Choose a developer path
Start from the migration job you are running or the Airlift integration surface you need to implement.
Choose your path
Airlift moves an estate to Databricks as one governed job:
Connect → Inventory → Scope → Build → Move → Prove → Go-live
↘ Fixes (residue / discrepancies) ↗Start from where you sit in that job rather than reading the documentation front to back.
Run or follow a migration
Most readers should start in the App and only drop to developer surfaces when a stage needs an adapter or integration:
| You are | Start here | What you will do |
|---|---|---|
| a migrator running the job | App walkthroughs | follow one migration from engagement setup through cutover, stage by stage |
| setting up your first engagement | Engagements | create the engagement, bind a connection, run guided setup |
| a migration lead or approver | Guided migration journey | see what each gate requires, who acts next, and what evidence clears it |
| an auditor or sponsor | Parity certificates | verify what a signed certificate claims and export evidence |
Implement an integration surface
When a stage needs code from your project, start with the component you are implementing:
| You are building | Start here | What you will implement |
|---|---|---|
| a source migration integration | Source developer workflow | source plan, Lakebridge route, transfer, validation, and governed action calls |
| an assessment adapter | Run the assessment | workspace-job submission and immutable output admission |
| a conversion factory | Conversion factory | deterministic conversion, residue classification, and artifact recording |
| a transfer driver | Data transfer | checkpointed snapshot/incremental movement and reconciliation |
| a validation provider | Validation and readiness | admitted evidence records and profile-track observations |
| an Airlift deployment | Deployment | App, durable storage, jobs, Temporal, identity, secrets, and production checks |
| a cutover effector | Cutover and rollback | checkpoint, apply-once, independent verification, and recovery |
| CI or operator automation | Airlift CLI | source plans, diagnostics, contract snapshots, certificate verification |
Recommended implementation order
Build one complete, evidence-producing path before adding optional integrations:
- Generate and review the source profile and migration plan.
- Wire a live Lakebridge assessment and import the normalized inventory.
- Convert representative hard objects and retain immutable artifacts and residue.
- Implement one restartable transfer profile and independent validation runner.
- Resolve profile tracks, mint certificates, and rehearse a reversible wave.
Runway, Radar, and Tower add release, operations, and work-management evidence. They are optional integrations rather than prerequisites for assessment, conversion, validation, or certification. See family composition.
Trust & certificates
Whichever path you take, two reference pages define what the resulting evidence is worth:
- Parity and migration certificates — what a signed certificate claims, the evidence depth behind it, and how to verify it offline.
- Security model — the identity, tenancy, agent, and approval boundaries the whole migration job runs inside.
Fabric Airlift developer documentation
Move estates to Databricks faster with governed proof — Connect, Inventory, Scope, Build, Move, Prove, and Go-live in one Airlift App, with certificates your auditor can verify.
Core concepts
Learn the Airlift ontology, the executive funnel, readiness tracks, waves, and evidence artifacts.