Automate HRMS Data Migration in Frappe with Fixtures| Sabbirz

Managing HR data in Frappe HRMS can often involve repetitive tasks, especially when moving from a development environment to production. One of the most common challenges is replicating master data like Departments, Designations, and Branches without manual re-entry. Thankfully, Frappe provides a clean and scalable solution — Fixtures.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to leverage fixtures to migrate your HRMS master data effortlessly while following best practices for deployment.

📌 What is Master Data in Frappe HRMS?

Before diving in, let’s clarify what qualifies as master data in Frappe HRMS:

Department
Designation
Branch
Employment Type
Leave Type
Any other reusable static data that forms the foundation of your HR operations

Typically, you create these records during your development or testing phase. Recreating them in production is time-consuming and error-prone. Instead, exporting them as fixtures saves time and ensures consistency.

🚀 Why Use Fixtures?

Fixtures in Frappe are powerful because they:

Capture both the schema and actual data
Are version-controlled with your app
Automatically import during app installation or migration
Prevent human errors during manual data entry

Once set up, you won’t have to worry about missing master data when deploying to production.

🔨 Step-by-Step: Migrating HRMS Master Data Using Fixtures

1️⃣ Define Fixtures in Your App’s `hooks.py`

Navigate to your custom app (or Frappe HRMS app) and open hooks.py. Add the following snippet:

fixtures = [
    {"dt": "Department"},
    {"dt": "Designation"},
    {"dt": "Branch"},
    {"dt": "Employment Type"},
]

You can include any other master data DocTypes as needed.

2️⃣ Export Your Master Data as Fixtures

Run the export command from your terminal:

bench export-fixtures

This creates JSON files inside your app’s fixtures/ directory:

your_app/fixtures/Department.json
your_app/fixtures/Designation.json

These files contain the data you created in development.

3️⃣ Commit Fixtures to Your Version Control

Track your fixtures in Git:

git add your_app/fixtures/
git commit -m "Added HRMS master data fixtures"
git push

Now, your master data travels with your app.

4️⃣ Deploy to Production and Run Migrations

Once on your production server, pull the latest changes and run:

bench migrate

Frappe will automatically detect and import the fixtures along with applying patches and schema changes.

📉 All your departments, designations, and other master data are now available in production.

💡 Pro Tip: Updating Fixtures

Anytime you update master data in development, repeat:

bench export-fixtures

Then, commit and migrate again to update production.

🔄 Alternative: Data Import Tool

If this feels too technical, Frappe’s Data Import Tool is always an option for one-time imports. However, fixtures are the best choice for ongoing projects and continuous deployment.

How to Export & Deploy Frappe HRMS Master Data with Fixtures