Overview

HostShift migrates server workloads by separating the work into discovery, planning, target preparation, synchronization, verification, and release/cutover support.

Design Goals

• Preserve the source server exactly as it is.
• Make every planned action inspectable before apply.
• Treat unsafe online reads as blockers instead of silently skipping them.
• Keep cloud and DNS automation outside the core.
• Support realistic Ubuntu and Debian version differences.
• Verify results with Docker and VM test matrices, not only unit tests.

Non-Goals

HostShift does not:

• edit source host files
• stop source services
• install source packages
• configure cloud firewalls or DNS records
• invent package names for unknown platforms
• migrate machine identity files such as SSH host keys or /etc/machine-id

Main Workflow

hostshift doctor --source old-server --target new-server --json
hostshift discover --source old-server --name migration --profile migration.profile.yaml --json
hostshift plan --profile migration.profile.yaml --target new-server --json
hostshift explain --profile migration.profile.yaml --target new-server --json
hostshift review --profile migration.profile.yaml --target new-server --json
hostshift prepare --profile migration.profile.yaml --target new-server --json
hostshift sync --profile migration.profile.yaml --target new-server --json
hostshift verify --profile migration.profile.yaml --target new-server --json

explain, review, prepare, sync, and verify default to non-apply review behavior. Add --apply only after reviewing blockers and actions.

For exact flags and output shapes, see CLI Reference. For profile fields, see Profile v2 Reference.