How to Use Tableau Content Migration Tool: Steps and Uses

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January 23, 2026

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Migrating Tableau content sounds simple until you try to do it at scale. A few dashboards quickly turn into hundreds of workbooks, embedded credentials, extract schedules, and tightly controlled permissions. Manual exports break dependencies, REST scripts become brittle, and small mistakes surface only after users lose access or refreshes fail.

The Tableau Content Migration Tool exists to solve that exact problem. It provides a structured, repeatable way to move Tableau content between environments while preserving governance, security, and operational reliability.

This guide explains what the tool does, when it makes sense, and how to use it effectively in real-world migrations.

TL;DR: Tableau Content Migration Tool at a Glance

Automates large-scale Tableau migrations while preserving project structure, permissions, credentials, and extract schedules
Supports Server-to-Server, Server-to-Cloud, and Cloud-to-Cloud migrations using reusable, versionable migration plans
Best suited for environment promotion, cloud adoption, server consolidation, and repeatable disaster-recovery testing
Includes verification (dry-run) mode to surface permission, credential, and compatibility issues before execution
Requires the Advanced Management license and runs as a Windows-only application

What Is the Tableau Content Migration Tool?

The Content Migration Tool (CMT) is a Windows application that automates content migration between Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud environments. It handles workbooks, data sources, projects, users, and permissions with mapping controls that let you transform content during the move

CMT comes included with the Advanced Management license and supports Server-to-Server, Server-to-Cloud, and Cloud-to-Cloud migrations. You create reusable "migration plans" that specify what to copy and how to transform it, then run the tool in two phases: a planning dry run to catch issues, followed by execution.

CMT offers five essential features that distinguish it from manual migration approaches:

Workbook migration with embedded data sources and refresh schedules
Published data source migration with credential mapping or transformation
Project hierarchy recreation and optional renaming or consolidation
Permission mapping that transforms users and groups between identity systems
Selective migration so you can promote a handful of dashboards instead of an entire site

With these features, you can promote content from development to production, consolidate multiple servers, or seed a disaster-recovery environment without rewriting a single workbook.

When Should You Use the Content Migration Tool?

Use CMT when moving Tableau content between environments at scale, especially when preserving permissions and schedules matters. Here are the common use cases:

1. Server-to-Cloud Migration

You're retiring on-premises hardware and heading to Tableau Cloud. CMT lets you map on-prem service accounts to OAuth, translate Active Directory groups to cloud identities, and copy extracts without rebuilding project hierarchies.

2. Environment Promotion

Dev → staging → prod pipelines become repeatable when you save migration plans under version control. Each run promotes only what changed.

3. Server Consolidation

When different business units run their own servers, CMT merges them into a single instance. You can rename or merge projects on the fly, ensuring users land in familiar folders while eliminating duplicate workbooks.

4. Disaster Recovery Testing

Copy an entire site to a standby environment, validate that extracts refresh, then tear it down, all without touching production. Regular dry-runs prove your backup strategy works instead of merely hoping it does.

When CMT Is Not the Right Choice

If you're tweaking one dashboard, restructuring content, or need continuous sync, publishing from Desktop or scripting with the REST API is faster. CMT excels at batch copies; it preserves structure by design and runs as a scheduled job, not a live replication service.

What Are the Prerequisites for Using CMT?

Migration plans fail when basic requirements aren't met. The Windows machine running the tool and both Tableau environments need to satisfy baseline specifications. Skip any item and you'll hit roadblocks during execution. The following table outlines the essential requirements:

Requirement	Minimum spec	Why it matters
Operating system	Windows 10 (64-bit) or Windows Server 2016+	CMT is a Windows-only application.
Processor	Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 (dual-core)	Satisfies Tableau’s published baseline for desktop utilities.
Memory	4 GB RAM	Prevents UI freezes during large plan executions.
Storage	2 GB for install, plus free space equal to the content you copy	CMT stores a temporary copy of every workbook and data source during migration.
Tableau license	Advanced Management add-on active on both source and target sites	CMT won’t connect without it.
Source / target	Tableau Server 2019.3+ or Tableau Cloud	Ensures API compatibility for REST calls.
User role	Site Administrator on both environments	Grants access to download, publish, and set permissions.
Network access	HTTPS connectivity to each site (proxy OK)	A dropped TLS session will stop the job cold.

Before starting any migration, complete this essential checklist:

Verify licensing: Confirm Advanced Management is active on both sites before installing
Document inventory: List workbooks, published data sources, and projects with permissions you need to preserve
Map credentials: Plan how embedded passwords or service accounts translate to the target environment
Identify user mappings: Align Active Directory groups or identity-provider roles for predictable permission transforms
Test network paths: Run curl or login from the host to each Tableau URL to catch proxy issues early

How to Install and Configure the Content Migration Tool?

Before you can automate any migrations, you need a working copy of the Content Migration Tool (CMT) on a Windows machine that can reach both your source and target Tableau environments.

1. Download and Install CMT

Sign in to the Tableau Advanced Management download page and grab the installer that matches your Tableau version. The file follows the pattern Tabcmt-64bit-<version>.exe.

Run it with administrator rights, accept the license, and keep the default location unless your security policy dictates otherwise. For silent, scripted installs you can call the installer from PowerShell:

Tabcmt-64bit-2022-3-0.exe /quiet /norestart

The UI won't launch automatically in quiet mode, so open it manually when the script finishes.

2. Configure Source and Target Connections

Launch CMT and create two saved connections. Give each a clear name, paste the full HTTPS URL (including site path), and authenticate. Personal access tokens are the most reliable choice.

Saved connections appear in every new migration plan, sparing you from re-typing credentials.

3. Test Connections

Click Test Connection for both entries. Address failures immediately. Expired tokens, misspelled site names, or proxy blocks are common culprits.

A clean test here means you can build migration plans without surprises later.

How to Create a Migration Plan?

A migration plan is the playbook the tool follows. You define the scope, mappings, and safeguards once, then reuse the plan as many times as you need.

1. Start a New Migration Plan

Open CMT, choose your saved source and target connections, and give the plan a clear name so you can recognize it months later. Decide whether you want to copy an entire site or select specific projects.

CMT stores every choice in a reusable XML file you can rerun or tweak later. This saves you from recreating the same settings for future migrations.

2. Configure Content Selection

The content tree shows every project, workbook, and data source on the source site. Check the items you care about and the tool automatically includes dependencies such as published data sources when you select a workbook.

Prioritize high-value dashboards first instead of copying thousands of legacy artifacts you will never open again.

3. Set Up Mapping Rules

Now translate the differences between environments. Map embedded credentials to new service accounts or OAuth tokens, realign user and group names if your identity providers differ, and decide whether projects need to be renamed or merged.

These transformations ensure that permissions and refresh schedules still work when content lands in the destination.

4. Configure Migration Options

The following table shows the most important settings to consider:

Option	Typical setting	When to change it
Overwrite existing content	Enabled for dev → prod promotions	Disable when creating backups
Copy permissions	Enabled	Disable if you are rebuilding governance
Copy extract schedules	Enabled	Disable when the target has different capacity windows
Skip items with errors	Enabled for large batches	Disable when you need an all-or-nothing run

Save the plan, run a verification pass, and you are ready for execution.

How to Execute and Monitor the Migration?

With your migration plan configured and saved, you're ready to run it.

1. Run a Verification (Dry Run)

Click Verify to simulate the migration without copying content. The tool flags missing user mappings, invalid personal access tokens, permission conflicts, and unsupported content types in a detailed report. Address every issue the verification identifies.

2. Execute the Migration

Start the migration and monitor progress through the interface as it processes projects, workbooks, and data sources. Large migrations run for hours, so schedule them during off-peak times and consider staging projects in waves to manage extract traffic. Network interruptions require restarting the plan, but CMT skips items already copied.

3. Review Migration Results

Export the migration log file and store it with your infrastructure documentation. The log details every migrated, skipped, or failed item, making post-migration audits straightforward. Verify critical dashboards function correctly, confirm extract schedules transferred properly, and run a final sync if source content changed during migration.

What Are Common Migration Issues and How Do You Resolve Them?

Even with a well-designed migration plan, several common issues surface repeatedly. The following table outlines these issues and how to resolve them.

Common issue	How to resolve it
Credential failures	Create explicit credential mappings or convert embedded connections to OAuth or service accounts before executing the migration.
Permission mapping errors	Pre-provision users in the destination and add transformation rules that translate old AD groups to their new Cloud equivalents.
Extract refresh schedule conflicts	Disable schedule migration for the first pass, then recreate refreshes after you evaluate the Cloud calendar.
Large workbook timeouts	Migrate oversized workbooks individually, increase the tool’s timeout setting, or publish their data sources first, then re-attach the workbooks.

What Are Best Practices for Tableau Content Migration?

Treat the move as a phased project. Each stage has its own tasks, checks, and go/no-go criteria.

1. Before Migration

Start by auditing the source site and deleting stale workbooks. Standardize project and data-source names now, because every inconsistent label becomes a mapping rule you'll maintain forever.

Document dependencies between workbooks, data sources, and extract schedules. Share the plan with stakeholders so no one panics when refresh windows shift. A short upfront checklist saves you days of troubleshooting later.

2. During Migration

Execute the tool in project-sized batches instead of one massive job. Monitor CPU, disk, and temp-folder growth on the host machine, as large extracts can double in size during the copy phase.

Keep the migration log open and address warnings immediately. Skipped permissions or credential mismatches compound quickly if you ignore them. Schedule these batches outside peak usage hours to avoid disrupting users.

3. After Migration

Following migration completion, spot-check critical dashboards with business owners before decommissioning the source environment. Validate extract schedules by forcing an on-demand run and comparing row counts to the original data.

Update internal docs with new URLs and group paths. Lock projects to prevent ad-hoc edits that drift from your baseline configuration. Only archive the legacy environment when usage, performance, and access all match expectations.

How Does Tableau Migration Fit into Your Data Pipeline Strategy?

The tool fixes the presentation layer. Yet dashboards go stale when the data pipeline lags behind.

Before every migration, verify your refresh speeds across all data sources, confirm your pipeline can scale without cost spikes, and make sure you can onboard new data sources in days rather than weeks. Get these fundamentals right, and switching to modern connectors becomes straightforward.

Migration is just one piece of the data infrastructure puzzle, as the quality of your dashboards is only as good as the data feeding them. If you're rebuilding your Tableau environment, it might be worth examining whether your data pipelines are keeping pace. With over 600 connectors, Airbyte can provide reliable, fresh data to Tableau without the need for custom ETL solutions. Try Airbyte today.

Talk to sales to learn how capacity-based pricing keeps integration costs predictable as your dashboard ecosystem grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need Tableau Advanced Management to use the Content Migration Tool?

Yes. The Content Migration Tool is only available with the Advanced Management add-on. Without it, the tool will not authenticate to either the source or target environment, even if you are a Site Administrator.

Can the Content Migration Tool handle permissions and credentials automatically?

It can preserve permissions and refresh schedules, but only if users, groups, and credentials exist or are properly mapped in the target environment. The tool does not create users for you. Successful migrations depend on pre-provisioning accounts and defining clear mapping rules during plan setup.

Is the Content Migration Tool suitable for ongoing or real-time syncs?

‍No. The tool is designed for batch migrations, not continuous synchronization. It works best for one-time moves, environment promotion, consolidation, or disaster-recovery testing. For live or incremental syncs, REST API automation or publishing workflows are a better fit.

What happens if a migration fails halfway through?

‍CMT is restart-safe. If a run is interrupted, restarting the same migration plan skips content that was already copied successfully. You can review the log to identify failed items, fix the underlying issue, and rerun without duplicating work.

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About the Author

Jim Kutz brings over 20 years of experience in data analytics to his work, helping organizations transform raw data into actionable business insights. His expertise spans predictive modeling, data engineering and data visualization, with a focus on making analytics accessible and impactful for stakeholders at all levels.