Keeping version history and authors in a SharePoint migration

For a quality team, a legal department or an engineering office, a document’s history matters as much as the document. A migration that loses it is not finished.

Short answer

Versions are replayed one by one in the target, in chronological order, each with its author and date. Order and major or minor type are guaranteed; the numbers themselves are recalculated by SharePoint.

What is kept for each version

the file content or item values at that version;
the version’s author and date, translated to the target account;
its type: major (published) or minor (draft);
for the current version, the original Created by, Modified by, Created and Modified.

Why the numbers change

SharePoint assigns version numbers itself: you cannot write a “4.0” version directly. When the source history was trimmed (versions 1 to 3 removed by a retention limit), the first migrated version becomes 1.0 in the target. Order and nature stay correct. If the target library does not track minor versions, a major source version is simply published there.

How many versions to migrate

Each version is a write in the target and uses storage. Migrating the last 20 or 50 versions instead of the full history often shortens the migration noticeably, without losing anything useful. The maximum version setting applies to a whole action; a value of 1 migrates only the current version.

Re-runs and versions

In incremental mode, a file changed at the source only receives its new versions.
On a list without versioning, a change rewrites the current version in the target.
In full mode, every version is sent again after those already present, so the target history contains duplicates. Keep this mode for cases where the target must be rewritten.

Special cases

Source	Versions migrated
SharePoint library or OneDrive	All of them, or the last N
SharePoint list	Every item version, with its values
File share	One: the file as it is
To a file share	The current version
Fast mode (Migration API)	All of them; custom columns only on the current version

Frequently asked questions

Are check-in comments kept?

In fast mode, each version’s check-in comment is written into the import manifest. In standard mode, each version is replayed with its author and date.

Will a file with no history at the source get one in the target?

No: one source version gives one target version.

Test it on your own tenant

The 14-day trial migrates 10% of every library, with versions, metadata and permissions. After you subscribe, an incremental run migrates the rest.

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