> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.stackshift.cloud/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Reassign and migration expectations

> Understand what stack reassignment and migration mean today, especially for stateful stacks.

<Tip>
  **Live.** This area is documented as current, user-reliable behavior.
</Tip>

## Goal

Set the right operator expectations before moving stack workloads across nodes.

## Prerequisites

* A stack with a known placement target

## Workflow

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Treat stateless reassignments differently from stateful migrations.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Use backups and restore-aware thinking for stacks with named volumes.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Confirm health on the target side before treating the move as complete.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What reassign does

Reassign repoints a stack at a different node and redeploys it there. For a stateless stack this is the whole story: the stack comes up on the new node and you confirm health.

## Stateful stacks need backup-and-restore thinking

Named-volume data does not silently follow a stack across nodes. For a stateful stack, treat a move as a backup-and-restore operation: take a stack backup first, then restore it on the target so the volume data is actually present where the stack now runs.

* Back up the stack before moving anything stateful.
* Restore from a completed backup on the target node.
* Do not assume volume data migrated just because the stack redeployed.

## Confirm the move

A redeploy finishing is not the same as a healthy stack. Check service health and the application itself on the target before you consider the migration done.

## Expected result

<Check>
  You understand how safe stack movement works today and where caution is still required.
</Check>

## Related guides

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Back up and restore a stack" href="/stacks/back-up-and-restore-a-stack">
    Use S3-backed named-volume archives to protect and recover stateful stack data.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Stack logs, health, and placement" href="/stacks/logs-health-and-placement">
    Use the stack detail, logs, and placement information to understand how the stack is actually running.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Recovery states, logs, and troubleshooting" href="/operations/recovery-logs-and-troubleshooting">
    Read the operation state on a resource — its status, current step, attempt count, retryable flag, and last error — together with logs, instead of treating a single “error” badge as the whole story.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>