AppMigrationKit
One-time cross-platform data transfer for app resources. Enables apps to export data to or import data from another platform (for example, Android) during device setup or onboarding. AppMigrationKit APIs are iOS 26.0+ / iPadOS 26.0+; the data-container entitlement is iOS 26.1+ / iPadOS 26.1+ / Mac Catalyst 26.1+. Swift 6.3.
Beta-sensitive. AppMigrationKit is new in iOS 26 and may change before GM. Re-check current Apple documentation before relying on specific API details.
AppMigrationKit uses an app extension model. The system orchestrates the transfer between devices. The app provides an extension conforming to export and import protocols, and the system calls that extension at the appropriate time. The app itself never manages the network connection between devices.
Contents
- Architecture Overview
- Setup and Entitlements
- App Migration Extension
- Exporting Resources
- Importing Resources
- Migration Status
- Progress Tracking
- Testing
- Common Mistakes
- Review Checklist
- References
Architecture Overview
AppMigrationKit operates through three layers:
- App extension -- An
AppMigrationExtensionconforming type that the system invokes during migration. It handles data export and import. - System orchestration -- The OS manages the device-to-device session, transport, and scheduling. The extension does not control when it runs.
- Containing app -- After migration completes, the app checks
MigrationStatus.importStatuson first launch to determine whether migration occurred and whether it succeeded.
Key types:
Setup and Entitlements
Entitlement
The app extension requires the com.apple.developer.app-migration.data-container-access
entitlement. Its value is a single-element string array containing the bundle
identifier of the containing app:
No other values are valid. This entitlement grants the extension read access to the containing app's data container during export and write access during import. The entitlement itself is available on iOS 26.1+, iPadOS 26.1+, and Mac Catalyst 26.1+, even though the core AppMigrationKit APIs are available on iOS 26.0+ and iPadOS 26.0+.
Extension Target
Add a new App Extension target to the Xcode project. The extension conforms
to one or more of the migration protocols (ResourcesExportingWithOptions,
ResourcesExporting, ResourcesImporting).
App Migration Extension
The extension entry point conforms to AppMigrationExtension. During
migration, the system prevents launching the containing app and its other
extensions to ensure exclusive data access.
Accessing the Data Container
The extension accesses the containing app's files through appContainer:
MigrationDataContainer provides containerRootDirectory, documentsDirectory,
and applicationSupportDirectory as URL values pointing into the containing
app's sandbox.
Exporting Resources
Conform to ResourcesExportingWithOptions (or ResourcesExporting for no
custom options) to package files for transfer. The system calls
exportResources(to:request:) with a ResourcesArchiver and a
MigrationRequestWithOptions.
Declaring Export Properties
resourcesSizeEstimate-- Estimated total bytes. The system uses this for progress UI and free-space checks.resourcesVersion-- Format version string. The import side receives this to handle versioned data formats.resourcesCompressible-- Whentrue, the archiver may compress files during transport.
Implementing Export
The archiver streams files incrementally. Call appendItem(at:pathInArchive:)
repeatedly as each resource is ready. The system may terminate the extension
if it appears hung, so avoid long gaps between append calls.
Cancellation
ResourcesArchiver handles task cancellation automatically by throwing
cancellation errors. Do not catch these errors -- doing so causes the system
to kill the extension.
Migration Platform
MigrationRequestWithOptions exposes destinationPlatform as a
MigrationPlatform value. Use this to tailor exported data:
MigrationPlatform provides .android as a static constant. Custom
platforms can be created with MigrationPlatform("customPlatform").
Importing Resources
Conform to ResourcesImporting to receive transferred files on the
destination device. The system calls importResources(at:request:) after
app installation but before the app is launchable.
Error Handling During Import
On import error, the system clears the containing app's data container to prevent partial state. However, app group containers are not cleared. The import implementation should clear any app group containers before writing imported content:
Source App Identifier
ResourcesImportRequest provides sourceAppIdentifier as a
MigrationAppIdentifier with three properties:
platform-- The source device's platform (e.g.,.android)bundleIdentifier-- The source app's bundle identifierstoreIdentifier-- The app store (e.g.,.googlePlay)
Migration Status
After migration completes, the containing app checks the result on first launch:
MigrationStatus.importStatusisnilif no migration occurred.- Call
clearImportStatus()after handling the result to prevent showing the notification on subsequent launches. - The enum has two cases:
.successand.failure(any Error).
Progress Tracking
The import side exposes a Progress object via resourcesImportProgress.
The system uses this to display transfer progress to the user. Update
completedUnitCount incrementally during import:
Testing
AppMigrationTester is a test-only actor for validating migration logic
in unit tests hosted by the containing app. Do not use it in production.
DeviceToDeviceExportProperties on the result exposes uncompressedBytes,
compressedBytes (nil if not compressible), sizeEstimate, and version.
See references/appmigrationkit-patterns.md [blocked] for additional test patterns.
Common Mistakes
DON'T: Catch cancellation errors from ResourcesArchiver
DON'T: Leave long gaps between archiver append calls
DON'T: Convert files to intermediate format during export
DON'T: Ignore app group containers during import error recovery
DON'T: Forget to clear import status after handling it
Review Checklist
- Extension target added with
com.apple.developer.app-migration.data-container-accessentitlement - Entitlement array contains exactly one string: the containing app's bundle identifier
- Extension conforms to
ResourcesExportingWithOptionsorResourcesExportingfor export - Extension conforms to
ResourcesImportingfor import -
resourcesSizeEstimatereturns a reasonable byte estimate -
resourcesVersionis set and will be checked on import for format compatibility - Export calls
appendItemincrementally without long pauses - Cancellation errors from
ResourcesArchiverare not caught - Import clears app group containers before writing new data
- Containing app checks
MigrationStatus.importStatuson first launch -
clearImportStatus()called after handling the migration result -
AppMigrationTesterused in unit tests to validate export and import - Files are exported as-is without intermediate format conversion on the export side
-
sourceVersionfrom import request used to handle versioned data formats
References
- Extended patterns (combined extension, versioned migration, file enumeration, error recovery): references/appmigrationkit-patterns.md [blocked]
- AppMigrationKit framework
- AppMigrationExtension
- ResourcesExportingWithOptions
- ResourcesImporting
- ResourcesArchiver
- MigrationStatus
- MigrationDataContainer
- AppMigrationTester
- Data container entitlement
