MIGRATION GUIDE

Cloud to Local Migration

Strategies for moving your photo history from Google Photos and Apple iCloud to Aegis Photo Voyager.

Moving photos from the cloud to your local machine for Aegis Photo Voyager requires two distinct strategies: one for bulk migration of your entire history and one for the routine "top-off" of new photos.

1. Google Photos Workflow

Google provides a robust tool called Google Takeout for large-scale moves, while the web interface is better for quick, recent updates.

A. Bulk History Migration (Google Takeout)

Use this to get your entire library (or specific years) onto your laptop in one go.

  • Navigate: Go to takeout.google.com.
  • Select Data: Click "Deselect all" and then scroll down to check only Google Photos.
  • Refine Selection: Click "All photo albums included." You can deselect "Auto-generated" albums (like "Trash" or "Profile Photos") and select only the Year Folders (e.g., Photos from 2024) to avoid duplicates.
  • Configure Export:
    • Frequency: Select "Export once."
    • File Type: Choose .zip.
    • Size: Choose 50GB. This prevents your library from being split into dozens of tiny files.
  • Download & Import: Google will email you a link (this can take hours or days). Download the zip, move it to your laptop, and Aegis Photo Voyager will ingest it.

B. Ongoing Maintenance (Web Download)

For moving the last week or month of photos:

  • Go to photos.google.com.
  • Select the photos you want to move.
    Tip: Click the checkmark on the first photo, hold Shift, and click the last photo to select a range.
  • Press Shift + D (or click the three dots and select Download).
  • The browser will download a single .zip file containing those photos. Move this to your Aegis watch folder.

2. Apple iCloud Workflow

Apple is stricter with web downloads but offers a high-capacity "Privacy" export for large libraries.

A. Bulk History Migration (Apple Privacy)

Use this for libraries larger than a few thousand photos.

  • Navigate: Go to privacy.apple.com and sign in.
  • Request Copy: Select "Request a copy of your data."
  • Choose Photos: Check the box for iCloud Photos and click Continue.
  • Set Zip Size: Choose a preferred file size (e.g., 25GB).
  • Wait for Preparation: Apple takes 3–7 days to verify the request. Once ready, you’ll receive an email with download links.
  • Import: Download these zips and place them in your Aegis Photo Voyager import directory.

B. Ongoing Maintenance (Manual "Select & Download")

For a quick "pull" of recent photos:

  • Go to iCloud.com/photos.
  • Select Batch: Click the first photo. Scroll to find up to 1,000 photos. Hold Shift and click the last one.
    Note: iCloud has a hard limit of 1,000 items per manual download. If you select 1,001, the download button will often disappear.
  • Download Format: Click the Download icon (cloud with arrow).
    Crucial: Select "Unmodified Originals" to ensure Aegis Photo Voyager receives the full EXIF data (GPS, timestamps) for its AI indexing.
  • The .zip will appear in your Downloads folder, ready for the app to process locally.

Summary: Which to use and when?

Scenario Best Method Why?
First Time User Takeout / Privacy.apple.com Handles 100GB+ without manual clicking.
Weekly Sync iCloud.com / Photos.google.com Fast, targeted, and keeps the laptop library current.
Privacy First USB Cable (Direct Transfer) Bypasses the cloud entirely for new photos.
Aegis Photo Voyager is designed to handle these .zip files natively, so the user never needs to worry about unzipping or organizing folders—the AI will sort the metadata automatically once the file is moved to the machine. Use the "Import" tool in the "Tools" menu.