> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.lightdash.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Migrate dashboards between projects

> Copy a dashboard and its charts between Lightdash projects or instances with the CLI

A common use of [content as code](/workflow/content-as-code) is copying a dashboard from one place to another — from a project on one Lightdash instance to a project on another instance, or between two projects on the same instance. The steps below walk through the full round-trip.

To move a dashboard between two projects on the same instance where one is configured as the other's upstream, [promoting content](/explore/promote-content) does the same job from the UI, without the CLI.

**Example scenario:** you want to copy a dashboard from a project on your dedicated instance (`acme.lightdash.cloud`) to a project on `app.lightdash.cloud`.

## Before you start

* Install the [Lightdash CLI](/workflow/cli/install).
* Check that the target project has the same dbt models and explores that the dashboard's charts reference. If they don't match, the upload fails validation.

## Step 1: Download from the source project

Log in to the source instance, select the source project, then download the dashboard. Charts, virtual views, and data apps referenced by the dashboard are pulled automatically.

```bash theme={null}
# Log in to the source instance
lightdash login https://acme.lightdash.cloud

# Select the source project interactively
lightdash config set-project

# Download the dashboard
lightdash download -d my-dashboard-slug
```

Or specify the project UUID directly instead of selecting interactively:

```bash theme={null}
lightdash download -d my-dashboard-slug --project 11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111
```

If the dashboard uses pivoted charts, add `--strip-pivot-series` so the chart YAML doesn't hardcode pivot values from the source project:

```bash theme={null}
lightdash download -d my-dashboard-slug --strip-pivot-series
```

See [Make downloaded charts portable across projects](/workflow/content-as-code#make-downloaded-charts-portable-across-projects) for details.

## Step 2: Upload to the target project

If the target project is on a different instance, log in to it first, then select the project and upload:

```bash theme={null}
# Log in to the target instance
lightdash login https://app.lightdash.cloud

# Select the target project interactively
lightdash config set-project

# Upload the dashboard with all dependencies
lightdash upload --force -d my-dashboard-slug --include-charts --include-virtual-views --validate
```

Or specify the project UUID directly:

```bash theme={null}
lightdash upload --force -d my-dashboard-slug --include-charts --include-virtual-views --validate --project 22222222-2222-2222-2222-222222222222
```

If the target project is on the same instance, skip the login step — select the target project and upload:

```bash theme={null}
# Select the target project
lightdash config set-project

# Upload the dashboard with all dependencies
lightdash upload --force -d my-dashboard-slug --include-charts --include-virtual-views --validate
```

`--force` is required to create content that doesn't already exist in the target project, and `--validate` checks for errors after the upload finishes. For which dependencies travel automatically and which need a flag, see [What download and upload include](/workflow/content-as-code#what-download-and-upload-include).