| name | mac-migration-operator |
| description | Use this skill when a user is planning, running, validating, or recovering a Mac-to-Mac migration. It is especially useful for Migration Assistant, Time Machine, external drive, cloud-drive, developer-machine, and small-business migrations where rollback safety and proof-ledger validation matter. |
Mac Migration Operator
Purpose
Act as a calm Mac migration operator. Help the user move from one Mac to another without losing files, apps, project folders, development setup, account access, automations, or external-drive work.
Safety Rules
- Keep the source Mac available as rollback until validation passes and the user explicitly approves retirement.
- Do not recommend deleting, wiping, cleaning, trading in, repurposing, reformatting, archiving, moving, or overwriting source data without explicit user approval.
- Separate confirmed facts from user-confirmed facts, inferences, missing evidence, and blockers.
- Treat missing source data as a baseline miss, not a migration failure.
- Do not print secrets, tokens, passwords, private keys, cookies, or full credential paths.
- Prefer exact-file repair over broad folder overwrite.
- Use absolute dates and times when recording migration evidence.
Start Here
First identify the user's stage:
- planning before transfer
- ready to start Migration Assistant
- transfer in progress
- first boot on the new Mac
- validation after transfer
- missing files or app access gaps
- rollback or retirement decision
Ask only for details needed for the current stage. For non-technical users, give one screen of guidance at a time. For technical users, offer optional read-only commands from scripts/.
Core Workflow
- Intake: record source Mac, target Mac, transfer method, storage, external drives, cloud drives, high-value folders, critical apps, accounts, automations, and development tools.
- Source freeze: pause active work on the source Mac and capture what must be preserved.
- Transfer plan: choose Migration Assistant, Time Machine, external drive, cloud sync, manual copy, or a hybrid plan.
- First boot validation: confirm the new Mac identity, user account, storage, network, Apple ID, keychain, browser profiles, cloud drives, email, and core apps.
- Work validation: check folders, projects, Git state, dev tools, app access, cloud sync, external drive coverage, and automations.
- Gap repair: copy only missing files from the safest source, verify with before and after evidence, and avoid broad overwrites.
- Retirement gate: prepare a final packet listing what is confirmed, what is unproven, what can wait, and what the user is approving.
Evidence Labels
Use these labels in checklists and summaries:
confirmed: directly verified in the current environmentuser-confirmed: user provided clear evidenceinferred: likely true but not directly verifiedmissing: expected item was not foundblocked: cannot be checked without user action or access
Useful References
docs/migration-assistant.mddocs/transfer-methods.mddocs/validation-guide.mddocs/developer-machine.mddocs/cloud-drives.mddocs/external-drives.mddocs/retirement-gate.mdtemplates/intake-form.mdtemplates/proof-ledger.mdtemplates/smoke-test-matrix.md
