diff --git a/inventory/migration.go b/inventory/migration.go
index 993e71ef..838f9315 100644
--- a/inventory/migration.go
+++ b/inventory/migration.go
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ func needMigration(client *ent.Client, ctx context.Context, requiredDbVersion st
 func migrate(l logging.Logger, client *ent.Client, ctx context.Context, kv cache.Driver, requiredDbVersion string) error {
 	l.Info("Start initializing database schema...")
 	l.Info("Creating basic table schema...")
+	repairLegacyUserGroupColumn(l, client, ctx)
 	if err := client.Schema.Create(ctx); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("Failed creating schema resources: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -67,6 +68,32 @@ func migrate(l logging.Logger, client *ent.Client, ctx context.Context, kv cache
 	return nil
 }
 
+// repairLegacyUserGroupColumn backfills users.group_users before ent's
+// auto-migration. v3 bound user groups via a nullable group_id column (or no
+// column at all for groupless users); the v4 schema requires NOT NULL
+// group_users, so the schema copy fails mid-upgrade on old databases
+// (upstream #2934). All statements are error-tolerant: on a fresh install
+// the users/groups tables simply do not exist yet and every statement no-ops.
+func repairLegacyUserGroupColumn(l logging.Logger, client *ent.Client, ctx context.Context) {
+	if _, err := client.ExecContext(ctx, `ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN group_users INTEGER`); err != nil {
+		l.Debug("Skip adding group_users column: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	// Prefer the legacy group_id binding when present; otherwise fall back to
+	// the first non-admin group (id 1 is the seeded admin group), then any group.
+	queries := []string{
+		`UPDATE users SET group_users = COALESCE(group_id, (SELECT MIN(id) FROM groups WHERE id <> 1), (SELECT MIN(id) FROM groups)) WHERE group_users IS NULL`,
+		`UPDATE users SET group_users = COALESCE((SELECT MIN(id) FROM groups WHERE id <> 1), (SELECT MIN(id) FROM groups)) WHERE group_users IS NULL`,
+	}
+	for _, q := range queries {
+		_, err := client.ExecContext(ctx, q)
+		if err == nil {
+			return
+		}
+		l.Debug("Skip legacy group_users backfill: %s", err)
+	}
+}
+
 func migrateDefaultSettings(l logging.Logger, client *ent.Client, ctx context.Context, kv cache.Driver) {
 	// clean kv cache
 	if err := kv.DeleteAll(); err != nil {
diff --git a/inventory/migration_test.go b/inventory/migration_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..01224345
--- /dev/null
+++ b/inventory/migration_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+package inventory
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	rawsql "database/sql"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/cloudreve/Cloudreve/v4/ent"
+	"github.com/cloudreve/Cloudreve/v4/pkg/logging"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+// legacyV3DB builds a minimal v3-shaped sqlite database: users bind their
+// group via a nullable group_id column, and groupless users carry NULL.
+func legacyV3DB(t *testing.T, dbPath string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	raw, err := rawsql.Open("sqlite3", "file:"+dbPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer raw.Close()
+
+	stmts := []string{
+		`CREATE TABLE groups (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, created_at DATETIME, updated_at DATETIME, name TEXT, permissions BLOB)`,
+		`INSERT INTO groups (id, created_at, updated_at, name, permissions) VALUES
+			(1, '2024-01-01 00:00:00', '2024-01-01 00:00:00', 'Admin', X'00'),
+			(2, '2024-01-01 00:00:00', '2024-01-01 00:00:00', 'User', X'00')`,
+		`CREATE TABLE users (
+			id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
+			created_at DATETIME,
+			updated_at DATETIME,
+			deleted_at DATETIME,
+			email VARCHAR(100),
+			nick VARCHAR(100),
+			password VARCHAR(255),
+			status VARCHAR(20),
+			storage BIGINT,
+			group_id INTEGER
+		)`,
+		`INSERT INTO users (created_at, updated_at, email, nick, status, storage, group_id) VALUES
+			('2024-01-01 00:00:00', '2024-01-01 00:00:00', 'admin@x', 'admin', 'active', 0, 1),
+			('2024-01-01 00:00:00', '2024-01-01 00:00:00', 'user@x', 'user', 'active', 0, 2),
+			('2024-01-01 00:00:00', '2024-01-01 00:00:00', 'groupless@x', 'groupless', 'active', 0, NULL)`,
+	}
+	for _, q := range stmts {
+		_, err := raw.Exec(q)
+		require.NoError(t, err, q)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRepairLegacyUserGroupColumn reproduces upstream #2934: upgrading a v3
+// database fails inside ent's copy-migration because group_users is NOT NULL
+// in v4 while v3 rows can be groupless. The repair backfills the column so
+// Schema.Create succeeds.
+func TestRepairLegacyUserGroupColumn(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	l := logging.NewConsoleLogger(logging.LevelError)
+
+	openClient := func(t *testing.T) *ent.Client {
+		dbPath := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "legacy.db")
+		legacyV3DB(t, dbPath)
+		client, err := ent.Open("sqlite3", "file:"+dbPath)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		return client
+	}
+
+	t.Run("schema create fails without repair", func(t *testing.T) {
+		client := openClient(t)
+		defer client.Close()
+		err := client.Schema.Create(ctx)
+		require.Error(t, err)
+		require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "group_users")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("repair backfills and migration succeeds", func(t *testing.T) {
+		client := openClient(t)
+		defer client.Close()
+
+		repairLegacyUserGroupColumn(l, client, ctx)
+		require.NoError(t, client.Schema.Create(ctx))
+
+		rows, err := client.QueryContext(ctx, `SELECT id, group_users FROM users ORDER BY id`)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		defer rows.Close()
+
+		got := map[int]int{}
+		for rows.Next() {
+			var id, gid int
+			require.NoError(t, rows.Scan(&id, &gid))
+			got[id] = gid
+		}
+		require.NoError(t, rows.Err())
+
+		// group_id bindings preserved; groupless user lands on the
+		// non-admin group (id 2), not the admin group.
+		require.Equal(t, map[int]int{1: 1, 2: 2, 3: 2}, got)
+	})
+}