As a Data Centre Manager with two decades of experience, I’ve seen my fair share of infrastructure migrations and troubleshooting nightmares. But recently, I discovered a tool that’s fundamentally changed how I approach complex technical challenges: Claude Code.

The Challenge: Migrating Nextcloud Without the Headache

I recently needed to migrate my Nextcloud instance from a standalone HP ProDesk (Ubuntu 24.04) to a properly virtualized Ubuntu 22.04 VM running on my Proxmox cluster. While I’ve managed countless datacenter migrations professionally, this particular task was outside my usual wheelhouse. The prospect of manually figuring out Docker configurations, database exports, NFS mounts, and permission management across different systems was… well, let’s just say it wasn’t how I wanted to spend my weekend.

Enter Claude Code

Instead of diving into documentation and forum posts, I decided to leverage Claude Code—Anthropic’s command-line tool that lets you delegate coding tasks directly from your terminal. What happened next genuinely impressed me.

I described what I needed: a comprehensive migration script that would handle the move from my HP ProDesk to the Proxmox VM, including database migration, Docker setup, NFS integration, and all the finicky bits in between.

What Made It Different

Here’s what struck me about the experience:

1. Diagnostic Intelligence

Claude Code didn’t just create a basic migration script. It built in comprehensive error checking, validation steps, and diagnostic capabilities. The script verifies Docker installation, checks NFS mounts, validates data integrity, and provides clear feedback at every stage. It’s the kind of defensive programming I’d expect from a senior engineer who’s been burned by failed migrations before.

2. Interactive Guidance

Rather than making assumptions, the script walks you through the process interactively. It asks for configuration details, offers multiple migration paths, and provides clear instructions for manual steps that genuinely need human oversight—like database exports and data synchronization.

3. Built-in Documentation

One of my favorite features: the script automatically generates a comprehensive migration guide, complete with troubleshooting steps, management commands, and file locations. It’s like having documentation that writes itself and is always accurate because it reflects the actual configuration it just created.

4. Production-Ready Code Quality

The generated script includes proper error handling, logging with timestamps and color-coded output, configuration validation, and even creates helper scripts for ongoing management (backup, status checking, log viewing). This isn’t prototype code—it’s what you’d expect from a well-maintained production environment.

A Sample of What It Created

Here’s a sanitized excerpt showing the script’s structure and approach (with sensitive details removed):

#!/bin/bash

#################################################################
# Nextcloud Docker Migration Script
# Comprehensive migration with validation and error handling
#################################################################

set -e  # Exit on error

# Colors for output
RED='\033[0;31m'
GREEN='\033[0;32m'
YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
BLUE='\033[0;34m'
NC='\033[0m'

# Logging functions
log() {
    echo -e "${GREEN}[$(date +'%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')]${NC} $1"
}

error() {
    echo -e "${RED}[ERROR]${NC} $1"
    exit 1
}

warning() {
    echo -e "${YELLOW}[WARNING]${NC} $1"
}

info() {
    echo -e "${BLUE}[INFO]${NC} $1"
}

# Safety check
if [ "$EUID" -eq 0 ]; then 
    error "Please do not run as root. Run as normal user with sudo privileges."
fi

# Configuration
DOCKER_DIR="/opt/nextcloud"
NFS_MOUNT="/mnt/nextcloud_data"

log "PHASE 1: Verifying Docker installation"

if ! command -v docker &> /dev/null; then
    error "Docker is not installed. Please install Docker first."
fi

log "Docker verified: $(docker --version)"

# NFS mount verification
log "PHASE 2: Verifying NFS mount"

if mountpoint -q "$NFS_MOUNT"; then
    log "NFS mount verified at $NFS_MOUNT"
    df -h | grep nextcloud
else
    error "NFS mount not found at $NFS_MOUNT. Please mount it first."
fi

# Interactive configuration gathering
log "PHASE 3: Gathering configuration information"

read -p "Enter database name [default]: " DB_NAME
DB_NAME=${DB_NAME:-nextcloud}

read -p "Enter database user [default]: " DB_USER
DB_USER=${DB_USER:-nextcloud}

read -sp "Enter database password: " DB_PASS
echo ""

# Docker Compose generation
log "PHASE 4: Creating Docker Compose configuration"

cat > $DOCKER_DIR/docker-compose.yml <<EOF
version: '3.8'

services:
  nextcloud-db:
    image: mariadb:10.11
    container_name: nextcloud-db
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - ./nextcloud-db:/var/lib/mysql
    environment:
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=${DB_NAME}
      - MYSQL_USER=${DB_USER}
    networks:
      - nextcloud-network

  nextcloud-app:
    image: nextcloud:latest
    container_name: nextcloud-app
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - ./nextcloud-app:/var/www/html
      - ${NFS_MOUNT}:/var/www/html/data
    depends_on:
      - nextcloud-db
    networks:
      - nextcloud-network

networks:
  nextcloud-network:
    driver: bridge
EOF

log "Configuration created successfully"

# Creates helper scripts for management
log "Creating management scripts"

cat > $DOCKER_DIR/status.sh <<'STATUSEOF'
#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Container Status ==="
docker compose ps

echo "=== Nextcloud Status ==="
docker exec -u www-data nextcloud-app php occ status
STATUSEOF

chmod +x $DOCKER_DIR/status.sh

log "Setup complete! Review the migration guide for next steps."

The Real-World Impact

What would have taken me hours of research, trial and error, and likely at least one failed migration attempt was condensed into a smooth, guided process. The migration completed successfully on the first try. No data loss, no extended downtime, no frantic Googling at 2 AM.

More importantly, I now have:

• A documented, repeatable process
• Helper scripts for ongoing management
• A deeper understanding of the migration components
• Confidence that I can tackle similar tasks in the future

Beyond This Migration

The Nextcloud migration was just one example. I’ve since used Claude Code for:

• Diagnostic scripts for troubleshooting network connectivity issues between Proxmox nodes
• Storage health monitoring tools for my NVMe arrays
• Custom backup verification scripts
• Infrastructure analysis tools for capacity planning

Each time, Claude Code has delivered production-quality code with thoughtful error handling and comprehensive documentation.

The Broader Implications

As someone who’s managed infrastructure for 20 years, I’m genuinely excited about what tools like Claude Code mean for the industry. This isn’t about replacing expertise—it’s about amplifying it. I still need to understand what’s happening, make architectural decisions, and verify the results. But the tedious work of translating requirements into error-free code? That’s now measured in minutes instead of hours.

For infrastructure professionals, especially those transitioning from hands-on roles to management (like myself), having an AI coding assistant that can quickly generate reliable scripts is transformative. It lets me stay technical without getting bogged down in implementation details.

The Bottom Line

Claude Code impressed me not because it wrote code—lots of tools can do that. It impressed me because it wrote good code that reflected actual operational experience. The error handling, the validation steps, the documentation, the helper scripts—these aren’t features you get from a simple code generator. They’re the result of understanding how systems actually fail and what operators actually need.

If you’re managing infrastructure and haven’t explored AI-assisted coding tools yet, I’d encourage you to give Claude Code a try. Start with a real problem you’re facing. You might be surprised at just how much it can help.

---

Have you used AI coding assistants in your infrastructure work? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below.