diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/export/all.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/export/all.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..51755fa6a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/export/all.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+import { DataSource, MigrationExecutor } from '@n8n/typeorm';
+import * as assert from 'assert/strict';
+import fs from 'fs';
+import { join } from 'path';
+import Container from 'typedi';
+
+import { BaseCommand } from '../base-command';
+import { jsonColumnType } from '@/databases/entities/abstract-entity';
+
+export class ExportAllCommand extends BaseCommand {
+	static description = 'Export Everything';
+
+	static examples = ['$ n8n export:all'];
+
+	// TODO: add `exportPath` flag
+	static flags = {};
+
+	async run() {
+		const connection = Container.get(DataSource);
+		const excludeList = [
+			'execution_annotation_tags',
+			'execution_annotations',
+			'execution_data',
+			'execution_entity',
+			'execution_metadata',
+			'annotation_tag_entity',
+		];
+		const tables = connection.entityMetadatas
+			.filter((v) => !excludeList.includes(v.name))
+			.map((v) => ({
+				name: v.tableName,
+				columns: v.columns,
+			}));
+
+		const backupPath = '/tmp/backup';
+		await fs.promises.mkdir(backupPath, { recursive: true });
+
+		for (const { name, columns } of tables) {
+			// TODO: implement batching
+			//const rows = await repo.find({ relations: [] });
+
+			const rows = await connection.query(`SELECT * from ${name}`);
+
+			const stream = fs.createWriteStream(join(backupPath, `${name}.jsonl`));
+
+			for (const row of rows) {
+				const data = JSON.stringify(row);
+
+				// TODO: fix the types
+				for (const column of columns) {
+					// TODO: only do this for sqlite
+					//
+					//
+					//TODO: STOPPED HERE
+					if (column.type === jsonColumnType) {
+						console.log(column.type);
+					}
+				}
+
+				stream.write(data);
+				stream.write('\n');
+			}
+
+			stream.end();
+		}
+
+		const migrationExecutor = new MigrationExecutor(connection);
+		const executedMigrations = await migrationExecutor.getExecutedMigrations();
+		const lastExecutedMigration = executedMigrations.at(0);
+
+		assert.ok(lastExecutedMigration, 'should have been run by db.ts');
+
+		await fs.promises.writeFile(
+			join(backupPath, 'lastMigration'),
+			lastExecutedMigration.name,
+			'utf8',
+		);
+	}
+
+	async catch(error: Error) {
+		this.logger.error('Error exporting workflows. See log messages for details.');
+		this.logger.error(error.message);
+	}
+}
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/import/all.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/import/all.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..911ae8cc06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/import/all.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+import { DataSource, MigrationExecutor } from '@n8n/typeorm';
+import * as assert from 'assert/strict';
+import fs from 'fs';
+import { join } from 'path';
+import Container from 'typedi';
+
+import { BaseCommand } from '../base-command';
+import { ApplicationError } from 'n8n-workflow';
+
+// TODO: do this
+//const fs = require('fs');
+//const readline = require('readline');
+//
+//(async () => {
+//	const fileStream = fs.createReadStream(__dirname + '/test.jsonl');
+//	const lineStream = readline.createInterface({
+//		input: fileStream,
+//		crlfDelay: Infinity,
+//	});
+//
+//	for await (const line of lineStream) {
+//		console.log(JSON.parse(line));
+//	}
+//})();
+
+export class ImportAllCommand extends BaseCommand {
+	static description = 'Import Everything';
+
+	static examples = ['$ n8n import:all'];
+
+	// TODO: add `importPath` flag
+	// TODO: add `clean` flag
+	static flags = {};
+
+	// TODO: do batching
+	async run() {
+		// TODO:
+		// 1. check last migrations
+		const connection = Container.get(DataSource);
+		const migrationExecutor = new MigrationExecutor(connection);
+		const executedMigrations = await migrationExecutor.getExecutedMigrations();
+		const lastExecutedMigration = executedMigrations.at(0);
+
+		assert.ok(lastExecutedMigration, 'should have been run by db.ts');
+
+		const backupPath = '/tmp/backup';
+
+		const lastMigrationInBackup = (
+			await fs.promises.readFile(join(backupPath, 'lastMigration'), 'utf8')
+		).trim();
+
+		if (lastMigrationInBackup !== lastExecutedMigration.name) {
+			throw new ApplicationError('Last Migrations Differ, make sure to use the same n8n version');
+		}
+
+		// (2. if clean truncate)
+		// (2. if no clean, check if tables are empty)
+		// 3. disable foreign keys
+
+		// 4. import each jsonl
+		const excludeList = [
+			'execution_annotation_tags',
+			'execution_annotations',
+			'execution_data',
+			'execution_entity',
+			'execution_metadata',
+			'annotation_tag_entity',
+		];
+		const tables = connection.entityMetadatas
+			.filter((v) => !excludeList.includes(v.tableName))
+			.map((v) => ({ name: v.tableName, target: v.target }));
+
+		for (const { name, target } of tables) {
+			const repo = connection.getRepository(target);
+			await repo.delete({});
+
+			const rows = (await fs.promises.readFile(`${join(backupPath, name)}.jsonl`, 'utf8'))
+				.split('\n')
+				.filter((row) => row !== '');
+
+			for (const row of rows) {
+				await repo.insert(JSON.parse(row));
+			}
+		}
+
+		// 5. enable foreign keys
+	}
+
+	async catch(error: Error) {
+		console.log(error.stack);
+		this.logger.error('Error exporting workflows. See log messages for details.');
+		this.logger.error(error.message);
+	}
+}
diff --git a/tasks.md b/tasks.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2e233f07cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks.md
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+# Goals
+
+* export all data (except execution related data) into a file
+* import from said file
+	* support flag `clean` (default: false)
+		* false: if db is empty commence else print error
+		* true: truncate all tables and commence
+* foreign keys are retained
+
+# Future Goals
+
+* making the export atomic
+	* for now users have to shut down all n8n instances while exporting and importing
+* have foreign keys on while importing
+	* for now we disable them before the import and enable them after it again
+
+# File Format
+
+* 1 file per table
+* 1 line per row
+* format: JSONL
+
+* metadata file
+	* contains last migration name that was run
+
+* tared/zipped in the end
+
+# Tasks
+
+* include only columns (and all of them) when serializing
+	* ignoring virtual properties and including ignored things like passwords
+* make sure sequence counters are updated
+* only allow importing into sqlite and pg
+
+# Questions
+
+* what if one record fails?
+	* skip, abort?
+