Data Loss in Board import, export, and duplication

Environment

• FluentBoards Version 1.80.1
• WordPress Version 6.8.2
• PHP Version 8.1.29
• Test Date: September 1, 2025

Issue Summary

Both board duplication and JSON import/export fail to preserve task assignments and other data.

Bugs Found

Bug 1: JSON Import Strips Task Assignments

Expected: Task assignments preserved after import
Actual: 80-90% of assignments lost

Root Cause: Import generates new task IDs but doesn't update pivot.object_id references in assignee data

Bug 2: Board Duplication Strips All Assignments

Expected: Duplicate preserves all task assignments
Actual: All assignments removed from duplicated board

Bug 3: Board Duplication Strips Board Description

Expected: Duplicate preserves board description
Actual: Board description removed from duplicated board

Data Loss Matrix

Method Preserves Assignments Preserves Description JSON Import ❌ ✅ Board Duplicate ❌ ❌

Technical Analysis

JSON Import Assignment Bug

Import process:

1. Generates new task IDs (e.g., 1-29 becomes 189-217)
2. Fails to update pivot.object_id in assignee relationships
3. Assignment lookup fails because object_id still references old task ID

Example:

// Before import
{"id": 8, "assignees": [{"pivot": {"object_id": "8"}}]}

// After import (broken)
{"id": 196, "assignees": [{"pivot": {"object_id": "8"}}]}

Task 196 cannot find assignees with object_id: "8"

Reproduction Steps

For JSON Import Bug:

1. Create board with 10+ tasks
2. Assign a user to all tasks
3. Export as JSON
4. Import JSON to create new board
5. Check assignments - most will be missing

For Board Duplication Bugs:

1. Create board with tasks, assignments, and description
2. Use "Duplicate Board" feature
3. Check duplicate - assignments and description will be missing

Test Results

• Original template: 24 tasks with assignments
• After JSON import: 4 tasks kept assignments (16.7% success rate)
• After board duplication: 0 tasks kept assignments (0% success rate)

Impact

• Board templating completely broken
• No reliable backup/restore method
• Manual reassignment required after every copy operation

Suggested Fix

During import, update pivot.object_id to match new task IDs:

foreach ($task['assignees'] as &$assignee) {
    $assignee['pivot']['object_id'] = (string)$new_task_id;
}

Additional Notes

• Only 4/24 assignments survived import due to coincidental ID matches
• Manual assignment after import works correctly (proves assignment system works)
• No current workaround - both copy methods are broken