Framework recently released their new 13-inch laptop, and I decided that 5 years was enough time to justify an upgrade. All metal, with a much better keyboard and touchpad - honestly I have no complaints so far. But of course, a new laptop means migrating from the old one, and that process always sucks.
So, what’s the laziest way to do it? AI, of course!
The Transfer
Codex on the old laptop, and Codex on the new laptop. A prompt on the old one to allow inbound SSH, and some commands on the new laptop to set up an SSH key + agent - that gave Codex all the access it needed.
After the connection worked, I asked the new laptop’s Codex to inventory the old one and copy the relevant files. I did have to stop it partway through preparing the transfer and ask for a list first; there were old projects I didn’t want coming along. With the list, I was able to prune things - yes I do want 20gb of videos from my pond, no I don’t want the projects in Android Studio.
Along the way, Codex noticed that Documents, Desktop, and Pictures on the new laptop were redirected through OneDrive. I had forgotten to uninstall it, and my AI slop machine was able to reduce the MicroSlop for me.
A good few minutes later, things were copied over. The final report showed 12,797 files verified against source SHA-256 checksums, a few dozen GB in total. Two ebooks had been skipped by the archive tool; Codex transferred those separately with SFTP and verified them too.
Now, everything here is something I could have done manually. I could have set up an SSH service on the old laptop, and walked my file tree to figure out where things I actually wanted to keep happened to be. I could have rsynced over those directories, filtered old installers, and done all the rest of the work manually. I probably would have missed those ebooks, and discovered them months later if ever. I am very glad I didn’t have to do any of it.
The Installations
The other inventory I asked for wasn’t just a list of files - it was a list of programs. Editors, utilities, VLC… All the stuff you end up installing on a laptop over the years.
Thanks to the inventory, I was able to list out the things I actually wanted, and then had Codex install them for me. No tracking down installers or waiting for downloads - just a few minutes of clicking UAC prompts. Yeah, some things still aren’t seamless.
What I would do next time
I’d use this approach again, with a more explicit first request: inventory the old machine, show me the categories and destinations, wait for my choices, then copy and verify them. But honestly, by the time I upgrade laptops again I dearly hope Windows won’t be involved at all.
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