---
title: Migrate from Tinybird Classic
meta:
    description: Migrate your project from Tinybird Classic to Tinybird Forward.
---

# Migrate from Tinybird Classic

Tinybird Forward introduces a new way of working with your data projects, with changes to APIs and CLI that may be incompatible with Classic. If you're starting a new project, see the [Get started](/forward) guide.

## Considerations before migrating

Before migrating your workspace from Tinybird Classic, understand these key differences in Forward:

- Development happens locally using the [Tinybird Local container](/forward/install-tinybird/local), not in the UI.
- Before starting the migration, remove all the branches that are not the main one. That can be done from the UI or using [the CLI](/classic/cli/command-ref#tb-branch).
- Contact the Tinybird support team to remove any existing rollback releases. Only the live release must remain to proceed with the migration.
- The Tinybird support team will need to [enable a feature flag](#contact-support-to-enable-the-forward-feature-flag) to complete the migration to Forward.
- The following features have limitations or require changes:

{% table %}
  * Feature
  * Status
  * Solution/Alternative
  ---
  * DynamoDB connector
  * Not supported
  * No alternative available yet. Pause migration if you depend on DynamoDB connectors.
  ---
  * BI Connector
  * Not supported
  * Use the [ClickHouse HTTP Interface](/forward/work-with-data/publish-data/clickhouse-interface) instead. Most BI tools support ClickHouse HTTP connections.
  ---
  * Shared data sources
  * Partially supported
  * Data source sharing is [supported](/forward/get-data-in/data-sources#share-a-data-source), but you cannot create Materialized Views from shared data sources in the destination workspace. Create Materialized Views in the source workspace instead.
  ---
  * Include files
  * Not supported
  * Use [tb secret](/forward/dev-reference/commands/tb-secret) for connector credentials and [generic pipes](/forward/work-with-data/pipes#create-generic-pipes) to reuse query logic. See [Replace include files](#replace-include-files) for migration steps.
  ---
  * `VERSION` tag in datafiles
  * Not supported
  * Remove any `VERSION` tags from your datafiles before migrating.
  ---
  * CI/CD workflows
  * Different commands
  * Forward uses different CLI commands. See [CI/CD](/forward/test-and-deploy/deployments/cicd) for details.
  ---
  * Testing strategy
  * Different approach
  * Regression tests and data quality tests are not supported in Forward. Fixture tests have been enhanced for easier test creation and management. See [Test your project](/forward/test-and-deploy/test-your-project) for details.
  ---
  * Resource-scoped tokens with `:sql_filter`
  * Not supported
  * Remove all tokens using the `:sql_filter` suffix (e.g., `DATASOURCES:READ:datasource_name:sql_filter`) before migrating. Use [JWTs](/forward/administration/tokens/jwt) instead.
  ---
  * AWS External IDs (S3 connectors/Sinks)
  * Breaking change
  * External IDs change from workspace ID to connection name. Update AWS Trust Policies before migrating. See [External ID changes for AWS integrations](#external-id-changes-for-aws-integrations) for details.
  ---
  * `TYPE endpoint` to the .pipe files
  * Breaking change
  * Add `TYPE endpoint` parameter to the .pipe files to publish them as API endpoints
{% /table %}

If these changes work for your use case, continue reading to learn how to migrate.

{% callout type="caution" %}
Migration is permanent and cannot be reversed. After deploying with Forward, you cannot switch your workspace back to Classic.
{% /callout %}

## External ID changes for AWS integrations

{% callout type="warning" %}
If you use AWS integrations (S3 connectors or S3 Sinks), you must update your AWS Trust Policies before migrating to Forward.
{% /callout %}

In Classic, Tinybird uses the workspace ID as the seed for generating External IDs, while in Forward it uses the connection name. This means the same connection will have a different External ID after migration.

### Update AWS Trust Policy

To get the new External ID for your connection, access:

```shell
{% user("apiHost") %}/v0/integrations/s3/policies/trust-policy \
  ?external_id_seed={CONNECTION_NAME} \ # Replace with your connection name
  &token={YOUR_ADMIN_TOKEN} # Replace with your admin token
```

This returns a Trust Policy with the new External ID. Add this new External ID to your existing Trust Policy's `sts:ExternalId` array to maintain access during and after migration.

### Additional S3 Sinks permission

If you use S3 Sinks, add the `s3:GetBucketLocation` permission to your AWS Access Policy. This requirement allows connections to work with buckets across multiple regions without specifying the region when creating the connection, making it more flexible for multi-region deployments.

## Migrate your workspace

{% steps %}

### Install the Tinybird Forward CLI

Run the following command to install the Tinybird Forward CLI and the Tinybird Local container:

{% snippet title="install-tinybird-forward" /%}

See [install Tinybird Forward](/forward/install-tinybird) for more information.

{% callout type="caution" %}
**Managing CLI Versions**: Having both Tinybird Classic and Forward CLIs installed can cause version conflicts since both use the `tb` command. To avoid these conflicts, consider:

1. Using the uv Python package manager to keep both CLIs completely isolated (recommended):

```bash
# For Classic CLI
uvx --from tinybird-cli@latest tb

# For Forward CLI
uvx --from tinybird@latest tb
```

2. Creating aliases in your shell configuration:

```bash
# Add to .bashrc or .zshrc
alias tb-classic="path/to/classic/tb"
alias tb-forward="path/to/forward/tb"
```

3. Using separate virtual environments for each CLI version.

This ensures you use the correct CLI version for each operation during migration.
{% /callout %}

The following steps use the uv Python package.

### Authenticate to your workspace

Authenticate to your workspace using the Classic CLI:

```bash
uvx --from tinybird-cli@latest tb auth --interactive
```

Follow the prompts to complete authentication.

### Pull your project

If you already have the latest version of your datafiles locally (e.g. from your Git repo), skip to the next step.

If you don't have your datafiles locally, pull them from Tinybird using the Forward CLI:

```bash
uvx --from tinybird@latest tb --cloud pull
```

### Check deployment compatibility

Validate your project's compatibility with the Forward CLI:

```bash
uvx --from tinybird@latest tb --cloud deploy --check
```

You should see:
```bash
* No changes to be deployed
* No changes in tokens to be deployed
```

If you encounter any errors, it's recommended to fix them in your Classic workspace so you can have a "clean" first Forward deployment. See [common migration errors](#common-migration-errors) for information about common errors and fixes.

Fix all of the errors, repull your workspace (if necessary), and rerun the deployment check until there are no changes detected.

### Contact support to enable the Forward feature flag

Once your project passes the compatibility check, contact Tinybird support (<support@tinybird.co>) to enable the Forward feature flag for your workspace.

### Trigger a deployment

Once the feature flag is enabled, it's time to trigger a deployment.

To create a simple first deployment, generate a dummy endpoint as the only change:

```tb {% title="forward_dummy_endpoint.pipe" %}
NODE n
SQL >
    SELECT 'forward'

TYPE endpoint
```

There are two ways to [deploy your project](/forward/test-and-deploy/deployments):

#### Option 1: CI/CD (recommended)

In an empty directory outside of your existing project, generate default CI/CD workflows by running the following command:

```bash
uvx --from tinybird@latest tb init --type cli --dev-mode manual --folder .
```

`tb init` creates the scaffolding for a new project. Use `--cicd github` or `--cicd gitlab` to generate CI/CD templates. Review the workflows, edit them as desired, and add the files to the root of your project.

Finally, trigger the deployment by committing your project to Git and creating a merge/pull request.

#### Option 2: CLI

If you don't have CI/CD configured, you can deploy manually:

```bash
uvx --from tinybird@latest tb --cloud deploy
```

### Open the project in Tinybird Cloud

After the deployment succeeds, open the project in Tinybird Cloud by running the following command:

```bash
uvx --from tinybird@latest tb --cloud open
```

{% /steps %}

The migration is complete! Your project will continue working as expected; you do not need to change your tokens, endpoint URLs, or anything else.

## Common migration errors

Common errors and changes include (but are not limited to):

### Missing connection files

In Forward, [.connection files](/forward/dev-reference/datafiles/connection-files) are used to store your connector details.

You need to create .connection files to enable your connections to Kafka, S3, or GCS. If you manually pulled your datafiles, the .connection files were created, but they are empty.

 See [Connectors](/forward/get-data-in/connectors) for more information about the syntax.

### Kafka settings have been deprecated

Some settings in the Kafka connector have been deprecated. You need to update your Kafka .connection file to use the most up-to-date [Kafka settings](/forward/get-data-in/connectors/kafka#kafka-connection-settings).


### Replace include files

Include files are not supported in Forward. The fix depends on your use of include files:

- If you use include files to store secrets, use [tb secret](/forward/dev-reference/commands/tb-secret) to set secrets in your local and cloud environments.
- If you use include files to reuse query logic, you can create [generic pipes](/forward/work-with-data/pipes#create-generic-pipes) and reference them in your endpoint pipes. For example:

```tb {% title="reusable_filters.pipe" %}
NODE apply_params
SQL >
    %
    SELECT * FROM my_datasource
    WHERE
        tenant_id = {{ String(tenant) }}
        AND date BETWEEN {{ Date(start_date) }} AND {{ Date(end_date) }}
```

```tb {% title="my_endpoint.pipe" %}
NODE endpoint
SQL >
    %
    SELECT * FROM reusable_filters

TYPE endpoint
```

### Add TYPE endpoint to your .pipe files

You need to add `TYPE endpoint` to your .pipe files so they can be published as API endpoints.

If you omit the [`TYPE` instruction](/forward/dev-reference/datafiles/pipe-files#available-instructions), the pipe will be a generic pipe that is not publicly exposed.

```tb {% title="example.pipe" %}
NODE my_node
SQL >
    SELECT * FROM my_datasource

TYPE endpoint
```

## Next steps

* Learn about working with Forward in the [Forward documentation](/forward).