask any implementation partner to break the internal time into a responsibility matrix in the quote.
Cost components: hosting infrastructure	Recurring. Servers or virtual machines, storage, backup capacity and network costs for Nextcloud and the collaboration server. Costs rise with user count, board size and backup retention.	Ask for a sizing estimate based on your user count and expected board volume. Compare with existing virtualization capacity before buying new hardware.
Cost components: optional Nextcloud Enterprise subscription	Recurring and optional. Nextcloud's pricing page lists Standard, Premium and Ultimate tiers, each with a 100-user minimum, and per-user list prices that start at 71.29 euros, 104.99 euros and 204.75 euros per user per year respectively for 100 or more users, with lower rates from 200 users. Standard includes 1-year maintenance, Premium adds a maintenance lifecycle of 5 or more years, and Ultimate adds support up to 24/7 with response times down to 1 hour. The community edition is free to use.	Compare the support and lifecycle needs with the community release cadence. Confirm current tier terms directly with Nextcloud, since list prices change.
Cost components: fixed-scope implementation work	One-time. Scoping, integration with identity, hosting setup, migration of selected boards, hardening and documentation. DeployOpen works to a written scope and timeline agreed before work starts, and quotes follow from that scope.	Provide a board inventory and integration list before requesting a quote. Ask for deliverables, acceptance criteria and whether upgrades or support are priced as a separate retainer.

What usually goes wrong and how to prevent it

Most failed Miro-to-Nextcloud moves do not fail on the whiteboard itself. They fail on assumptions about exports, server components, upgrades, identities and data location. Each card names one risk, the check that prevents it and the person who should own that check.

Treating the Miro export as an editable copy

Miro's exports are images, PDFs and CSV tables, and board backups in .rtb format only restore into Miro. A PNG of a board is a picture, not a working board, so nobody can move sticky notes, connectors or frames into Nextcloud Whiteboard from it. Before cutover, the migration lead should decide which boards are rebuilt as live Excalidraw scenes and which are kept as read-only archives, and confirm each archive opens for a reviewer.

Launching without the collaboration server

Nextcloud Whiteboard is built on Excalidraw, and live collaboration depends on a separate websocket server that must be deployed, reachable by users and connected to the Nextcloud app. A board may open and save while real-time editing silently fails. The platform engineer should test a two-browser session with two real accounts on the production hostname before any team is invited.

Skipping major releases during upgrades

Nextcloud does not allow skipping major releases, so an instance several versions behind must be taken through each major step in order. Each step needs a fresh backup. The platform owner should record the current version, plan the path to a supported release and schedule upgrades against the published maintenance calendar rather than upgrading only when a security notice arrives.

Third-party apps breaking after upgrade

Nextcloud's guidance is to disable third-party apps until they are confirmed compatible with the new release. Teams that adopted add-ons for file workflows, calendars or Talk integrations may find those features missing after an upgrade. The Nextcloud administrator should keep an inventory of installed apps, test each against a staging copy and document which features return only after compatibility is confirmed.

Identity mapping errors that orphan boards

If directory accounts are mapped to Nextcloud users under different usernames, boards created under one name may appear unowned or inaccessible to the people who worked on them. The identity engineer should compare LDAP or SAML attributes against the list of Miro board owners, map each person to a single Nextcloud account, and confirm that shared folders grant access to the right groups before import.

Personal Miro accounts still holding work

After cutover, some members keep building in personal Miro accounts or on boards owned by people who have left, so work splits across two systems. The program owner should set a cutover date, freeze new Miro board creation for migrated teams, reassign ownership of orphaned boards and publish a single location where new whiteboards are created.

Undersized database or PHP environment

Nextcloud 35 recommends MariaDB 11.8 or PostgreSQL 18 and PHP 8.5, with other versions listed as supported. Running an older database or PHP build can pass installation checks yet fail under concurrent board editing. The infrastructure lead should confirm the target versions against the system requirements page, load test with realistic team sizes and size the database and PHP workers for peak use.

Residency assumptions never checked

Teams often assume a whiteboard stores data where the vendor's marketing says it does. With Nextcloud Whiteboard, boards are stored in the Nextcloud instance, but the websocket server, reverse proxy, backups and any hosted components still need an explicit location. The compliance lead should map every component that touches board data, record where each runs and confirm that the answer matches the residency commitment made to the business.

How the migration changes by team size and starting point

A small team with a few dozen boards and light Miro use can usually move in one pass. The archive is small enough that most people can review their own boards, and sign-in can stay on local Nextcloud accounts until the team grows. Most of the effort goes into deciding which boards are still live, not into the technical setup.

Sequence: Sort boards into live, reference and archive in one meeting, then rebuild only the live ones in Nextcloud Whiteboard.
Archive volume: Export images or PDFs for reference boards. Miro's .rtb backups only restore into Miro, so keep them only if someone may need Miro again.
Identity: Create local accounts or reuse existing Nextcloud users, and share boards with specific people instead of setting up directory integration.
Diagrams: If most boards are flowcharts or architecture drawings, move those to draw.io (see the draw.io comparison) and keep the whiteboard for workshops.

Before cutover, confirm with the people who own each board that nothing needs to be carried over as an editable file, and check that your Nextcloud version is still within its support window.

Questions buyers ask before moving from Miro

What does moving from Miro to Nextcloud Whiteboard cost?

Nextcloud Whiteboard and Nextcloud Server are licensed under AGPL-3.0, so the software itself carries no license fee. The cost comes from the parts you pay for: the servers or cloud accounts that run Nextcloud and the collaboration server, database and backup storage, the staff time to install and maintain them, the migration work to move boards, and any support contract you choose. Miro is priced per member, so the comparison depends on seat count and plan. Ask any quote to separate one-time items (installation, board triage, rebuilding key boards, training) from recurring items (hosting, upgrades, monitoring, backups, support). The Nextcloud pricing page lists Enterprise subscriptions per user per year for 100 or more users if you want vendor maintenance, so include that line as an option in the quote.

How long does a Miro to Nextcloud Whiteboard migration take?

No duration is fixed by the software, so the timeline depends on the work involved. The main drivers are the number of boards you keep, how many need rebuilding rather than archiving, how many people must be trained on the new workspace, and how many integrations or templates your teams depend on. Installation of Nextcloud is usually the shortest step. Board triage, rebuilding and rollout across teams take the longest. Ask for a written schedule that sets out the phases, the board counts in each, and the acceptance checks at the end of each phase. Expect the schedule to change once triage shows how many boards are truly active.

What does our internal team need to provide during the migration?

Your team needs to name a business owner who can decide which boards to keep, rebuild or archive, and at least one administrator who can access your identity provider, network, DNS and storage. Nextcloud can authenticate users through its LDAP app, or through OpenID Connect or SAML backends, so someone must confirm which directory your users sit in. Your team also needs to supply a list of active teams, the templates they use, and any compliance rules for storing board content. Plan for time from department leads to review and sign off on rebuilt boards. Ask the implementation partner to list these inputs in the written scope so gaps show up before work starts.

Can our own team run the migration without outside help?

Yes, many teams can, if they have people who can administer Linux, a web server, PHP, a database and the Nextcloud upgrade cycle. Nextcloud All-in-One is the official installation method and bundles caching, PostgreSQL, Talk, BorgBackup-based backups and ClamAV, which reduces the setup work. The harder parts are ongoing: Nextcloud publishes a new major version every four months, supports each for one year, and does not allow skipping major releases during upgrades. Miro export also takes manual work because boards export as images, PDFs and CSV rather than as an editable board file. Decide whether your team has capacity for that operating load for the full life of the platform. DeployOpen plans, implements, backs up, upgrades and supports self-hosted platforms in your own infrastructure, on a fixed scope agreed in writing, or as a retainer.

Do comments and version history move from Miro to Nextcloud Whiteboard?

Assume they do not move automatically. Miro exports images, PDFs and CSV tables, and its .rtb board backups only restore into Miro, so there is no editable board format you can import into Nextcloud Whiteboard. Comments and revision history generally stay behind in the source tool. Where a board's content matters for records, keep an archived copy (such as PDF or image exports) in Nextcloud Files alongside the new board, and note in that file who created it and when. Ask any partner to state in writing which Miro data is carried over, which is rebuilt by hand, and which is archived only. For full archives with comments, Miro's Enterprise Board Export API is the route to check, and that requires an Enterprise plan.

Can boards go back to Miro if the move does not work out?

Only partly. Nextcloud Whiteboard stores boards in Nextcloud, and it is built on Excalidraw, which saves drawings in an open .excalidraw JSON format. Miro cannot import that format, so a board would need to be rebuilt in Miro by hand or re-exported as an image or PDF for reference. Keep your Miro account, or at least a complete set of exports, active for a defined period until the new workspace has been accepted. Ask the migration plan to include a rollback point, the date on which Miro content is retired, and who approves that decision.

Which Nextcloud tier or support model fits a Miro replacement?

The choice depends on how much vendor responsibility you need. The community edition is free under AGPL-3.0 and suits teams that can run upgrades, backups and monitoring themselves. Nextcloud Enterprise is sold in Standard, Premium and Ultimate tiers with a 100-user minimum. According to Nextcloud's pricing page, Standard includes one year of maintenance, Premium adds a maintenance lifecycle of five or more years plus extended support hours and clustered instance support, and Ultimate adds support up to 24/7 with response times down to one hour. Ask for both a community-edition and an Enterprise option in the quote so you can compare the recurring costs directly. DeployOpen supplies independent implementation and support, and does not resell Nextcloud subscriptions.

How DeployOpen scopes, runs and supports the migration

DeployOpen plans, implements, customizes, integrates, hardens, backs up, documents and supports self-hosted open-source platforms inside your own infrastructure. For this migration, we start from a written scope that sorts your Miro boards into rebuild and archive groups, then deploy Nextcloud Whiteboard inside your Nextcloud environment.

How we scope

Inventory of Miro boards, owners, sharing settings and the workshops that depend on them
Decision list separating boards to rebuild in Nextcloud Whiteboard from boards to archive as images, PDFs or CSV
Written statement of which Miro export paths, plan limits and archive formats the work assumes

How we build

Nextcloud deployment in your own cloud account, data center or air-gapped network, with the websocket collaboration server configured
Authentication wiring to your directory through the LDAP app or your chosen OpenID Connect or SAML backend
Test boards exercised with real collaborators to confirm live editing, sharing permissions and file storage

How we hand over

Runbook covering installation, backup, upgrade order and rollback for the whiteboard and collaboration server
Board archive index recording source, export format, owner and retention location for every archived Miro board
Short rollout guide for facilitators on creating, sharing and exporting whiteboards inside Nextcloud

How we support

Ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing are available as a retainer after handover
Upgrade planning that follows Nextcloud's one major version at a time rule, with backups before each step
Confirm with us in the written scope which support hours and response targets apply to your environment

Migrate from Miro to Nextcloud Whiteboard