# Migrating from eMule

Source: https://emule-qt.org/features/migrating-from-emule/

## Bring your eMule with you

Years of eMule leave a lot behind: credits with thousands of peers, a long list of shared files, half-finished downloads, a tuned set of preferences. You do not have to give any of it up. eMule Qt reads the same files the original eMule writes, so you can stop eMule today and carry on in eMule Qt tomorrow, with the same identity, the same credits and the same downloads.

### Are the file formats compatible?

Yes. **known.met**, **clients.met**, **cryptkey.dat**, **server.met**, **nodes.dat**, **ipfilter.dat** and the **.part.met** files of unfinished downloads all use the original eMule formats and are read as they are. Only the settings moved: **preferences.ini** became **preferences.yml**, and the importer translates one into the other.

### What carries over

| From eMule | In eMule Qt |
|---|---|
| **User hash and secure identity** (preferences.dat, cryptkey.dat) | Peers recognise you as the same client, so the upload credits you earned with them stay yours. |
| **Credits** (clients.met) | The credits other clients have earned with you. |
| **Shared-file history** (known.met, known2\_64.met) | Every known file with its hashes and all-time request and transfer counts. Files still in the same place are not hashed again. |
| **Unfinished downloads** (Temp folder) | Copied into eMule Qt’s own temp folder and resumed from where eMule left them. |
| **Finished downloads** (Incoming folder) | eMule Qt uses the same Incoming folder, so nothing is moved. |
| **Settings** (preferences.ini) | Nickname, TCP and UDP ports, bandwidth limits, connection limits, auto-connect, ED2K and Kad on or off, and the scheduler. |
| **Categories and shared folders** (Category.ini, shareddir.dat) | Your categories with their folders, colours and filters, and every shared folder. |
| **Networks** (server.met, staticservers.dat, nodes.dat, preferencesKad.dat) | Your server list, static servers, Kad contacts and Kad ID, so the first connect is a quick one. |
| **Everything else** | Friends, cancelled files, the IP filter, file comments and ratings, and web services. |

The one thing that starts fresh is the **global statistics** page: eMule’s lifetime totals in statistics.ini are not imported. The per-file totals in known.met do carry over.

> **Your old eMule stays untouched**
> 
> The import only reads from eMule. Nothing in its folders is changed, moved or deleted, and unfinished downloads are **copied**, not moved, so make sure the drive has room for a second copy of your Temp folder. If you change your mind, start eMule again and it is exactly where you left it.

### The Windows installer does it for you

The Windows setup has an **Import settings from eMule** checkbox. Setup looks for an existing eMule the same way eMule itself does: in your user profile, in the shared all-users folder, and in the program folder of a portable install. It shows the folder it found next to the checkbox.

- **eMule found:** the box is ticked and the path is shown, so you can see what will be imported.
- **No eMule found:** the box is greyed out.
- **Upgrading eMule Qt:** the box starts unticked, because your eMule Qt profile is already in use.

The import itself happens the first time eMule Qt starts, once for each Windows user. It never overwrites a profile that already has its own shared files or credits, so running setup again is safe.

## How to migrate on Windows

1. **Close eMule.** Make sure it is not still running in the system tray.
2. **Run the eMule Qt setup** from the [download page](https://emule-qt.org/download/).
3. **Leave “Import settings from eMule” ticked** and check that the path shown is your eMule’s config folder.
4. **Start eMule Qt.** Your settings, credits, shared files and servers are there; unfinished downloads appear in the Transfers window as they are copied in.
5. **Do not run both clients at the same time.** They share the same identity and the same ports.

## How to migrate by hand (macOS, Linux, Windows ZIP)

1. **Close eMule.**
2. **Find eMule’s config folder**, usually `%LOCALAPPDATA%\eMule\config`, or the `config` folder next to `emule.exe` in a portable install.
3. **Start eMule Qt once and close it again**, so it creates its own config folder: `~/eMuleQt/Config` on macOS and Linux, `%LOCALAPPDATA%\eMuleQt` on Windows.
4. **Copy these files** from eMule’s config folder into eMule Qt’s: `preferences.dat`, `cryptkey.dat`, `clients.met`, `known.met`, `known2_64.met`, `server.met`, `nodes.dat`, `preferencesKad.dat`, and if you like `emfriends.met`, `cancelled.met` and `ipfilter.dat`. Replace the files eMule Qt created.
5. **Start eMule Qt.** It takes over your user hash from `preferences.dat` on its own.
6. **Set your Incoming folder** and shared folders under Options to the ones eMule used.
7. **Import unfinished downloads** with *Tools → Import Downloads (eM,eD,ON)…* and pick eMule’s Temp folder.

Copy the files in this manual route *before* you share anything in eMule Qt; once it has a known.met and clients.met of its own, the new files replace that history.

[Back to all features](https://emule-qt.org/features/)

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