VIPERMIGRATE – Windows Workstation Migration

1. Snapshot

Platform

Windows 10 / 11

Purpose

Workstation Migration

Tech Stack

C# / .NET 8 / WPF

Status

Active & Published

2. Why I Built This

The Problem with PC Migrations

Traditional workstation migrations are painful, manual, and error-prone:

Hours spent manually reinstalling software on new machines
Printers, Wi-Fi profiles, and drive mappings lost or forgotten
Browser bookmarks, extensions, and settings left behind
No consistent process across technicians or engagements
Users frustrated by "new machine" that doesn't feel like theirs

ViperMigrate was built for IT professionals and MSPs handling PC refreshes, hardware swaps, and Windows migrations at scale. Instead of a manual checklist that varies by technician, it provides a repeatable, automated workflow:

Capture the source machine → Transfer the encrypted package → Restore on the target machine.

3. What Gets Migrated

ViperMigrate captures and restores a comprehensive set of workstation configuration categories:

Category	Details
Software	Installed applications via winget auto-install + manual install list for non-winget apps
Browsers	Profiles, bookmarks, extensions, and settings for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Vivaldi, Brave, Opera
Printers	Network, IP, and local printers with driver resolution and multi-method IP discovery
Wi-Fi	Saved wireless network profiles with credentials
Shortcuts	Desktop, Start Menu, taskbar pins, Quick Launch, and startup entries
Outlook	Email signatures, recent files, and profile configuration
App Settings	Application configurations and profiles from AppData (roaming and local)
Drive Maps	Mapped network drives with credentials
Scanners	WIA scanner/imaging device profiles

4. Key Features

⇒

Selective Restore

Review and deselect individual items before restoring. Full control over what gets applied to the target machine.

⇒

Winget Integration

Automatically reinstalls software via Windows Package Manager. Non-winget apps are documented in a manual install list.

⇒

Encrypted Packages

AES-256 password-protected migration packages. Credentials and sensitive data are encrypted at rest during transfer.

⇒

Staged Restore

Restore runs in phases: Software → Connectivity → Peripherals → Configuration → Verification. Dependencies are met before downstream steps.

⇒

HTML Reports

Interactive post-migration report with manual action checklists for items that couldn't be fully automated.

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Smart Printer Handling

6+ method IP resolution chain, IPP auto-negotiate, and universal driver fallback for reliable printer migration.

5. Architecture

ViperMigrate follows a Collector / Applicator pattern. Each migration category has an independent pair:

Collectors (ICaptureCollector) run on the source machine to gather data for each category
Applicators (IRestoreApplicator) run on the target machine to apply captured data
The MigrationPackage is the serialized data contract between capture and restore
Each collector/applicator pair is independent — categories can be individually selected or skipped

Restore Workflow:

1. Capture — Run collectors on the source machine

2. Package — Bundle into an encrypted migration file

3. Transfer — Move package to target machine

4. Review — Select which items to restore

5. Restore — Apply in staged order with progress tracking

6. Verify — HTML report with manual action items

6. Screenshots

Home Screen - Capture or Restore Mode Selection

Pre-Capture - Category Selection & Configuration

Capture in Progress - Real-time Collection Status

Capture Summary - Items Collected per Category

Restore Review - Select Items Before Applying

Restore in Progress - Staged Application

Restore Complete - Final Status

Migration Report - Post-Migration Documentation

7. Links

¶ ViperMigrate GitHub Repository ↓ Latest Release

ViperMigrate is a .NET 8 WPF application. Single portable .exe, no installation required. Requires Windows 10/11 with .NET 8.0 Desktop Runtime and administrator privileges.