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Migrate from Forestry to Docusaurus

Complete guide to migrating your Forestry website to Docusaurus. Leave Forestry's discontinued behind and get purpose-built for documentation with versioning, search, and i18n. Free migration tool included.

20-40 minutes
Medium
100% Free
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TL;DR

You can migrate from Forestry to Docusaurus for free using LeaveWP. Enter your site URL, choose Docusaurus as the destination, and download your content — posts, pages, and media — in minutes. No API keys, passwords, or CLI tools required. Difficulty: Medium. Estimated time: 20-40 minutes.

Why Teams Leave Forestry

Git-backed CMS for Hugo, Jekyll, and static sites (now TinaCMS). Legacy projects — new projects should use TinaCMS instead, but these limitations push teams toward modern alternatives.

Discontinued — users must migrate to TinaCMS

This is the most common reason teams migrate away from Forestry. Docusaurus eliminates this issue entirely.

No longer receiving updates or new features

With Docusaurus, purpose-built for documentation with versioning, search, and i18n.

Limited scalability for large content volumes

Modern architectures like Docusaurus are designed to avoid this from the ground up.

Git-based workflow can be slow for non-technical editors

After migrating, you'll no longer need to worry about this — Docusaurus takes a fundamentally different approach.

What Docusaurus Brings to the Table

Meta's documentation framework built on React. Built with JavaScript/TypeScript (React), it's open-source projects and companies needing versioned technical documentation.

Purpose-built for documentation with versioning, search, and i18n

Used by major open-source projects (React, Babel, Jest, Redux)

React-based — extend with any React component

Algolia DocSearch integration for free search

Docusaurus is open-source and free to use. You own your code and data with no vendor lock-in. Deploy to any host that supports JavaScript/TypeScript, or use managed platforms like Vercel and Netlify for zero-config deployments.

Forestry vs Docusaurus at a Glance

Side-by-side comparison based on real platform characteristics

MetricForestryDocusaurus
Ease of Use⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5
Performance⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5
Flexibility⭐⭐⭐ 3/5⭐⭐⭐ 3/5
Cost⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5
Scalability⭐⭐ 2/5⭐⭐⭐ 3/5
Ecosystem⭐⭐ 2/5⭐⭐⭐ 3/5
LanguageJavaScript (Git-backed)JavaScript/TypeScript (React)
PricingDiscontinued — migrated to TinaCMSFree (open-source)
Open SourceNoYes

Ratings are based on publicly available data, documentation, and community consensus as of 2026. Individual experience may vary.

What Gets Migrated

A detailed breakdown of how your Forestry content maps to Docusaurus

Content Types from Forestry

  • markdown files
  • data files
  • images

Technical Details

Export Method
Files are already in your Git repo
Source Language
JavaScript (Git-backed)
Destination Format
Markdown/MDX files with frontmatter, organized by content type
URL Handling
301 redirect map generated automatically to preserve SEO equity

What may need manual attention

Custom server-side logic, third-party integrations, and platform-specific plugins will need equivalent solutions in Docusaurus. The core content (text, images, metadata) transfers cleanly.

How It Works

Migrate your content in three simple steps

1

Connect

Enter your Forestry site URL — LeaveWP connects automatically.

2

Configure

Select Docusaurus as destination and choose content options.

3

Export

Download your migrated content or preview it in your browser.

Is Forestry to Docusaurus the Right Move for You?

Migrating from Forestry to Docusaurus makes the most sense if you're experiencing discontinued — users must migrate to tinacms or outgrowing Forestry's architecture. Docusaurus is best for open-source projects and companies needing versioned technical documentation.

You should migrate if: your Forestry site is slow, your hosting costs are climbing, you need developer flexibility, or you want to adopt a modern JAMstack architecture.

You might want to stay if: your Forestry site benefits from clean, user-friendly admin ui for git-based content and you don't have JavaScript/TypeScript developers on your team. Forestry is genuinely easy to use, and that simplicity has value.

The migration itself is straightforward with LeaveWP — enter your Forestry URL, select Docusaurus, and download your content. The more important question is whether Docusaurus's architecture fits your team's skills and your project's long-term needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to migrate from Forestry to Docusaurus?
Most migrations from Forestry complete in 20-40 minutes. Content is exported from Forestry, then structured for Docusaurus. Complex sites with extensive custom fields may take longer.
Will I lose my SEO rankings when migrating from Forestry?
No. We help you set up proper 301 redirects from your old Forestry URLs to preserve search rankings. Docusaurus actually tends to improve Core Web Vitals scores, which can boost rankings over time.
What Forestry content can be migrated to Docusaurus?
Forestry content types like markdown files, data files, images are all migrated to Docusaurus. Content is converted to Markdown/MDX files or structured for your chosen headless CMS.
Do I need JavaScript/TypeScript experience to migrate?
No coding experience is required for the migration itself — LeaveWP handles the export and conversion automatically. However, customizing your Docusaurus site afterward will benefit from JavaScript/TypeScript (React) knowledge. For teams without that expertise, the generated code is well-structured and documented, making it approachable for developers of any level.
How much does it cost to host a Docusaurus site after migrating from Forestry?
Docusaurus sites can be deployed to Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages, or any Node.js host — often on generous free tiers. static Docusaurus sites can be hosted for free on Vercel or Netlify (up to generous bandwidth limits), which is significantly cheaper than running a Forestry instance.
Can I migrate Forestry custom fields and metadata to Docusaurus?
Yes. Custom fields, metadata, and taxonomies from Forestry are preserved during migration. In Docusaurus, these become frontmatter fields in your Markdown/MDX files, which you can extend or restructure to fit your content model.

Related Migration Guides

Explore more migration paths from Forestry or to Docusaurus

Forestry to Docusaurus Guides

In-depth guides and tutorials to help with your migration

Ready to Migrate?

Start your free migration from Forestry to Docusaurus today.

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