Managing migration steps
In the Qlik Analytics Migration Tool, Migration Steps represent the discrete operations that a job can execute as part of the overall migration process. Each step corresponds to a specific task, such as exporting applications, importing users, creating spaces, or updating scripts. These steps form the building blocks of every migration job.
Where Plans define what content to migrate and how it should be transformed, and projects group jobs and define their execution strategy, Migration Steps define the exact actions to be performed during each job run.
Purpose and structure
Migration steps are organized into functional categories based on what part of the Qlik ecosystem they affect. Each step operates independently and is designed to target a particular type of object (such as apps, users, or spaces) and perform a specific action (such as export, import, or update).
Steps are highly modular and can be combined into jobs in any sequence that makes sense for the migration scenario. The ordering of steps within a job is prioritized and respected during execution, enabling users to define phased or conditional migrations with precision.
Each step is responsible for handling both the execution logic and the management of relationships between source and target environments — ensuring that Qlik Cloud references stay accurate, consistent, and traceable throughout multi-step migrations.
Uniqueness and retrieval behavior
When an object is migrated (such as an application or data connection), it is assigned a unique identifier within the migration tool's internal cache. This uniqueness ensures that objects are properly mapped across multiple migration steps and can be referenced or updated in later phases without duplication or loss of consistency.
This retrieval and tracking behavior allows for:
- Coordinated multi-step execution (e.g., export → import → validate)
- Reusability of migrated artifacts across different jobs
- Clean error handling and recovery across distinct job runs
Each section below will detail the available steps within its functional category and outline how uniqueness and retrieval work behind the scenes to ensure reliable, traceable operations.
Categories of migration steps
Migration steps are grouped into the following categories:
Explore each category to understand the available steps, how they behave, and how they fit into your overall migration flow.