Migrating setup.py installs to Version 5.0

This is a guide for migrating V4.x installations that were installed using the setup.py method, to Version 5.0, using pip.

Code vs station data

With V5.0, there is now a clean separation between WeeWX code, and station data. They are stored in separate areas, rather than everything under /home/weewx.

WeeWX code

While there are many ways to install WeeWX using pip, if you follow the WeeWX install recommendations, pip will install your code in a virtual environment, located in ~/weewx-venv in your home directory.

This contrasts with the setup.py method, which installed everything under /home/weewx/bin.

Station data

By contrast, station data is specific to your station. By default, it is now stored in your home directory in ~/weewx-data, although you may continue to use your old station data located in /home/weewx by following this guide. Station data includes:

• The configuration file, weewx.conf;
• Skins;
• Database;
• Generated HTML files and images; and
• Extensions (Python code specific to a station).

With this in mind, here is how to install Version 5, while continuing to use the old station data in /home/weewx.

Migration process

1. Install V5.0 by using the tool pip. See the guide Installation using pip, but note that you are only going to follow the first step Install in a virtual environment. Do not do step 2, Provision a new station.

   When you are done, the new V5.0 executable will be in ~/weewx-venv/bin/weewxd, rather than the more familiar V4.x location /home/weewx/bin/weewxd.

   For what follows, make sure your virtual environment is still active. When in doubt, you can always reactivate it:

    source ~/weewx-venv/bin/activate
   

2. The step to follow (step 3) will require write privileges to /home/weewx. If you already have them, you can skip this step. Otherwise, the following will create them.

    sudo chown -R $USER: /home/weewx
   

3. While you will be reusing your old station data in /home/weewx, you will need to upgrade your old examples and daemon utility files to the V5 versions.

    weectl station upgrade --config=/home/weewx/weewx.conf
   

4. At this point, try running the V5.0 version of weewxd directly, using your old configuration file.

    weewxd --config=/home/weewx/weewx.conf
   

5. If that works, then it's time to replace your old daemon configuration file with one that uses the new V5.0 executable. These steps will require root privileges.

   # systems with systemd
   # This will run weewx as you, not root.  If you prefer to run as
   # the root user, modify the weewx.service file.
   sudo cp /home/weewx/util/systemd/weewx.service /etc/systemd/system
   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl enable weewx
   sudo systemctl start weewx
   

   # systems with sysVinit
   sudo cp /home/weewx/util/init.d/weewx.debian /etc/init.d/weewx
   sudo chmod +x /etc/init.d/weewx
   sudo update-rc.d weewx defaults 98
   sudo systemctl start weewx     
   

   # macOS
   sudo cp /Users/Shared/weewxutil/launchd/com.weewx.weewxd.plist /Library/LaunchDaemons
   sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.weewx.weewxd.plist
   

Move your old code aside

Note that your old V4.x code will still be under /home/weewx/bin (/Users/Shared/weewx for macOS).

To avoid confusing yourself and any tools that you might use, you should consider moving your old code aside. Unfortunately, you cannot simply rename it, because your user directory is located underneath, so you would lose access to it and any extensions it might contain. Here's how to do it without disturbing the things you want to keep:

Linux

cd /home/weewx
mv bin bin.old
mkdir bin
cp -r ./bin.old/user bin 

macOS

cd /Users/Shared/weewx
mv bin bin.old
mkdir bin
cp -r ./bin.old/user bin 

When you're done, you should have a directory tree that looks something like this:

bin
└── user
    ├── __init__.py
    ├── extensions.py
    └── installer
bin.old
    ├── daemon.py
    ├── schemas
    ... etc