How to Migrate From Eagle to refern (2026)

Use refern's dedicated Eagle importer after making a separate backup of the source library. The importer copies the first supported media placement into the refern workspace and represents later Eagle folder placements as linked database records. It does not modify the source Eagle library.

The completed assessment found full parity across the supported transfer surface. That statement is deliberately bounded: password locks, saved smart-folder rules, arbitrary plugin-owned data, and unsupported media are outside the surface.

Should you migrate from Eagle?

Stay with Eagle, or run both apps, if broad specialist-file previews, font management, and its plugin ecosystem are central to the workflow. Eagle's managed library is also useful when one self-contained collection is preferable to indexing existing project paths.

Consider refern when you want a library and spatial canvas in one desktop app, need Linux, want a relationship graph, or want future normal workspaces to index existing folders in place.

Migration does not have to be an immediate cutover. The source Eagle library remains available while you verify the refern copy.

What transfers from Eagle to refern?

The completed supported-surface assessment covers:

Full parity means the importer matched the expected result across this named surface. It does not mean that every possible Eagle library feature, plugin extension, or media type is supported.

What does not transfer?

The supported-surface promise excludes:

• Password locks and password-protection state
• Saved smart-folder rules
• Arbitrary data owned by Eagle plugins
• Unsupported media types

Do not remove Eagle until these exclusions have been reviewed against the real library. A smart folder may encode an important workflow even though the underlying supported items and metadata transfer.

How are media copies and repeated placements handled?

Eagle standard import and refern normal workspace indexing use different architectures, and the Eagle importer is a third, explicit migration path.

The migration is not copy-free. It avoids making another physical media copy for every repeated Eagle folder placement.

Before you start

1. Locate the Eagle .library directory you intend to import.
2. Close active writes to the library.
3. Create a separate backup of the complete Eagle library.
4. Restore or open a representative sample from that backup.
5. Confirm the destination workspace has appropriate storage for the first-placement media copies and generated refern data.
6. Record the Eagle and refern versions used for the migration.
7. List any password locks, smart folders, plugin workflows, and specialist formats that require separate handling.

Do not delete or rename the source library during the import.

Step 1: Create or choose a refern workspace

Open refern and create a workspace, or choose an existing workspace that should receive the imported library. A normal workspace can index files already present in its folder. The Eagle importer will separately create refern-side media files for the imported Eagle assets.

refern stores its SQLite database, thumbnails, backups, and generated data in an associated or user-configured data location. Include that location in the backup plan.

Step 2: Run the Eagle importer

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to Import.
3. Choose Import from Eagle.
4. Select the Eagle .library directory.
5. Review the destination and import options.
6. Start the import and let the background job finish or report items that need attention.

No universal duration is published here. Import time depends on the actual media, metadata, storage, system, and build.

Step 3: Verify the supported transfer surface

Use a repeatable checklist rather than spot-checking only the grid:

• Compare the top-level and nested folder structure.
• Check folder metadata used in the source library.
• Open items with known tags and ratings.
• Check source fields, annotations, and comments.
• Open representative supported images and videos.
• Find an item that appeared in more than one Eagle folder and confirm the later placements are linked records.
• Review skipped or failed media.
• Confirm password locks, smart-folder rules, and plugin-owned data were not expected to transfer.

Record discrepancies before changing either library.

Step 4: Keep a rollback path

The importer does not modify the source Eagle library, so keep it available during evaluation. Also keep the separate backup.

Changes made in Eagle after the import do not live-sync into refern. The importer uses provenance so a rerun can skip previously imported items and continue with eligible source entries. Verify the result after every rerun instead of assuming the two libraries now match automatically.

Step 5: Switch capture only when ready

refern provides browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Browser capture is a user-initiated download that creates a new media file in the selected workspace; it is not normal in-place indexing.

Keep Eagle's capture workflow active until the refern extension, destination folders, tags, source fields, and backup routine have been tested with real work.

What refern adds after migration

refern 1.7 includes an infinite canvas, relationship graph, operator search, color search, visual similarity, duplicate detection, hierarchical tags, ratings, and linked relationships between files and canvases.

Core library, search, canvas, viewing, and study workflows do not require uploading the existing library to a refern cloud service. Network access is used for license activation, update checks, optional model downloads, user-submitted feedback, user-requested web media downloads, and a best-effort trusted-time check while unlicensed.

The product costs $35 as a one-time purchase for one user on up to three devices, with updates included under the current terms. After the 30-day trial, the app interface is gated by activation while normal files and workspace folders remain accessible on disk.

What you give up compared with Eagle

• Font management: refern does not provide Eagle's font workflow.
• Preview breadth: images and video receive native handling. Opt-in PDFs receive a first-page preview and native viewer. Many specialist formats remain searchable generic entries rather than rendered previews.
• Plugins: a general plugin ecosystem is not shipped. Plugins are planned without a public release date.
• Managed-library simplicity: normal refern workspaces preserve existing media paths, so the user remains responsible for the workspace and its associated data backup.

Run both apps if those Eagle advantages remain important.

When is the migration complete?

Treat the migration as complete only when:

1. The supported folders, fields, media, and repeated placements have been verified.
2. Every excluded workflow has a documented replacement or retention plan.
3. A refern workspace backup has been restored and checked.
4. The original Eagle library and its backup have been retained for the agreed rollback period.
5. New capture and organization workflows have been tested.

For the broader product choice, read refern vs Eagle. For the storage architecture, see does Eagle copy your files?.