Google VM Migration API
Browse all Google APIs✓ Official Vendor SpecCloud InfrastructureComputeoauth234 EndpointsREST
For Agents
Drive VM migrations from VMware, AWS, or Azure into Compute Engine so an agent can script source registration, replication, clone tests, and cutover without console clicks.
Use for: I need to register a VMware vCenter as a migration source, List every migrating VM in our staging source, Trigger a clone job to test a database VM in Compute Engine, Finalize the migration of a production app server
Not supported: Does not handle Compute Engine day-2 operations, network design, or cost optimization — use for orchestrating VM migration from VMware, AWS, and Azure into Compute Engine only.
The VM Migration API (Migrate to Virtual Machines) programmatically migrates VMware, AWS, and Azure virtual machine workloads to Google Compute Engine. It exposes sources, datacenter connectors, migrating VMs, clone and cutover jobs, replication cycles, groups, and target projects so platform teams can script migration waves, observe replication health, and finalize cutovers. It replaces a console-driven workflow with end-to-end automation suitable for large fleet migrations.
Install Jentic One Beta
Connect the VM Migration API to your agent
Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the VM Migration API, or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.
Two steps, two machines. Install the instance in a safe environment, then register your agent from wherever it runs.
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Step 1: Jentic One Host machine
# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh2
Step 2: Agent machine
# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh
jentic register # connects your agent to your Jentic One instanceJentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.
Capabilities
What an agent can do with VM Migration API.
Register on-premises VMware sources or public-cloud sources for migration
Provision and upgrade datacenter connector appliances that stream replication data
List migrating VMs in a source and filter by replication state
Trigger clone jobs to validate workload behavior in Compute Engine before cutover
Pause, resume, and finalize migration cutovers for individual VMs or groups
Group related migrating VMs to coordinate cutover waves
Inspect replication cycles to surface stalls and progress percentages
Use Cases
Patterns agents use VM Migration API for, with concrete tasks.
★ Wave-Based VMware to Compute Engine Migration
Platform teams migrate hundreds of VMware VMs to Compute Engine in coordinated waves by registering a vCenter source, attaching VMs to migration groups, and scripting clone-test, cutover, and finalize steps per wave. The VM Migration API exposes group operations like addGroupMigration and removeGroupMigration so the wave orchestration code can be checked into version control instead of executed by hand. Replication health is queryable per cycle to spot stalls early.
Add 12 migrating VMs to a wave group and trigger finalizeMigration on each in sequence after replication completes
Cross-Cloud Lift and Shift
Engineering teams moving workloads off AWS or Azure register the public cloud as a source, let replication stream changes into Google Cloud, run clone jobs to validate, and then cut over with finalizeMigration. The API tracks each migrating VM through cycles and exposes pause and resume controls that the orchestration system uses to coordinate downtime windows. This compresses a multi-quarter datacenter exit into a sequence of automated waves.
Register an AWS source, list migrating VMs, and trigger clone jobs on the application tier
Migration Cutover Validation
Before finalizing a production cutover, SREs run clone jobs that bring up the migrating VM in Compute Engine for smoke testing. The VM Migration API exposes clone job lifecycle endpoints so the validation pipeline can spin up the clone, run automated checks, and tear it down without affecting replication. Once the validation passes, the same API issues the finalize call.
Trigger a clone job for a database VM, run health checks against the clone, then delete the clone job
AI Agent Migration Operator
An AI agent integrated through Jentic responds to platform-team prompts like 'finalize all completed migrations for the payments group' by listing migrating VMs in a group, filtering for replication state, and chaining finalizeMigration calls. Because the API uses OAuth 2.0 with the cloud-platform scope, Jentic isolates the token in the MAXsystem vault and exposes only a scoped reference to the agent.
Search Jentic for finalize VM migration, load the schema, and call it for each ready VM in the payments group
Key Endpoints
34 endpoints — the vm migration api (migrate to virtual machines) programmatically migrates vmware, aws, and azure virtual machine workloads to google compute engine.
METHOD
PATH
DESCRIPTION
POST
/v1/{+migratingVm}:finalizeMigration
Finalize the cutover for a migrating VM
POST
/v1/{+migratingVm}:pauseMigration
Pause replication for a migrating VM
POST
/v1/{+group}:addGroupMigration
Add a migrating VM to a wave group
POST
/v1/{+group}:removeGroupMigration
Remove a migrating VM from a wave group
POST
/v1/{+datacenterConnector}:upgradeAppliance
Upgrade the datacenter connector appliance
POST
/v1/{+migratingVm}:finalizeMigration
Finalize the cutover for a migrating VM
POST
/v1/{+migratingVm}:pauseMigration
Pause replication for a migrating VM
POST
/v1/{+group}:addGroupMigration
Add a migrating VM to a wave group
POST
/v1/{+group}:removeGroupMigration
Remove a migrating VM from a wave group
POST
/v1/{+datacenterConnector}:upgradeAppliance
Upgrade the datacenter connector appliance
Why Jentic?
Three things that make agents converge on Jentic-routed access.
Credential isolation
VM Migration OAuth tokens with the cloud-platform scope are stored encrypted in the Jentic vault (MAXsystem). Agents receive scoped access tokens — raw OAuth tokens never enter the agent's context, which matters because the cloud-platform scope grants broad project-level access including the ability to start cutovers.
Intent-based discovery
Agents search Jentic with intents like 'finalize a vm migration' or 'add VM to a wave group' and Jentic returns the matching operation with its full input schema, so the agent can construct a valid request without reading Google's discovery doc.
Time to first call
Direct VM Migration integration: 5-7 days for OAuth setup, source registration, connector deployment, and orchestration code. Through Jentic: under 1 day for the API side — search, load schema, execute (datacenter connector deployment still required separately).
Related APIs
Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.
FAQs
Specific to using VM Migration API through Jentic.
What authentication does the VM Migration API use?
The VM Migration API uses OAuth 2.0 with the https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform scope. Through Jentic, the OAuth token is stored encrypted in the MAXsystem vault and only a scoped reference is exposed to the agent at execution time.
Can I migrate VMs from AWS and Azure with the VM Migration API, not just VMware?
Yes. The sources resource accepts AWS, Azure, and VMware source types. After registering a source you list migrating VMs and drive their lifecycle through the same set of endpoints regardless of source type, including clone, finalize, pause, and resume.
What are the rate limits for the VM Migration API?
Default project quotas allow 600 requests per minute on control-plane operations and a smaller limit on long-running migration operations like clone and finalize. Higher quotas can be requested in the Google Cloud Console for fleet-scale migrations.
How do I finalize a VM cutover through Jentic with the VM Migration API?
Install Jentic with pip install jentic, search for finalize VM migration, load the schema for POST /v1/{+migratingVm}:finalizeMigration, then call it with the migratingVm resource name. Confirm the migrating VM is in READY_TO_PROMOTE state first by reading the VM resource.
Does the VM Migration API support migration groups for coordinated cutovers?
Yes. Use POST /v1/{+group}:addGroupMigration to attach VMs to a group and POST /v1/{+group}:removeGroupMigration to detach them. Groups are useful for wave orchestration where related VMs must cut over together.
Why does my upgradeAppliance call fail on the datacenter connector?
Appliance upgrade requires the datacenter connector to be in OFFLINE or ACTIVE state with a network path to Google's update endpoints. Verify the appliance health from a Get request and confirm outbound connectivity from the on-prem environment before retrying.
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