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  1. Cloudron Forum
  2. Vaultwarden
  3. Vaultwarden fails to start after update – DB migration error (SSO)

Vaultwarden fails to start after update – DB migration error (SSO)

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Solved Vaultwarden
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  • B Offline
    B Offline
    BetaBreak
    wrote on last edited by
    #67

    Is there a step by step instruction to solve this issue, for me it is unclear how to fix this issue. Thanks!

    1 Reply Last reply
    1
    • J Offline
      J Offline
      jayonrails
      translator
      wrote on last edited by
      #68

      The above posted link to the GitHub wiki seems to be the step by step instruction. Which is the part where you don't get forward?

      1 Reply Last reply
      2
      • B Offline
        B Offline
        BetaBreak
        wrote on last edited by BetaBreak
        #69

        Thanks, when I run the queries I don't get out put..
        Should I do it before upgrading, and or in recovery mode?

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        • jamesJ Offline
          jamesJ Offline
          james
          Staff
          wrote on last edited by james
          #70

          Hello @d19dotca @teiluj @ikalou @p44 @jdaviescoates @betabreak @jayonrails
          This issue was discussed before, and I did create a handy script to fix the issue.
          Please see: https://forum.cloudron.io/topic/14812/vaultwarden-fails-to-start-after-update-db-migration-error-sso/24?_=1778581136537

          I have also merged this topic into the original topic so there is no duplicate.

          B 1 Reply Last reply
          5
          • jamesJ james referenced this topic on
          • jamesJ james

            Hello @d19dotca @teiluj @ikalou @p44 @jdaviescoates @betabreak @jayonrails
            This issue was discussed before, and I did create a handy script to fix the issue.
            Please see: https://forum.cloudron.io/topic/14812/vaultwarden-fails-to-start-after-update-db-migration-error-sso/24?_=1778581136537

            I have also merged this topic into the original topic so there is no duplicate.

            B Offline
            B Offline
            BetaBreak
            wrote on last edited by
            #71

            @james ✔ it works, thanks!

            jamesJ 1 Reply Last reply
            1
            • B BetaBreak

              @james ✔ it works, thanks!

              jamesJ Offline
              jamesJ Offline
              james
              Staff
              wrote on last edited by james
              #72

              Hello @BetaBreak
              Great to read that it resolved your issue.
              Always happy to help.

              If possible, give the solution I linked also an upvote to improve the forum search.

              1 Reply Last reply
              2
              • jamesJ james

                Hello @vaultwarden users

                Since users have voiced their concerns about manually editing the database I have created a bash script that does it for you.
                Please follow these steps if you have this issue:

                1. create an app backup of your @vaultwarden Cloudron app
                2. put the erroring @vaultwarden app in recovery mode
                3. open the File Manager of your @vaultwarden app and create a fix_db.sh file
                4. copy and paste the following script into the just created fix_db.sh file:
                  #!/bin/bash
                  
                  echo "=> Checking if DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME and DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME are set to utf8mb4 and utf8mb4_unicode_ci"
                  
                  CURRENT_DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME=$(mysql --silent --skip-column-names --user=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_USERNAME} --password=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_PASSWORD} --host=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_HOST} ${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE} -e "SELECT DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME FROM information_schema.SCHEMATA WHERE SCHEMA_NAME = '${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE}';" 2>/dev/null)
                  CURRENT_DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME=$(mysql --silent --skip-column-names --user=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_USERNAME} --password=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_PASSWORD} --host=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_HOST} ${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE} -e "SELECT DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME FROM information_schema.SCHEMATA WHERE SCHEMA_NAME = '${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE}';" 2>/dev/null)
                  FIX_NEEDED=0
                  
                  if [ "${CURRENT_DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME}" != "utf8mb4" ] || [ "${CURRENT_DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME}" != "utf8mb4_unicode_ci" ]; then
                      echo "=> DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME or DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME is not set to utf8mb4 or utf8mb4_unicode_ci."
                      echo "==> Current values are: DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME=${CURRENT_DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME}, DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME=${CURRENT_DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME}"
                      FIX_NEEDED=1
                  else
                      echo "=> DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME is ${CURRENT_DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME} and DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME is ${CURRENT_DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME}"
                      echo "=> Nothing to do - quitting."
                      FIX_NEEDED=0
                      exit 0
                  fi
                  
                  if [ ${FIX_NEEDED} -eq 1 ]; then
                      read -p "Have you created a backup of your Cloudron Vaultwarden app? (y/N): " yn
                      case $yn in
                          [Yy]* )
                              echo "=> Setting database character set and collation to utf8mb4 and utf8mb4_unicode_ci."
                              mysql --user=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_USERNAME} --password=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_PASSWORD} --host=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_HOST} ${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE} -e "ALTER DATABASE \`${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE}\` CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;" 2>/dev/null
                              echo "=> Converting all tables to character set utf8mb4 and collation utf8mb4_unicode_ci."
                              mysql --silent --skip-column-names \
                    --user="${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_USERNAME}" \
                    --password="${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_PASSWORD}" \
                    --host="${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_HOST}" \
                    "${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE}" \
                    -e "SELECT CONCAT('ALTER TABLE \`', TABLE_NAME,'\` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;') AS CharSetConvert FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA='${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE}' AND TABLE_TYPE=\"BASE TABLE\";" 2>/dev/null | while read -r sql_command; do
                                  echo "==> Executing: ${sql_command}"
                                  mysql --user=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_USERNAME} --password=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_PASSWORD} --host=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_HOST} ${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE} -e "SET foreign_key_checks=0; ${sql_command} SET foreign_key_checks=1;" 2>/dev/null
                              done
                              ;;
                          [Nn]* )
                              echo "=> Please create a backup of your database before proceeding with the fix. Exiting."
                              exit 1
                              ;;
                          * )
                              echo "=> Invalid response. Please answer with y or n. Exiting."
                              exit 1
                              ;;
                      esac
                  fi
                  
                5. open the Web Terminal of your @vaultwarden Cloudron app
                6. execute the following command:
                  bash /app/data/fix_db.sh
                  
                7. Execute the following command to start @vaultwarden:
                  /app/pkg/start.sh
                  
                8. Validate if your @vaultwarden is now working correctly
                9. If validated working, you can delete the fix_db.sh file and disable the recovery mode of your @vaultwarden Cloudron app

                Note:
                If there are issues with the copy and paste from Windows devices apperent by error messages like line 2: $'\r': command not found, please run the following command to fix the script:

                sed -i 's/\r$//g' /app/data/fix_db.sh
                

                If you run into any issues, copy the output of the terminal, post it here and restore your app from the backup created.

                jdaviescoatesJ Offline
                jdaviescoatesJ Offline
                jdaviescoates
                wrote on last edited by jdaviescoates
                #73

                @james said:

                Please follow these steps if you have this issue:

                Can this script be run on the working version I reverted to, or do I need to update to the broken version and then run it?

                Edit: yes, it seems fixing the db and then updating also works fine.

                I use Cloudron with Gandi & Hetzner

                1 Reply Last reply
                1
                • jamesJ james referenced this topic
                • jamesJ james referenced this topic
                • jamesJ james

                  Hello @vaultwarden users

                  Since users have voiced their concerns about manually editing the database I have created a bash script that does it for you.
                  Please follow these steps if you have this issue:

                  1. create an app backup of your @vaultwarden Cloudron app
                  2. put the erroring @vaultwarden app in recovery mode
                  3. open the File Manager of your @vaultwarden app and create a fix_db.sh file
                  4. copy and paste the following script into the just created fix_db.sh file:
                    #!/bin/bash
                    
                    echo "=> Checking if DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME and DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME are set to utf8mb4 and utf8mb4_unicode_ci"
                    
                    CURRENT_DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME=$(mysql --silent --skip-column-names --user=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_USERNAME} --password=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_PASSWORD} --host=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_HOST} ${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE} -e "SELECT DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME FROM information_schema.SCHEMATA WHERE SCHEMA_NAME = '${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE}';" 2>/dev/null)
                    CURRENT_DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME=$(mysql --silent --skip-column-names --user=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_USERNAME} --password=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_PASSWORD} --host=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_HOST} ${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE} -e "SELECT DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME FROM information_schema.SCHEMATA WHERE SCHEMA_NAME = '${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE}';" 2>/dev/null)
                    FIX_NEEDED=0
                    
                    if [ "${CURRENT_DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME}" != "utf8mb4" ] || [ "${CURRENT_DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME}" != "utf8mb4_unicode_ci" ]; then
                        echo "=> DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME or DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME is not set to utf8mb4 or utf8mb4_unicode_ci."
                        echo "==> Current values are: DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME=${CURRENT_DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME}, DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME=${CURRENT_DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME}"
                        FIX_NEEDED=1
                    else
                        echo "=> DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME is ${CURRENT_DEFAULT_CHARACTER_SET_NAME} and DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME is ${CURRENT_DEFAULT_COLLATION_NAME}"
                        echo "=> Nothing to do - quitting."
                        FIX_NEEDED=0
                        exit 0
                    fi
                    
                    if [ ${FIX_NEEDED} -eq 1 ]; then
                        read -p "Have you created a backup of your Cloudron Vaultwarden app? (y/N): " yn
                        case $yn in
                            [Yy]* )
                                echo "=> Setting database character set and collation to utf8mb4 and utf8mb4_unicode_ci."
                                mysql --user=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_USERNAME} --password=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_PASSWORD} --host=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_HOST} ${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE} -e "ALTER DATABASE \`${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE}\` CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;" 2>/dev/null
                                echo "=> Converting all tables to character set utf8mb4 and collation utf8mb4_unicode_ci."
                                mysql --silent --skip-column-names \
                      --user="${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_USERNAME}" \
                      --password="${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_PASSWORD}" \
                      --host="${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_HOST}" \
                      "${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE}" \
                      -e "SELECT CONCAT('ALTER TABLE \`', TABLE_NAME,'\` CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;') AS CharSetConvert FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA='${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE}' AND TABLE_TYPE=\"BASE TABLE\";" 2>/dev/null | while read -r sql_command; do
                                    echo "==> Executing: ${sql_command}"
                                    mysql --user=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_USERNAME} --password=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_PASSWORD} --host=${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_HOST} ${CLOUDRON_MYSQL_DATABASE} -e "SET foreign_key_checks=0; ${sql_command} SET foreign_key_checks=1;" 2>/dev/null
                                done
                                ;;
                            [Nn]* )
                                echo "=> Please create a backup of your database before proceeding with the fix. Exiting."
                                exit 1
                                ;;
                            * )
                                echo "=> Invalid response. Please answer with y or n. Exiting."
                                exit 1
                                ;;
                        esac
                    fi
                    
                  5. open the Web Terminal of your @vaultwarden Cloudron app
                  6. execute the following command:
                    bash /app/data/fix_db.sh
                    
                  7. Execute the following command to start @vaultwarden:
                    /app/pkg/start.sh
                    
                  8. Validate if your @vaultwarden is now working correctly
                  9. If validated working, you can delete the fix_db.sh file and disable the recovery mode of your @vaultwarden Cloudron app

                  Note:
                  If there are issues with the copy and paste from Windows devices apperent by error messages like line 2: $'\r': command not found, please run the following command to fix the script:

                  sed -i 's/\r$//g' /app/data/fix_db.sh
                  

                  If you run into any issues, copy the output of the terminal, post it here and restore your app from the backup created.

                  luckymL Offline
                  luckymL Offline
                  luckym
                  wrote last edited by luckym
                  #74

                  @james

                  I'm only now getting around to applying this fix. Altering the tables worked but when I run /app/pkg/start.sh I get the following errors:

                  [2026-08-06 17:12:38.211][vaultwarden][ERROR] Web vault is not found at 'web-vault/'. To install it, please follow the steps in: 
                  [2026-08-06 17:12:38.211][vaultwarden][ERROR] https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/wiki/Building-binary#install-the-web-vault
                  [2026-08-06 17:12:38.211][vaultwarden][ERROR] You can also set the environment variable 'WEB_VAULT_ENABLED=false' to disable it
                  

                  The web vault usually worked and was installed to my knowledge but I'm not sure I can just ignore this error and exit recovery mode regardless. I'm on version 1.37.1.

                  /edit Ok leaving recovery mode worked and the app is now working properly again!

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • jamesJ Offline
                    jamesJ Offline
                    james
                    Staff
                    wrote last edited by
                    #75

                    Hello @luckym
                    Please try.

                    luckymL 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • jamesJ james

                      Hello @luckym
                      Please try.

                      luckymL Offline
                      luckymL Offline
                      luckym
                      wrote last edited by
                      #76

                      @james Yay it's working again!

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      1

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