Apple Platform Deployment
- Welcome
- Intro to Apple Platform Deployment
- What’s new
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- Declarative status reports
- Declarative app configuration
- Authentication credentials and identity asset declaration
- Background task management declarative
- Calendar declarative configuration
- Certificates declarative configuration
- Contacts declarative configuration
- Exchange declarative configuration
- Google Accounts declarative configuration
- LDAP declarative configuration
- Legacy interactive profile declarative configuration
- Legacy profile declarative configuration
- Mail declarative configuration
- Math and Calculator app declarative configuration
- Managed Migration Assistant declarative configuration
- Passcode declarative configuration
- Passkey Attestation declarative configuration
- Safari browsing management declarative configuration
- Safari extensions management declarative configuration
- Screen Sharing declarative configuration
- Service configuration files declarative configuration
- Software Update declarative configuration
- Software Update settings declarative configuration
- Storage management declarative configuration
- Subscribed Calendars declarative configuration
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- Accessibility payload settings
- Active Directory Certificate payload settings
- AirPlay payload settings
- AirPlay Security payload settings
- AirPrint payload settings
- App Lock payload settings
- Associated Domains payload settings
- Automated Certificate Management Environment (ACME) payload settings
- Autonomous Single App Mode payload settings
- Calendar payload settings
- Cellular payload settings
- Cellular Private Network payload settings
- Certificate Preference payload settings
- Certificate Revocation payload settings
- Certificate Transparency payload settings
- Certificates payload settings
- Conference Room Display payload settings
- Contacts payload settings
- Content Caching payload settings
- Directory Service payload settings
- DNS Proxy payload settings
- DNS Settings payload settings
- Dock payload settings
- Domains payload settings
- Energy Saver payload settings
- Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) payload settings
- Exchange Web Services (EWS) payload settings
- Extensible Single Sign-on payload settings
- Extensible Single Sign-on Kerberos payload settings
- Extensions payload settings
- FileVault payload settings
- Finder payload settings
- Firewall payload settings
- Fonts payload settings
- Global HTTP Proxy payload settings
- Google Accounts payload settings
- Home Screen Layout payload settings
- Identification payload settings
- Identity Preference payload settings
- Kernel Extension Policy payload settings
- LDAP payload settings
- Lights Out Management payload settings
- Lock Screen Message payload settings
- Login Window payload settings
- Managed Login Items payload settings
- Mail payload settings
- Network Usage Rules payload settings
- Notifications payload settings
- Parental Controls payload settings
- Passcode payload settings
- Printing payload settings
- Privacy Preferences Policy Control payload settings
- Relay payload settings
- SCEP payload settings
- Security payload settings
- Setup Assistant payload settings
- Single Sign-on payload settings
- Smart Card payload settings
- Subscribed Calendars payload settings
- System Extensions payload settings
- System Migration payload settings
- Time Machine payload settings
- TV Remote payload settings
- Web Clips payload settings
- Web Content Filter payload settings
- Xsan payload settings
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- Glossary
- Document revision history
- Copyright and trademarks
Managed Migration Assistant for macOS
Overview
Managed Migration Assistant streamlines Mac-to-Mac data migration during Setup Assistant, giving organizations control over what data transfers to a new Mac, without relying on users to make those decisions.
Migration Assistant selects the best transport option for migration based off of speed. Options include directly connecting over Wi-Fi, infrastructure Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and Thunderbolt. Migration Assistant also frequently checks to see if a faster option becomes available during migration.
You can customize and streamline the migration experience by specifying:
Which subfolders and files inside the user’s Home folder are required to migrate.
Which subfolders and files are excluded.
What user accounts aren’t offered for migration.
Whether system-level privacy settings are migrated.
Specified paths are always relative to the Home folder of the user in scope of migration. For example, to enforce the migration of the folder Work located at /Users/elana/Documents/Work/ you specify Documents/Work/ in the RequiredPaths array. Migration includes hidden folders and files, for example keys used for SSH, unless they are specifically excluded. You can also combine required and excluded paths. To exclude specific items within a required path, add an exclusion for that subfolder or file. For example, this allows the transfer of the Documents folder to be required, but specific subfolders or files within to be excluded. The user’s Library folder (~/Library) is always migrated. See Migration Assistant declarative configuration.
Note: Folder paths need a trailing forward slash (/).
The declarative device status channel provides status insights during the migration and additional details in a report after the transfer process completes. The report includes the date, time, amount of data transferred, and if any files could not be migrated—delivering the visibility organizations need for audit and troubleshooting purposes.
Requirements
macOS 15 or later on the source Mac.
macOS 26.4 or later on the new Mac.
The new Mac needs to be registered in Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager and assigned to a device management service.
A data connection between the two Mac computers. Unless Wi-Fi has been turned off on the source Mac, devices establish a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connection.
Managed Migration Assistant is embedded into Setup Assistant and uses the following process:
The user opens Migration Assistant on their source Mac and initiates the migration process by entering their local administrator credentials.
The user sets up their new Mac while choosing to transfer their information from another Mac on the Transfer Your Data to This Mac pane.
The new Mac gets enrolled in a device management service using Automated Device Enrollment with the
await_device_configuredkey set totrue.Important: The Restore pane (skip key
Restore) can’t be hidden.The device management service provides required configurations, for example for Platform Single Sign On with Automated Device Enrollment, and the
com.apple.configuration.migration-assistant.settingsconfiguration.After the user account is created, Managed Migration Assistant guides the user through the process to transfer data from their Home folder of the source Mac.