How to Migrate Workrooms Users to Web and Mobile: A Developer Playbook

When Workrooms Is Shuttered: a developer playbook to migrate users with minimal friction

Hook: Your platform went scheduled for shutdown — users are asking how to keep their rooms, recordings, and workflows. You need a pragmatic, technical playbook that exports data, maps features, and re-onboards teams quickly. This guide gives dev teams the step-by-step migration plan, scripts, and templates to move Workrooms users to Web and mobile alternatives in 2026.

Executive summary (most important first)

Meta announced the standalone Workrooms app will be discontinued on February 16, 2026, shifting users to other parts of the Horizon ecosystem. For teams relying on Workrooms, the immediate priorities are: capture user data, map features, select target platforms, and orchestrate onboarding. This playbook distills those priorities into a 6-phase migration: Assess, Export, Transform, Provision, Onboard, and Validate.

Why this matters in 2026

Platform consolidation and tighter budgets in XR have accelerated vendor shutdowns (late 2025 into early 2026). At the same time, open runtime standards like OpenXR and WebXR, and broader adoption of mixed-reality-capable wearables, make Web and mobile the pragmatic fallback for persistent collaboration. Compliance regimes and user expectations now demand clear data portability and verifiable audits when services are deprecated.

"When a vendor discontinues an app, teams aren't just losing software — they're losing knowledge, recordings, integrations, and sometimes access to their members."

6-Phase Migration Playbook (at-a-glance)

1. Assess — inventory data, integrations, SLAs, and user segments.
2. Export — extract assets (avatars, rooms, recordings, chat logs, calendar links).
3. Transform — convert exported models into target platform formats.
4. Provision — create accounts, map identities via SSO/SCIM, set permissions.
5. Onboard — automated invitations, in-app walkthroughs, device checks.
6. Validate — smoke tests, KPIs, rollback and retention monitoring.

Phase 1 — Assess: create a prioritized migration inventory

Start with a concise inventory. Build a CSV or JSON manifest keyed by team or organization:

• Users: user_id, email, role, last_active
• Rooms: room_id, owner, created_at, participant_count, assets (3D models)
• Recordings: recording_id, format, duration, size
• Integrations: calendar, SSO, Slack, file stores
• Custom workflows: bots, automations, SDK integrations

Scoring matrix: assign a risk/priority score (Critical, High, Medium, Low) based on business impact and migration complexity. Triage Critical items for the first migration wave.

Phase 2 — Export: practical strategies to get your data out

Use platform-provided export tools where available. If Workrooms exposes export endpoints or an admin console, collect everything the vendor allows first — avatars, room snapshots, participant metadata, chat logs, and recordings. If the vendor provides a data portability download (GDPR/CCPA), request that in parallel for completeness.

Export hygiene checklist

• Document API rate limits and pagination.
• Use incremental exports (created_after / updated_after filters).
• Preserve timestamps and actor IDs.
• Sign and verify hashes of exported archives for chain-of-custody.
• Respect privacy: remove or mask PII if retention is disallowed.

When official exports aren’t available

If the platform has no tidy export API, use a layered fallback:

• Headless automation (Puppeteer or Playwright) to batch-download assets from the admin UI.
• Device-level extraction: if users run the Workrooms client on managed headsets, capture local cache and logs via MDM or file sync.
• Screen-/audio-capture for ephemeral sessions (last resort) to preserve meeting content.

Example: scripted export using a hypothetical Workrooms admin API

// Node.js: bulk-export rooms and recordings (illustrative)
const fetch = require('node-fetch');
const fs = require('fs');
const token = process.env.WORKROOMS_ADMIN_TOKEN;

async function fetchAll(path) {
  const results = [];
  let url = `https://api.workrooms.example.com/${path}`;
  while (url) {
    const r = await fetch(url, { headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}` } });
    const json = await r.json();
    results.push(...json.data);
    url = json.next_page || null;
  }
  return results;
}

(async () => {
  const rooms = await fetchAll('rooms');
  fs.writeFileSync('rooms.json', JSON.stringify(rooms, null, 2));
  // Fetch recordings per room
  for (const room of rooms) {
    const recs = await fetchAll(`rooms/${room.id}/recordings`);
    fs.writeFileSync(`recordings_${room.id}.json`, JSON.stringify(recs, null, 2));
  }
})();

Note: replace endpoints with real provider APIs where available. Always store admin tokens securely and rotate after migration.

Phase 3 — Transform: map features and data models

Exported files are rarely plug-and-play. You must map Workrooms concepts to your target platform's models. Common mappings:

• Room -> Space/Scene (preserve layout metadata, anchor points)
• Avatar -> Avatar/Profile (normalize skeletons or use a default avatar if incompatible)
• Recording -> Media Asset (transcode to Web-friendly formats: MP4/H.264 or WebM/VP9)
• Chat -> Message thread (convert timestamps and reactions)

Design a transformation pipeline

Use a small ETL pipeline that: ingests raw export, applies transformations, validates, and emits ready-to-import artifacts. Break it into stages and store intermediate results in durable storage (S3 or equivalent) so you can retry steps without re-exporting.

Sample mapping function (JSON to Web Scene)

// simplistic mapping stub
function mapRoomToWebScene(workroomRoom) {
  return {
    id: `web-${workroomRoom.id}`,
    title: workroomRoom.name,
    anchors: workroomRoom.anchors.map(a => ({ x: a.x, y: a.y, z: a.z })),
    assets: workroomRoom.assets.map(asset => transformAsset(asset)),
    metadata: { origin: 'workrooms', migrated_at: new Date().toISOString() }
  };
}

Phase 4 — Provision: identities, permissions, and integrations

Identity mapping is the most operationally painful part of migrations. Use standard identity protocols to bulk-provision users on the target platform:

• SCIM for user and group provisioning.
• SAML/OIDC for SSO — propagate role claims to preserve permissions.
• API keys or service accounts for system-to-system integrations (rotate keys post-migration).

SCIM example payload

{
  "schemas": ["urn:ietf:params:scim:schemas:core:2.0:User"],
  "userName": "jane.doe@example.com",
  "name": {"givenName":"Jane","familyName":"Doe"},
  "emails": [{"value":"jane.doe@example.com","primary":true}],
  "externalId":"workrooms-12345",
  "groups": ["eng-team","product"]
}

Automate the SCIM flow in batches. Track mapping between old externalId and new userId in your migration manifest for auditability.

Phase 5 — Onboard: reduce friction with staged outreach and tooling

Move beyond a single announcement. Use a staged onboarding plan:

1. Wave 0 — admins and power users: early access, live onboarding sessions.
2. Wave 1 — high-value teams (Critical): migration window, concierge support.
3. Wave 2 — general users: self-serve migration scripts and knowledge base.

In-app and cross-channel messaging

Deliver migration context via three channels: email, in-app notice, and device push (if applicable). Use clear timelines, export summaries, and one-click actions where possible.

Sample onboarding email (short)

Subject: Action required — migrate your Workrooms spaces by Feb 16, 2026

Hi Jane,

We’ve migrated your Workrooms spaces to WebSpaceX. Click here to claim your room and verify recordings: https://webspacex.example.com/migrate?token=…

Need help? Book a 15-minute session with our migration team.

— Your Platform Team

Automated user flows

• Pre-populate target profiles with display name, avatar, and room memberships.
• Provide a "preview" link so users can inspect migrated rooms before claiming them.
• Offer a one-click rollback for the first 48 hours for high-risk users.

Phase 6 — Validate: QA, KPIs, and rollback plans

Define what success looks like and instrument everything. Key metrics:

• Migration completion rate (per wave)
• First-time success (user signs in and joins a room)
• Support tickets opened/closed within 72 hours
• Retention at 7/30/90 days post-migration

Smoke tests to run automatically after each bulk import:

• Can owner join the migrated room?
• Are recordings playable and properly attributed?
• Are external integrations (calendar invites, Slack notifications) working?

Security, compliance, and governance

Critical controls to maintain trust:

• Audit logs for every export/import operation.
• Encrypted archives at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.2+).
• Data retention windows and deletion requests: honor prior agreements.
• Rotate service credentials after migration and revoke old tokens.
• Update your privacy policy and user-facing migration notices to reflect new data controllers/processors.

Choosing targets: web, mobile, or alternate XR platforms

2026 presents clear trade-offs:

• Web (WebXR/WebRTC) — highest reach and easiest updates. Great for recordings, chat, and lightweight spatial experiences.
• Mobile (iOS/Android) — best for AR-assisted collaboration and mobile-first teams.
• Other XR vendors (Horizon, Engage, Mesh) — preserve immersive features but may lock you into vendor-specific SDKs.

Recommendation: prioritize Web + Mobile for broad accessibility, and selectively migrate full-immersion experiences to XR platforms where value justifies the cost.

Automation patterns and tools

To scale migrations, use the following patterns:

• Event-driven pipelines (AWS Lambda / Azure Functions) to process exports and trigger transforms; the serverless patterns here help with idempotency.
• Message queues (SQS / Kafka) for retry and throttling control.
• CI pipelines to validate and test imports before production commits.
• Feature flags to toggle access or switch traffic gradually.

Example pipeline architecture

1. Admin exports -> S3
2. S3 event -> transform Lambda -> validation job
3. Validation success -> import job calls target platform APIs
4. Post-import -> notify user + log audit entry

Common migration pitfalls and how to avoid them

• Underestimating media sizes: recordings and 3D assets can be huge. Pre-calculate storage needs and transcode early.
• Identity mismatches: always keep a canonical mapping table between old and new IDs.
• Over-customization: don't try to map every tiny UI behavior; focus on workflows that users rely on daily.
• Insufficient communication: noisy surprises kill adoption. Time your messages and provide live help for early waves.

2026-specific considerations and trends

Late 2025 and early 2026 saw increased vendor consolidation in XR, and a stronger push toward Web-first experiences as the safest cross-device fallback. Expect:

• Greater emphasis on data portability in contracts and SLAs.
• Open formats (glTF for 3D, WebRTC/WebM for media) as de facto migration-friendly targets.
• Rise of hybrid workflows where headsets are optional — prioritize features that work without special hardware.

Measurement and post-migration optimization

After migration, run a 30/90/180 day review cycle to optimize experience and reduce churn:

• Collect session analytics: connection rates, media playback success, average session length.
• Survey migrated teams for friction points and missing features.
• Prioritize a backlog of delta features based on business impact.

Quick templates and artifacts to accelerate your work

• Migration manifest template (CSV/JSON)
• Export automation scripts (Puppeteer + Node samples)
• ETL pipeline templates (AWS SAM / Terraform modules)
• Communication templates (emails, in-app banners, help articles)
• Rollback playbook and SLA for initial waves

Final checklist before cutover

1. All critical rooms and recordings exported and verified (hash check).
2. Identity mapping file complete and tested for a subset of users.
3. Provisioning scripts tested and dry-run imports validated.
4. Support resources scheduled: on-call engineers, migration docs, live sessions.
5. Legal and privacy notified; user-facing notices scheduled.

Real-world example (concise case study)

Company X (120 users) relied on Workrooms for weekly design reviews. They executed this playbook in four weeks: inventory (2 days), exports and ETL (10 days), provisioning and staged onboarding (8 days), and validation (4 days). Outcome: 98% of rooms migrated; median time-to-first-session on new platform was 24 hours; support tickets peaked during wave 1 and returned to baseline within 72 hours.

Closing: tactical takeaways

• Prioritize exports and identity mapping — these are the choke points.
• Lean on Web + Mobile as the universal fallback in 2026.
• Automate but verify — build idempotent pipelines and retain audit trails.
• Communicate relentlessly — staged onboarding reduces friction.

Platform deprecations are stressful, but with a structured playbook you can preserve user value and move teams to modern, accessible environments with confidence. See our deeper notes on Platform deprecations and recovery strategies.

Call to action

Need a tailored migration plan or scripts for your Workrooms export? Reach out to our engineering team for a free migration audit and a starter kit (ETL templates, SCIM scripts, and onboarding assets) to get your project moving this week.

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