The output of the export command and the input to the import command is called a catalog. It's a set of the folders and files that comprise the server’s internal database, including organizations, users, roles, scheduled jobs, and repository resources such as reports and associated files. When you don't need the entire database, you can specify options to export only the contents you need, for example one role and its users.

The resources in the repository often have dependencies on other resources, for example a report that relies on images, input data types, and a data source. Exporting one resource includes all of its dependencies, even if they are stored in folders that were not specified in the export command. Importing a catalog that contains such dependencies will re-create the same folder structure in the target repository. Once imported, you can move and redefine the dependencies of these resources.

The catalog can be exported either as a hierarchy of folders and files, or as a single zip file (compressed archive). Regardless of the catalog format, the content of the catalog is not intended for external access. Objects in the database, such as users, roles, and folders are described in XML files, and repository resources are stored in various private formats consisting of data files and subfolders. The XML syntax of the catalog files is not publicly defined, and the data files aren’t meant to be accessed.

To access and interact with the server's internal objects, use the REST v2 API. This web service has well defined data types and resource descriptors in XML or JSON formats and a complete set of methods for reading and writing objects on the server. For more information, see the JasperReports Server Web Services Guide.

Setting the Import-Export Encryption Key

As of JasperReports Server 5.5, all sensitive passwords in exported catalogs are encrypted for security. In order for two servers to share the encrypted contents of an exported catalog, they must share a private key. The default key is an AES 128-bit string stored in a configuration file.

This encryption is separate from the server's own internal encryption. All user passwords are stored encrypted in the internal database, as described in Encrypting User Passwords. The import-export encryption applies only to export catalogs.

Importing Unencrypted Catalogs

Versions before 5.5 did not encrypt the user passwords upon export. These passwords appear in plain text within the files of the export catalog. For backwards compatibility, unencrypted catalogs are still supported and can be imported into a newer server, even when an encryption key is configured.

Passwords that are encrypted by an export operation in JasperReports Server 5.5 or later have encryption markers, so older passwords without the markers can be detected and imported as plain text. Once plain-text passwords are imported, they are stored internally with encryption, and will be encrypted in any future export.