---
title:  Exporting and Importing Cluster Configurations
---

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The cluster configuration service exports and imports configurations created using `gfsh` for an entire <%=vars.product_name_long%> cluster.

The cluster configuration service saves the cluster configuration as you create regions, disk-stores and other objects using `gfsh` commands. You can export this configuration as well as any jar files that contain application files to a ZIP archive and then import this configuration to create a new cluster.

## Exporting a Cluster Configuration

Issue the `gfsh` `export cluster-configuration` command to save the configuration data for your
cluster in a ZIP archive. This ZIP file contains subdirectories for cluster-level configurations and a
directory for each group specified in the cluster. The contents of these directories are described
in [Cluster Configuration Files and Troubleshooting](gfsh_config_troubleshooting.html#concept_ylt_2cb_y4).

To export a cluster configuration, run the `gfsh` `export cluster-configuration` command while connected to a <%=vars.product_name%> cluster. For example:

``` pre
export cluster-configuration --zip-file-name=/home/username/configs/myClusterConfig.zip
```

See [export cluster-configuration](../../tools_modules/gfsh/command-pages/export.html#topic_mdv_jgz_ck).

**Note:**
`gfsh` only saves cluster configuration values for configurations specified using `gfsh`. Configurations created by the management API are not saved with the cluster configurations.

## Importing a Cluster Configuration

Use the `gfsh` `import cluster-configuration` command to configure a new cluster based on a configuration exported from another system.
You can import a cluster configuration only into a new cluster, or into a running cluster that has not yet been configured and contains no defined regions.
That is, when:

- There are no running cache servers

or

- The only running cache servers meet all of the following criteria:
  - Have been recently started
  - Have no regions defined in them
  - Have been given no other configuration changes since they started

After you have imported the configuration, any servers you start receive this cluster configuration.

To import a cluster configuration, start one or more locators and then run the `gfsh` `import cluster-configuration` command. For example:

``` pre
import cluster-configuration --zip-file-name=/home/username/configs/myClusterConfig.zip
```

See [import cluster-configuration](../../tools_modules/gfsh/command-pages/import.html#import-cluster-config).