# March 26, 2026

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The SciServer platform will undergo a **major infrastructure migration** during
the week of **April 20th–24th, 2026**. This move to a cloud-based setup is
necessary to modernize the platform, improve scalability, and address hardware
limitations.

**What this means for you:**

- **Full week of downtime** is scheduled (though the actual migration may take
  less time).
- **Your data is safe** – all files will be preserved, but shared folders will
  need to be re-shared manually after the migration.
- **Python environments** will be a key focus: if you rely on older container
  images (pre-2024), now is the time to test saving your environments
  (`pip freeze` or `conda env export`) and recreating them in the new setup.

**Action steps:**

1. **Save your Python environments** (`requirements.txt` or `environment.yml`)
   *before* April 20th.
2. **Coordinate with collaborators** to re-share folders after the migration.
3. **Test your workflows** in the new container images if possible.

**Need help?**

- The [Migration Guide](https://docs.sciserver.mpe.mpg.de/migration.html) has
  detailed steps.
- Reach out to me directly if you’re unsure how to proceed – I’m happy to help!

I’ll send a few reminders before the downtime begins. Thanks for your patience –
this change will make SciServer more stable and scalable for the long term.