Moving an app from Connect to Forge (Completely)

[eby]

Hello,

We have an existing Connect app that we would like to replace with a Forge version (a complete re-write).
So far, we’ve tested our Forge app by creating a new, totally separate Forge app and deploying to development.

We would like to replace our Connect app with this Forge version, without having to create a separate app listing or losing customers.

I came across How to migrate connect app to forge? - #13 by jhazelwood, but it is an old post and not super clear on the steps we need to take.

Can I get a clear list of steps to completely move our app to Forge? And will customers have to update manually or will it be automatic?

Thanks!

[jhazelwood]

Hello @eby,

In your case I would

1. Set app.connect.key in your manifest to match the key you use for your Connect app when testing, then deploy to development.
2. Use the cli to install development onto a test site where you already have the test Connect app installed, and check that the connect installation gets cleanly replaced by the Forge installation - if anything looks off, let us know.
3. Set app.connect.key in your manifest to the production Connect key (i.e. the one used by your listing) and deploy to production
4. Check you’ve agreed to the Forge terms and DPA
5. List the Forge version as the next version of your existing listing. Two things to note:
   1. You can do a “staged migration” if you want a controlled rollout to reduce the impact if something does go wrong
   2. Admins will need to click the “update” button in order to get the Forge version.

Hope that answers your question,
James Hazelwood
Principal Engineer, Ecosystem

[eby]

Thanks for the reply James.

If I have the production version of the Connect app installed on a test instance, and set app.connect.key in my Forge app manifest to the production Connect key but deploy to development, will the installation of the old app be cleanly replaced on just the test instance?

Confirming so I don’t cause issues!

[jhazelwood]

The key is the link, so if the keys match the Forge will replace the Connect, and if they don’t you’ll end up with both installed side-by-side.

[jhazelwood]

Oh, I realised I misunderstood the question. You can set the key to whatever you want in development and staging and it won’t affect any of your customers; those are totally isolated. So only your test sites that you install the development version to will be impacted.

[eby]

James,

Thanks for your help. We’ve done what you suggested and were able to successfully replace the Connect version of our app with the Forge one.

Just so it’s clear for everyone else, you can install a production copy of your Connect app from the marketplace, then replace only that particular install with a Forge development deployment by referencing the Connect app key (the licensing option in your manifest should also match the one in your app descriptor). Nothing else was affected.