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Migration guide

Move media from imgix to FileSpin

Move to FileSpin with every original reconciled and a working delivery route. Start with a storefront collection: find the approved product media, prepare the required image sizes, publish a video and verify a changed original at the destination.

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 starts from your imgix Sources and the storage behind them. Originals are copied straight from your bucket or web folder. A read-only Management API key exports the Source settings and Asset Manager categories, custom fields, descriptions and tags, page by page. Source ID, object path and asset ID stay together in the manifest. Retained revisions come from your storage’s version history.

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

Source paths, Asset Manager fields and business metadata map to FileSpin records. Rendering parameters, defaults, custom domains and signing settings are recorded as delivery configuration.

Collections

Collections built from Asset Manager categories or your business data

Versions

The revisions you keep, retrieved alongside the current files

Access

Roles, private delivery and review workflows set up in FileSpin

Delivery

Each imgix rendering URL is rebuilt with the matching FileSpin resize, crop, format and quality options, and signing is set up for private media. Crop, transparency and video playback are checked against the current output before cutover.

History

Usage and analytics reports exported through the imgix Reports API

An illustrative imgix record (origin, object path, tags, business metadata, a rendering URL, and custom domains and signing keys not moved here) 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 imgix 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.

imgix migration questions

Do our imgix URLs keep working?
No. imgix URLs are served by your imgix Sources, so the migration switches each reference to a FileSpin URL using the manifest, with each rendering URL rebuilt as the matching FileSpin output. imgix reads your originals from your own storage, so FileSpin copies them straight from there.
Can we keep working in imgix during the migration?
Yes. imgix keeps serving your pages from your storage while FileSpin copies the originals, and your team keeps adding files as usual. A refreshed inventory of your storage and Asset Manager picks up recent changes in the final sync, before each route switches.
Do metadata and folders come across?
Yes. imgix holds little beyond your files, which keeps the move simple. Asset Manager categories, custom fields, descriptions and tags come across with each file, and the storage path is kept in the manifest. Product data from your CMS or PIM maps to FileSpin schemas in the same pass, so your team can search by business fields.
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 read access to the storage behind your imgix Sources and an imgix API key with Asset Browse permission.

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.

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 imgix objects: source IDs beside FileSpin asset IDs, file, metadata and collection checks, and one exception where an output fill colour was rebuilt as a white-padded FileSpin URL
Reconciliation report with synthetic source records: one row per source object, its FileSpin ID and checks, and the exception resolved before sign‑off.

Plan your imgix 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.