Joomla stores its user database in various MySQL tables. When migrating sites or promoting sites between different environments it's useful to be able to transfer the user database independently of the rest of the content, structure, etc.

Various Joomla components can be purchased that provide this functionality but, if you're comfortable with MySQL exports and imports can don't mind a little more manual effort, you can simply export the following tables:

<table prefix>_core_acl_aro
<table prefix>_core_acl_aro_groups
<table prefix>_core_acl_aro_sections
<table prefix>_core_acl_groups_aro_map
<table prefix>_core_log_items
<table prefix>_core_log_searches
<table prefix>_groups
<table prefix>_users
<table prefix>_usertypes
<table prefix>_session

Important: this list does not take into consideration any other user related tables that add-on components might require - it is for a core Joomla installation only. If for example, you have Virtuemart installed there are other tables that you need to include.

Take a backup of your target database before importing anything. We accept no responsbility for any problems encountered as a result of using this tip.