Skip to main content
This guide walks you through creating a migration project and getting to your first milestone.

Prerequisites

  • A GitHub account
  • A repository you want to migrate

Step 1: Sign In

Go to modelcode.ai and sign in with:
  • GitHub (recommended if you’re migrating GitHub repositories)

Step 2: Connect GitHub

After signing in, connect your GitHub account to access your repositories:
  1. Click Connect GitHub
  2. Authorize to access your repositories
  3. Select which repositories can access
You can grant access to specific repositories only. This is useful if you have many repos but only want to migrate a few.

Step 3: Create a Project

  1. Select the repository you want to migrate
  2. Enter a project name (defaults to your repository name)
  3. Click Create Project
clones your repository and prepares it for analysis. This takes a few moments.

Where Will the Code Go?

  • Organization repositories: creates a new repository in your organization for the migrated code
  • Personal repositories: The migrated code goes to a new branch named {branch}-modelcode-ai
Your original code is never modified.

Step 4: Define Your Modernization Goal

This is where you tell what you want to achieve. In the text field, describe your goal in plain language: Examples:
  • “Translate the source code from Ada to C++”
  • “Upgrade Python 2.7 to Python 3.12”
  • “Migrate from AngularJS to React with TypeScript”
  • “Upgrade Java Spring framework to the latest version”
Be specific about your target. Instead of “modernize the code,” say “migrate from Express.js to FastAPI” or “upgrade to React 18 with hooks.”

Advanced Options

Expand Advanced Options to access:
OptionWhen to Use
Additional InstructionsSpecify libraries, frameworks, coding patterns, or testing requirements
Modernization ScopeLimit migration to specific parts of the repository. Leave empty to migrate everything
Click Continue to generate your migration instructions.

Step 5: Wait for Analysis

now:
  1. Generates Source Architecture — Analyzes your codebase and documents its structure
  2. Generates Instructions — Creates a detailed migration plan based on your goal
This takes a few minutes. You can navigate away and come back.

Step 6: Review and Approve Instructions

The generated instructions describe how your code will be migrated. Review them carefully:
  • Do they capture your intent?
  • Are the target technologies correct?
  • Is anything missing?
You can:
  • Edit the instructions to add or change requirements
  • Auto-review to have AI check your edits for issues
  • Approve when you’re satisfied
Once approved, instructions cannot be edited. Take time to review before approving.

Step 7: Generate Roadmap

After approval, generates:
  1. Destination Architecture — The target structure of your migrated application
  2. Roadmap — A sequence of milestones that progressively migrate your code
Each milestone represents a logical chunk of work. Milestones are ordered so each builds on the previous one.

Step 8: Execute Your First Milestone

  1. Open the first milestone
  2. Review what it will accomplish
  3. Click Generate Tasks to create the specific work items
  4. Click Execute Tasks to run the migration
When complete, a Pull Request appears. Review it, and when satisfied, merge it to complete the milestone.

What’s Next