Migrate your Shotgun data
Production tracking and asset management software for animation, VFX, and game studios. Used for sequencing Shots, Assets, Tasks, and Review links across a project's lifecycle.
In its favor
Why people choose Shotgun
The signal that keeps Shotgun on the shortlist. Sourced from G2, Capterra, and customer scoping calls.
Deeply understood by VFX and animation studios that need entity types designed for production pipelines rather than generic task boards.
Strong integration ecosystem with DCC tools like Maya, Nuke, and Houdini means artists work natively and data stays canonical in ShotGrid.
Version and review workflows allow supervisors to annotate, compare, and approve Shots and Assets in-context without leaving the platform.
Schema customization lets studios extend Shots and Assets with custom fields and entity types that match their specific pipeline naming conventions.
Per-project isolation and granular permission sets allow studios to control which users can see or edit which Projects and entity subsets.
Undocumented API rate limits cause production-scoped migration scripts to fail silently or return 429 errors without warning.
Studios outgrow the per-seat pricing model as crew sizes grow, prompting evaluation of in-house or open-source alternatives.
Limited offline and mobile access frustrates production coordinators working from sets or locations without reliable connectivity.
Performance degrades noticeably on Projects containing tens of thousands of Task or Shot records, particularly in the web UI.
Authentication is tied to individual user accounts with no API-key or service-account model, making automated migrations brittle.
Reasons to switch
Why people leave Shotgun
The recurring reasons buyers give for replacing Shotgun. Presented as facts, not knocks.
Platform scorecard
Strengths, weaknesses, and where Shotgun fits
Grades across six dimensions, plus a SWOT-style view of where the platform shines and where it falls short.
SWOT — strengths, weaknesses, and use-case fit
Strengths
Weaknesses
Where it works
Where it struggles
Pricing tiers
Shotgun pricing overview
ShotGrid offers a free tier for small teams and scales to custom enterprise pricing for larger studios. Public pricing tiers are not fully published; enterprise agreements are quote-based and include per-seat and per-project configuration options.
Ticket Sales (per-transaction fee)
Tier 1 of 3
Variable service fees per ticket sold
What's included
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Book a free 30 minute consultationPricing is informational. FlitStack AI does not bill on Shotgun's schedule — see our quote-based pricing →
What gets migrated
Shotgun object support
Object-by-object support for Shotgun migrations. Per-pair details surface during scoping.
Projects
Fully supportedProjects are the top-level container in ShotGrid and map 1:1 in most destination systems. We preserve project-level metadata including status, description, and pipeline configuration at the project level.
Shots
Fully supportedShots are core ShotGrid entities containing cut order, status, and assigned Tasks. We preserve Shot sequence ordering, status, and all standard fields during migration.
Assets
Fully supportedAssets represent reusable production elements such as characters, props, and environments. We migrate the Asset entity and its linked Thumbnail and Attachment references.
Sequences
Fully supportedSequences group Shots into editorial acts or sequences. We preserve the sequence-to-shot relationship and sequence-level metadata during migration.
Tasks
Fully supportedTasks are assigned to Shots or Assets and contain pipeline stage, status, and assignee. We migrate Tasks with their full status history and assignment chain.
Versions
Mapping requiredVersions are linked to Shots or Assets and represent iterations in the review pipeline. We reconstruct the version chain as an ordered list and map Version status to the destination's equivalent review object, noting that FlitStack AI does not replay the ShotGrid review playback state.
Notes
Mapping requiredNotes attach to any ShotGrid entity and support threaded Replies. We migrate Notes as flat records with reply depth preserved as a parent_id reference, mapping the Shot or Asset link to the corresponding migrated entity.
Custom Fields
Mapping requiredShotGrid supports extensive per-entity custom field creation via the API. Custom field types, display names, and list values vary between source sites, so FlitStack AI performs field-level mapping to the destination schema, flagging any enum values that do not exist in the target.
Attachments
Mapping requiredAttachments include uploaded files, render outputs, and published media linked to Shots, Assets, or Versions. We use ShotGrid's download_attachment and get_attachment_download_url endpoints and chunk large media into staged batches to respect rate limits.
Thumbnails
Mapping requiredThumbnails are entity-level images for Shots, Assets, Versions, and Tasks. We extract them via upload_thumbnail or download_attachment and re-associate them in the destination, noting that thumbnail size and format may differ in the target system.
Pipeline Statuses
Mapping requiredShotGrid pipeline statuses are customizable per entity type and vary widely between studios. We map the source site's status workflow to the destination's pipeline stages, flagging any statuses with no direct equivalent.
Tags/Labels
Mapping requiredTags in ShotGrid are freeform labels applied to any entity. We preserve tag assignments as a flat list and map them to the destination system's labeling mechanism.
Users
Mapping requiredUsers are persons with roles and permissions in ShotGrid. We migrate the user record including name and contact info, but role and permission sets are destination-specific and require manual reassignment after migration.
Work Schedules
Mapping requiredShotGrid maintains work day rules via work_schedule_read and work_schedule_update. We extract the schedule configuration and attempt to apply it to the destination's calendar system, noting that work schedule models differ across platforms.
| Object | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Projects | Fully supported | Projects are the top-level container in ShotGrid and map 1:1 in most destination systems. We preserve project-level metadata including status, description, and pipeline configuration at the project level. |
| Shots | Fully supported | Shots are core ShotGrid entities containing cut order, status, and assigned Tasks. We preserve Shot sequence ordering, status, and all standard fields during migration. |
| Assets | Fully supported | Assets represent reusable production elements such as characters, props, and environments. We migrate the Asset entity and its linked Thumbnail and Attachment references. |
| Sequences | Fully supported | Sequences group Shots into editorial acts or sequences. We preserve the sequence-to-shot relationship and sequence-level metadata during migration. |
| Tasks | Fully supported | Tasks are assigned to Shots or Assets and contain pipeline stage, status, and assignee. We migrate Tasks with their full status history and assignment chain. |
| Versions | Mapping required | Versions are linked to Shots or Assets and represent iterations in the review pipeline. We reconstruct the version chain as an ordered list and map Version status to the destination's equivalent review object, noting that FlitStack AI does not replay the ShotGrid review playback state. |
| Notes | Mapping required | Notes attach to any ShotGrid entity and support threaded Replies. We migrate Notes as flat records with reply depth preserved as a parent_id reference, mapping the Shot or Asset link to the corresponding migrated entity. |
| Custom Fields | Mapping required | ShotGrid supports extensive per-entity custom field creation via the API. Custom field types, display names, and list values vary between source sites, so FlitStack AI performs field-level mapping to the destination schema, flagging any enum values that do not exist in the target. |
| Attachments | Mapping required | Attachments include uploaded files, render outputs, and published media linked to Shots, Assets, or Versions. We use ShotGrid's download_attachment and get_attachment_download_url endpoints and chunk large media into staged batches to respect rate limits. |
| Thumbnails | Mapping required | Thumbnails are entity-level images for Shots, Assets, Versions, and Tasks. We extract them via upload_thumbnail or download_attachment and re-associate them in the destination, noting that thumbnail size and format may differ in the target system. |
| Pipeline Statuses | Mapping required | ShotGrid pipeline statuses are customizable per entity type and vary widely between studios. We map the source site's status workflow to the destination's pipeline stages, flagging any statuses with no direct equivalent. |
| Tags/Labels | Mapping required | Tags in ShotGrid are freeform labels applied to any entity. We preserve tag assignments as a flat list and map them to the destination system's labeling mechanism. |
| Users | Mapping required | Users are persons with roles and permissions in ShotGrid. We migrate the user record including name and contact info, but role and permission sets are destination-specific and require manual reassignment after migration. |
| Work Schedules | Mapping required | ShotGrid maintains work day rules via work_schedule_read and work_schedule_update. We extract the schedule configuration and attempt to apply it to the destination's calendar system, noting that work schedule models differ across platforms. |
Gotchas
What to watch for in Shotgun migrations
Issues we've hit on past Shotgun migrations, tagged by severity. FlitStack AI handles every one — surfacing them up front because buyer engineering teams want to know.
Undocumented API rate limits cause migration failures
No bandwidth throttling on file attachment transfers
API authentication tied to individual user accounts
| Severity | Issue |
|---|---|
| High | Undocumented API rate limits cause migration failures |
| Medium | No bandwidth throttling on file attachment transfers |
| High | API authentication tied to individual user accounts |
Leaving Shotgun?
Where Shotgun customers move next
5 destinations Shotgun can migrate to.
How a Shotgun migration works
Four steps, Shotgun-specific
Connect
Session-based authentication via ShotGrid site login (Python API uses username/password; REST API uses session cookie) into Shotgun. Scopes limited to read-only on the data we move.
Map
We translate Shotgun-specific structures (custom fields, objects, value lists) to the destination's model.
Sample
Test with a 50–200 record subset to validate Shotgun quirks before production.
Migrate
Full migration with Shotgun rate-limit handling. Rollback available throughout.
FAQ
Shotgun migration FAQ
Answers to the questions buyers ask most during Shotgun migration scoping. Not seeing yours? Book a call.
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Migrate Shotgun.
Without the rebuild.
Free scoping call with a migration engineer. Tell us about your Shotgun setup and destination — written quote back within a business day.