Migrate from UpWave to Trello

UpWave Boards map directly to Trello Boards. We extract each board via UpWave's JSON export, preserving the board name, description, color theme if present, and creation date. Trello boards are created via POST /1/boards with name, defaultLists=false (we create lists from UpWave columns explicitly), and privacy set to match the source workspace visibility. Board-level settings like default notification behavior do not transfer and must be reconfigured in Trello post-migration.

UpWave columns map to Trello Lists within each board. UpWave's column order exports as it appears in the UI at export time; we create Trello lists in that same sequence. Custom column types or conditional formatting in UpWave (Business tier) do not export as structured metadata and must be documented during scoping for manual configuration in Trello. Lists are created via POST /1/boards/{id}/lists before any card creation begins.

UpWave cards map 1:1 to Trello cards. Every card carries title, description (stored as UpWave card body text), column assignment, due date, completed date, color label, and assignee list in the JSON export. We post each card to the correct Trello list via POST /1/cards, set due dates via PUT /1/cards/{id}, and set the closed status to match UpWave's completed date flag. Description text migrates as plain text; rich formatting in UpWave is converted to Trello Markdown where possible.

UpWave subtasks nested under a parent card are flattened during extraction into rows with a parent-card reference. We reconstruct them as Trello Checklist items under the migrated card using POST /1/cards/{id}/checklists. Each subtask title becomes a checklist item name, and if the subtask has a completed flag, we mark the checklist item as checked. Nested subtask hierarchies beyond one level are flattened into a single checklist with indentation preserved as a prefix in the item name.

UpWave stores assignees as a comma-separated string of display names per card. We split the string into individual assignee records, resolve each by email if available in the UpWave user export, and invite or link them to the Trello workspace as Members via POST /1/boards/{id}/members. If a Trello workspace member with the matching email does not exist, we flag the unmapped assignee for the customer admin to provision before the card migration batch runs.

UpWave due dates export in the exporter's timezone. We normalize all due dates to UTC before posting to Trello's due field. Cards without due dates in UpWave receive no due field in Trello. Cards with due dates but no time component receive a UTC midnight due timestamp in Trello. Completed dates from UpWave set the card's closed status to true and move the card to the Done list if a matching list name exists in the target board.

UpWave cards carry color tags (red, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange) as card-level metadata. We map these to Trello Label colors (red, orange, yellow, green, purple, blue, sky, lime, pink, black) by best-fit color match. Trello label names are set to the UpWave color name. If UpWave boards use custom color names, we create Trello labels with those names and the nearest standard color. Labels are created via POST /1/boards/{id}/labels before card migration begins.

UpWave estimate and time-spent fields export only when time tracking is explicitly enabled on the source board. We map these to Trello Custom Fields (available on Standard tier) as Number fields named 'Estimate (hours)' and 'Time Spent (hours)'. If the destination workspace is on Trello Free, we append these values as structured text in the card description instead, formatted as a table under a 'Time Tracking' heading. We flag boards where time tracking was never enabled so the customer knows why these fields are absent post-migration.

UpWave card comments export as part of the card JSON under an actions array. We extract comment text, author name, and timestamp for each comment and post them to Trello cards via POST /1/cards/{id}/actions/comments. Timestamps are preserved as Trello comment creation time. If the comment author does not have a matching Trello workspace member, the comment is posted under the migration service account and flagged in the reconciliation report.

UpWave card descriptions migrate to Trello card descriptions. We convert UpWave's rich text formatting to Trello Markdown (headings, bold, italic, bullet lists, numbered lists, inline links). Images embedded in UpWave card descriptions are treated as attachments (see Attachments gotcha) and are flagged for manual download. External links in UpWave descriptions are preserved as Markdown links in Trello.

UpWave Workspaces containing Teams that group boards map to Trello Workspaces containing Boards. We extract the team-to-board membership from UpWave's workspace export and create Trello workspace membership by inviting each team member's email to the Trello workspace. Board visibility (public or private) is set to match the UpWave workspace visibility setting. Multi-team boards in UpWave are migrated to a single Trello board with the team name in the board description.

UpWave file attachments (images, documents, linked resources stored in UpWave's storage) do not appear in the CSV or JSON export. We scan every card during extraction for an attachments array, flag the card in the migration report with a list of attachment filenames and their URLs, and instruct the customer to download them via UpWave's file interface before migration day. Trello attachments are uploaded via POST /1/cards/{id}/attachments after card creation. We do not automate the download step because UpWave requires browser-based file access. Cards without attachments proceed without interruption.