Migrate a SaaS from AWS to DigitalOcean
Posted on Jan 8 • Edited on Jan 8. Task: The author migrated a URL shortener SaaS from AWS to DigitalOcean in four hours using Claude Code as a pair programmer. The workflow involved generating GitHub Actions for infrastructure provisioning, database seeding, SSL configuration, and DNS cutover. Claude Code iteratively debugged failures, such as fixing PostgreSQL connection parameters and resolving nginx SPA routing issues, while the human reviewed and approved changes.; tools: Claude Code. Human role: The original post does not say how a person stayed involved.; limitations: The source does not detail specific human approval checkpoints or error handling protocols beyond iterative debugging. Cost savings are specific to the author's low-traffic side project and may not scale linearly. Reliance on AI for cross-domain knowledge (PostgreSQL, nginx, Cloudflare) requires verification of generated configurations against official documentation to prevent subtle bugs like environment variable mismatches..
Tools
Published on Agent Work Atlas:
Overview
Posted on Jan 8 • Edited on Jan 8
Workflow
The author migrated a URL shortener SaaS from AWS to DigitalOcean in four hours using Claude Code as a pair programmer. The workflow involved generating GitHub Actions for infrastructure provisioning, database seeding, SSL configuration, and DNS cutover. Claude Code iteratively debugged failures, such as fixing PostgreSQL connection parameters and resolving nginx SPA routing issues, while the human reviewed and approved changes.
Reported result
The migration achieved zero downtime and reduced monthly infrastructure costs from approximately $120 to $44, a 63% reduction. The process compressed a traditional six-week migration timeline into a single morning. Specific technical successes included migrating 29 tables with 3,000+ rows and resolving Cloudflare 521 errors via automated SSL certificate deployment.
Human role
The original post does not say how a person stayed involved.
Limitations
The source does not detail specific human approval checkpoints or error handling protocols beyond iterative debugging. Cost savings are specific to the author's low-traffic side project and may not scale linearly. Reliance on AI for cross-domain knowledge (PostgreSQL, nginx, Cloudflare) requires verification of generated configurations against official documentation to prevent subtle bugs like environment variable mismatches.
Try it
Act as my DevOps engineer to migrate [replaceable: current cloud provider] to [replaceable: target cloud provider] for my [replaceable: application type] using Claude Code. First, analyze my existing infrastructure costs and architecture from [replaceable: source files/URLs]. Generate a step-by-step migration plan focusing on [replaceable: key components, e.g., database, SSL]. Implement this via GitHub Actions workflows. For each step, create a dry-run script that outputs the proposed changes without applying them. Wait for my explicit confirmation before executing any command that modifies live infrastructure or data. If errors occur, analyze logs, propose fixes, and explain the root cause before retrying. Deliverables: A set of validated YAML workflow files, a cost comparison report, and a rollback plan. Measure success by zero downtime during cutover and a verified cost reduction of at least [replaceable: target percentage]. Do not proceed to production deployment without my final sign-off on the staging environment results.
Source reports are not independently verified. Publication date is the catalog publication date, not the original article date.