Migration tutorial

2026-10-04 18:38:30 +02:00 · 2025-06-09 11:40:34 +03:00
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+---
+title: Migration
+weight: 10
+aliases:
+  - ../migration
+---
+
+
+Migrating data between vector databases, especially across regions, platforms, or deployment types, can be a hassle. That’s where the **Qdrant Migration Tool** comes in. The tool supports all your migration needs, including moving from a self-hosted instance to Qdrant and switching cloud providers.  
+
+In this tutorial, we will learn how to use the migration tool and walk through a practical example of migrating from other vector databases to Qdrant. 
+
+## What is the Qdrant Migration Tool?
+
+We recently released the **Qdrant Migration Tool (beta)** to make the process of migrating data between vector databases seamless. The tool:
+
+* Streams vectors in batches from a source Qdrant collection to a target Qdrant collection.  
+* Works across cloud regions, providers, or deployment types.  
+* Supports migration of vectors from other providers into Qdrant. 
+
+## Why use this instead of Qdrant’s Native Snapshotting?
+
+Qdrant supports [snapshot-based backups](https://qdrant.tech/documentation/concepts/snapshots/), low-level disk operations built for the same cluster recovery or local backups. These snapshots:
+
+* Require snapshot consistency across nodes.   
+* Can be hard to port across machines or cloud zones. 
+
+On the other hand, the Qdrant Migration Tool:
+
+* Streams data in live batches.  
+* Can resume interrupted migrations.  
+* Works even when data is being inserted.  
+* Supports collection reconfiguration (e.g., change replication, and quantization)  
+* Supports migrating from other vector DBs (Pinecone, Chroma, Weaviate, etc.)
+
+## How to Use the Qdrant Migration Tool
+
+You can run the tool via Docker. 
+
+Installation:
+
+```shell
+
+docker pull registry.cloud.qdrant.io/library/qdrant-migration
+```
+
+ Run migration:
+
+```bash  
+docker run --rm -it \
+    -e SOURCE_API_KEY='your-source-key' \
+    -e TARGET_API_KEY='your-target-key' \
+    registry.cloud.qdrant.io/library/qdrant-migration qdrant \
+    --source-url 'https://source-instance.cloud.qdrant.io' \
+    --source-collection 'benchmark' \
+    --target-url 'https://target-instance.cloud.qdrant.io' \
+    --target-collection 'benchmark'
+
+```
+
+## Example: Migrate from Pinecone to Qdrant
+
+Let’s now walk through an example of migrating from Pinecone to Qdrant. Assuming your Pinecone index looks like this:  
+
+![Pinecone Dashboard](images/image1.png)
+
+The information you need from Pinecone is: 
+
+* Your Pinecone API key   
+* The index name   
+* The index host URL
+
+With that information, you can migrate your vector database from Pinecone to Qdrant with the following command: 
+
+```bash   
+docker run --net=host --rm -it registry.cloud.qdrant.io/library/qdrant-migration pinecone \
+    --pinecone.index-host 'https://sample-movies-efgjrye.svc.aped-4627-b74a.pinecone.io' \
+    --pinecone.index-name 'sample-movies' \
+    --pinecone.api-key 'pcsk_7Dh5MW_…' \
+    --qdrant.url 'https://5f1a5c6c-7d47-45c3-8d47-d7389b1fad66.eu-west-1-0.aws.cloud.qdrant.io:6334' \
+    --qdrant.api-key 'eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5c…' \
+    --qdrant.collection 'sample-movies' \
+    --migration.batch-size 64
+
+
+``` 
+When the migration is complete, you will see the new collection on Qdrant with all the vectors.  
+
+![Migration](images/video.gif)
+
+## Tips & Best Practices
+
+Here are some best practices to keep in mind when using the Qdrant migration tool:
+
+* Run the tool **close to both source and target** to minimize latency.  
+* The vector size and distance function must match.  
+* Always test with a small collection first to validate the setup. 
+
+## Conclusion
+
+The **Qdrant Migration Tool** makes data transfer across vector database instances effortless. Whether you're moving between cloud regions, upgrading from self-hosted to Qdrant Cloud, or switching from other databases such as Pinecone, this tool saves you hours of manual effort. [Try it today](https://github.com/qdrant/migration). 
+
+
+