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Migration guide

Move media from ImageKit to FileSpin

Move to FileSpin with every file reconciled and your image paths still working. Start with a product release: search by SKU, prepare image variants, collect sign-off, deliver a product video and verify the next asset replacement.

There are two ways to run the move. Both start with an inventory and a representative sample before the full transfer.

Assisted migration
We provide the necessary tools to migrate assets from on-premise and cloud storage while your technical team runs the migration, including metadata mapping, import and validation.
Managed migration by FileSpin
The FileSpin team carries out the migration: source extraction or export coordination, field mapping, import, validation and cutover support. Your team grants source access and signs off the result.
Four migration stages, retrieve, map and import, validate and cut over, showing who carries out each one in an assisted migration and in a managed migration by FileSpin
Who carries out each stage in an assisted and a managed migration.

1. Retrieve the source files and records

The migration reads your library through ImageKit’s DAM APIs with a read-only key: every file and folder, page by page, with file IDs, paths, tags, AI tags and custom metadata, plus the custom-field definitions and the file versions you keep. Files held in external storage are copied from that storage. Originals are downloaded unchanged, never as transformed delivery responses.

Retrieval uses an authorised source account, with credentials kept out of exports, screenshots and public URLs. Each completed inventory page and download is saved, so interrupted work resumes where it stopped, and expired download links are refreshed.

2. Create a manifest you can reconcile

One record per source file or retained version: source system, asset ID, file or version ID, original name, source path, file type, bytes, a checksum recorded at download, tags, custom metadata, collection membership, rights information and source update time. The FileSpin asset ID and transfer status are added as work progresses.

Original files are kept separate from thumbnails and delivery renditions. Every exception, such as a missing original, a restricted download or an unsupported format, is listed with its resolution.

3. Map what moves and what gets rebuilt


Part of the library

What happens

Originals

Authorised source files downloaded and reconciled against the manifest

Metadata

Folders, media collections, tags and typed custom fields map to FileSpin schemas and collections, keeping the file-ID-to-path mapping and the version in current use.

Collections

Membership rebuilt from source IDs after import

Versions

The revisions you keep, retrieved alongside the current files

Access

Roles, private delivery and review workflows set up in FileSpin; past review decisions archived

Delivery

Public image paths keep working. Change the delivery hostname as set up for your account and FileSpin serves the same transformations while the library copies across, on first request or in bulk. Signed URLs, video URLs, uploads and automation move in the planned migration and are checked before traffic switches.

History

Past requests, downloads, review histories and usage records archived from ImageKit

An illustrative ImageKit record (file ID, file path, tags, custom metadata, version and folder) mapped to a FileSpin record in the E-Commerce schema with SKU 31077 and season SS27, and the collection recreated with the destination asset IDs
A ImageKit record (synthetic example) mapped to the imported FileSpin asset.

4. Import and check a sample

The sample includes several file types, a multi-value metadata field, an asset in more than one collection, a retained revision and restricted content. Files are loaded, FileSpin IDs recorded, mapped metadata applied and relationships rebuilt.

In an assisted migration, your team stages the retrieved files with the tools we provide and loads metadata through the mapping. In a managed migration, the FileSpin team carries out these steps.

The sample passes when:

  • The correct file and intended version opens in FileSpin.
  • Required fields, types and controlled values match the mapping.
  • Collection membership counts match and related assets resolve.
  • Version records and current files match the scope.
  • An authorised user gets access and an unauthorised user is refused.
  • A content owner finds the selected assets by business fields and completes a review.
  • Real pages, players and feeds return the intended output, including after a replacement.
  • A test campaign link and a share download appear in Delivery Insights and Share analytics.
  • If agent work is included, its first run touches only the selected assets, stays within budget and reports its outcome.
  • Every exception is listed and resolved before the full run.
FileSpin Overview showing users, assets, collections, shares and total storage used
FileSpin Overview: compare asset and collection counts with the source inventory.
FileSpin AI Usage account ledger listing credit grants and debits with amount, running balance and operation source
AI Usage ledger: credits used by each agent run, for the budget check.

ImageKit migration questions

Do our ImageKit URLs keep working?
Yes, for public image paths. Change the delivery hostname as set up for your account, and eligible ImageKit image URLs keep working, transformations included, while your library copies across on first request or in bulk. Signed URLs, video URLs and uploads move as part of the planned migration and are checked before you switch traffic.
Can we keep working in ImageKit during the migration?
Yes. Your team keeps uploading and editing in ImageKit while the transfer runs. ImageKit’s webhooks for created, updated and deleted files and versions, with its last-modified search, show what has changed, and the final sync brings those changes across before each route switches.
Do metadata and folders come across?
Yes. Folders, tags, typed custom fields and the versions you keep come across through ImageKit’s APIs and map to FileSpin schemas and collections, with the file-ID-to-path mapping kept. Media collections are rebuilt as FileSpin collections without duplicating files. The mapping is checked on a sample before the full transfer.
Do we need to run the migration ourselves?
No. In a managed migration, the FileSpin team carries out the transfer. In an assisted migration, we provide the tools and your technical team runs it. Either way, you provide an ImageKit API key with read access, plus access to any external storage connected as an ImageKit origin.

5. Cut over

1. Set the switch-over
Agree when FileSpin becomes the system of record and how new uploads and replacements are handled.
2. Final sync
Pick up the last changes through the source’s change mechanism or a refreshed inventory, import them and reconcile counts.
3. Switch one route first
Move a selected collection or application route to FileSpin, then test public output and protected access.
4. Expand and retire
Keep the source available through the recovery window, with a rollback for each route, then expand and retire it.
ImageKit to FileSpin migration in two lanes: eligible image paths (confirm enablement, connect the source, check real URLs, test the output) and a separately scoped library and integrations migration, meeting at the traffic switch
Public image paths keep working after the hostname change while the library copies across, on first request or in bulk. Video URLs and integrations move in the planned migration and are checked before traffic switches.

6. Sign off the result

  • Every in-scope source file has a destination ID or an accepted exception.
  • Required metadata, relationships, versions and access controls pass the agreed checks.
  • Applications use the intended delivery route and updates appear correctly.
  • The exception report, ownership map and recovery procedure are handed over.
Reconciliation report for four synthetic ImageKit files: source IDs beside FileSpin asset IDs, file, metadata and collection checks, and one exception where a number field held the season as text
Reconciliation report with synthetic source records: one row per source file, its FileSpin ID and checks, and the exception resolved before sign‑off.

Plan your ImageKit migration with FileSpin. Tell us the size of your library, the history you need and the systems it feeds, and we’ll scope an assisted or managed migration with you.