Migrate a CMS archive into build-tested local content

Why use this

1. A website archive can appear successfully migrated while losing embedded media, publication metadata or old addresses that readers still use. A passing build only proves one technical condition, leaving editorial completeness and navigation to be checked separately.

2. A migration review manifest could tie every source item to its converted file and identify transformations needing inspection. The owner could evaluate whether the archive is ready for a later deployment decision without making the production site the test environment.

Why an agent / simpler alternative

Useful judgment

Handle irregular markup and explain content-specific conversion exceptions while retaining original evidence.

Simpler alternative

Use a maintained exporter for a small archive with consistent markup and a supported destination format.

Unsuitable when

There is no source backup or the only available destination is the live site.

Proposed inputs

1. Name

   Archive snapshot

   Owner

   Site owner

   Minimum scope

   Selected post exports, permitted assets and original identifiers

   Quality check

   Inventory counts, encodings and media references.

2. Name

   Destination contract

   Owner

   Developer

   Minimum scope

   Content schema, route rules and expected front matter

   Quality check

   Identify required fields and unsupported embeds.

Access and setup — proposed or unknown

Proposed minimum

1. Read-only archive copies and a separate proposed conversion directory.

Compatibility unknowns

1. Unknown: current runtime, converter behavior, destination build toolchain and deployment integration.

External actions requiring approval

1. Repository pushes, deployment, route changes and removal of the original CMS.

Expected deliverable and review checks

Proposed artifact

Source-to-file migration manifest, conversion exceptions and proposed preview/build checklist.

Critical checks

1. Every source item has a destination or an explicit exclusion.

2. Metadata, image semantics and old-to-new routes receive separate review.

Missing output evidence

No new workflow run or output inspection is performed for this editorial layer. The linked implementation evidence retains the original source-specific outcome and artifact limits.

Failure signals and proposed responses

1. Signal

   A malformed image tag disappears during conversion.

   Why it matters

   The page can build while losing important content.

   Proposed response

   Retain the original fragment and flag a manual media repair in the manifest.

2. Signal

   Two posts map to the same destination slug.

   Why it matters

   One item may overwrite another or break inbound links.

   Proposed response

   Stop those mappings and obtain an explicit collision-resolution rule.

Effort and cost — unknown

Setup work

1. Inventory archive formats and define preservation rules.

Ongoing review

1. Inspect exceptional pages, links and media previews.

Unknowns

1. Unknown: conversion effort, hosting charges and remaining unsupported markup.

First check — proposed, unexecuted

Status

proposed_unexecuted

Synthetic fixture

Four invented post snippets include a malformed image, non-ASCII text and two colliding slugs.

Acceptance checks

1. Account for all four source IDs.

2. Flag the collision and preserve the broken fragment for review.

Stop conditions

1. Running builds, contacting the CMS or modifying a live repository is required.

Limits

1. Technical build checks and content-preservation checks answer different questions; neither is executed by this decision aid.