Migrate to Kubernetes

Migrate your applications from Heroku, Render, or any platform to Kubernetes on your cloud provider - fully automated by AI

Overview

Migrating to Kubernetes is traditionally the hardest part of modernizing your infrastructure. It means months of planning, rewriting deployment configs, learning Helm charts, and re-architecting your stack. Most teams get stuck halfway.

Qovery removes that complexity entirely. With Qovery AI skills, you can migrate your applications from any platform - Heroku, Render, OpenShift, legacy VMs - to Kubernetes running on your own cloud account (AWS, GCP, Azure, or Scaleway). The AI agent analyzes your codebase, generates Dockerfiles, provisions databases, sets up environment variables, and deploys everything. No Kubernetes expertise required.

For complex migrations (microservices architectures, stateful workloads, compliance requirements), Qovery provides cloud architect assistance. Book a demo to get a personalized migration plan.

Why Migrate with Qovery?

AI-Powered Migration

The /qovery-deploy AI skill analyzes your codebase, creates Dockerfiles, provisions databases, and deploys - all from a single prompt

No Kubernetes Expertise

Qovery abstracts the complexity of Kubernetes. You deploy applications - Qovery handles pods, ingress, TLS, RBAC, and networking

Your Cloud, Your Control

Everything runs on your own AWS, GCP, Azure, or Scaleway account. No vendor lock-in, no shared infrastructure

Cloud Architect Assistance

Qovery’s team helps with complex migrations. Book a demo to get a personalized migration plan

Compliance Ready

SOC2 Type II, ISO 27001, DORA, HIPAA, GDPR compliant infrastructure from day one

Cost Savings

Right-sized from the start. No over-provisioning, no surprise bills. Customers report $200K+ annual savings vs. DIY Kubernetes

Migrate from Any Platform

Heroku

Dynos, add-ons, Heroku Postgres, Redis - all mapped to Kubernetes equivalents automatically

Render

Web services, background workers, cron jobs, managed databases - migrated with full parity

OpenShift

DeploymentConfigs, Routes, BuildConfigs - converted to standard Kubernetes resources

VMs / Bare Metal

Legacy applications running on EC2, DigitalOcean droplets, or bare metal servers

Docker Compose

Multi-container setups defined in docker-compose.yml - each service becomes a Qovery application

Other PaaS

Fly.io, Railway, DigitalOcean App Platform, Google App Engine, Azure App Service, and more

How It Works

1. Install the Qovery AI skill (one command)
2. Ask the AI agent to migrate your project
3. AI analyzes your codebase - detects languages, frameworks, databases, dependencies
4. AI generates optimized Dockerfiles if missing
5. AI provisions databases (PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB, MySQL) and configures environment variables
6. AI deploys everything to Kubernetes on your cloud provider
7. You verify and go live

Getting Started

Option 1: AI-Powered Migration (Recommended)

The fastest path. The AI agent handles the entire migration end-to-end.

1. Install the Qovery AI Skill

   One command installs the skill globally for all your projects:

   curl -fsSL https://skill.qovery.com/install.sh | bash
   
2. Open Your AI Coding Tool

   Launch OpenCode, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code Copilot, or any compatible AI coding tool.

3. Ask the Agent to Migrate

   Migrate my project from Heroku to Kubernetes with Qovery
   

   Or use the skill command directly:

   /qovery-deploy
   

   The agent will guide you through the entire process:

   • Analyze your codebase and detect languages, frameworks, and databases
   • Create optimized multi-stage Dockerfiles if your project doesn’t have one
   • Provision databases (PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB, MySQL) - managed or containerized
   • Set up environment variables and secrets
   • Deploy everything to Kubernetes on your cloud provider
   • Watch the deployment and auto-fix any issues (up to 3 retries per service)

   The AI agent supports Node.js, Python, Go, Java, Ruby, PHP, .NET, React, Vite, Next.js, Rails, Django, Spring, Laravel, and many more frameworks.

4. Migrate Environment Variables

   The AI agent handles environment variable migration as part of the deployment process.

   For Heroku specifically, you can also export and import manually using the Qovery CLI:

   qovery auth
   qovery context set
   heroku config --app <your_heroku_app_name> --json | \
     qovery env parse --heroku-json > heroku.env && \
     qovery env import heroku.env && \
     rm heroku.env
   

   Import sensitive data (API keys, credentials, tokens) as Secrets, not Environment Variables.

5. Verify and Go Live

   Once the deployment is complete:

   1. Check your application status in the Qovery Console
   2. Test your endpoints using the auto-generated Qovery URL
   3. Configure your custom domain when ready
   4. Update your DNS records to point to Qovery

Option 2: Manual Migration

For teams that prefer full control over every step.

1. Create Your Dockerfile

   If your project doesn’t have a Dockerfile, create one. Qovery provides templates for all major frameworks.

   Example for a Node.js application:

   FROM node:20-alpine AS builder
   WORKDIR /app
   COPY package*.json ./
   RUN npm ci
   COPY . .
   RUN npm run build
   
   FROM node:20-alpine
   WORKDIR /app
   COPY --from=builder /app/dist ./dist
   COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules ./node_modules
   EXPOSE 3000
   CMD ["node", "dist/index.js"]
   

   Use multi-stage builds to keep your images small and secure. The AI agent generates these automatically when you use Option 1.

2. Create Resources on Qovery

   1. Sign in to the Qovery Console
   2. Create your Organization and Project
   3. Create your production Environment
   4. Add your application (select your Git repository, branch, and port)
   5. Add your database (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, or Redis - managed or containerized)
3. Configure Environment Variables

   1. Export your environment variables from your current platform
   2. Import them into Qovery via the Console or CLI
   3. Create environment variable aliases to connect your services (e.g., link your app to your database using DATABASE_URL)
4. Deploy

   Click “Deploy” in the Qovery Console or use the CLI:

   qovery deploy
   

Need Help? Talk to a Cloud Architect

Book a Migration Demo

For complex migrations - microservices, stateful workloads, compliance requirements, or large-scale infrastructure - Qovery provides personalized cloud architect assistance. Get a migration plan tailored to your stack.

What Gets Migrated?

Source	Qovery Equivalent	Handled by AI?
Web applications (any language/framework)	Applications - containerized on Kubernetes	Yes
Background workers (Sidekiq, Celery, etc.)	Applications - separate services	Yes
Cron jobs	Cron Jobs	Yes
PostgreSQL, MySQL	Managed Database (AWS RDS, GCP Cloud SQL, etc.)	Yes
Redis, MongoDB	Container Database or Managed	Yes
Environment variables	Environment Variables & Secrets	Yes
Custom domains	Custom Domains	Manual DNS update required
Add-ons (Memcached, Elasticsearch, etc.)	Helm Charts or container services	Partially
Scheduled tasks	Lifecycle Jobs	Yes

FAQ

How long does migration take?

For most applications, less than a day. The AI agent handles Dockerfile creation, database provisioning, environment variable setup, and deployment in minutes. Complex multi-service architectures may take longer - book a demo for a personalized timeline.

Do I need Kubernetes expertise?

No. Qovery abstracts all Kubernetes complexity. You interact with applications, databases, and environment variables - not pods, deployments, or ingress controllers. The AI agent handles the Kubernetes-specific configuration automatically.

Which cloud providers are supported?

AWS (EKS), Google Cloud (GKE), Azure (AKS), and Scaleway (Kapsule). You can also bring your own Kubernetes cluster (BYOK).

What about data migration?

Database schema and application code are migrated automatically. For data transfer (copying production data), you’ll need to handle the database dump/restore process. Qovery databases support standard import tools (pg_restore, mysql import, mongorestore).

How to create a custom domain?

Check the custom domain configuration documentation for setup instructions.

How to monitor my apps?

Qovery provides built-in observability including logs, metrics, and alerts. You can also integrate with Datadog, New Relic, or other monitoring tools.

Do you have preview environments?

Yes. Qovery provides Preview Environments that automatically create a clone of your environment on every pull request.

How to rollback?

App rollback is available through the deployment actions. You can roll back to any previous deployment in one click.

How does auto-scaling work?

Auto-scaling is configured in the application settings. Qovery supports horizontal pod autoscaling based on CPU/memory usage.

Can I use Terraform?

Yes. Qovery has a Terraform provider for infrastructure-as-code deployment. The AI agent can also deploy via Terraform if you choose that option during setup.

Is it possible to get a shell into my app?

Yes, via the cloud shell button in the Qovery Console or through the CLI with qovery shell.

How to connect to external services (MongoDB Atlas, AWS services)?

Use VPC peering for secure, private connectivity to external services in your cloud account.

Next Steps

Deploy with AI Agent

Full guide on installing and using Qovery AI skills

Production Setup

Set up a production-ready environment with best practices

Preview Environments

Automatically create environments for every pull request

Book a Demo

Get cloud architect assistance for your migration