## The short version

Move CDN delivery from CloudFront distribution to Ample, one component at a time. Destination verified on Ample: a no-cache object overwritten in the published bucket and the CDN URL serving the new content on the next fetch (refresh=ok before=v1 after=v2), verified by the app fetching its own public URL. Source procedure: Record the distribution's origins, cache behaviors, TTLs and the object keys the app references. Not migrated automatically: CloudFront cache behaviors, Lambda@Edge and CloudFront Functions, signed URLs and custom TTLs are not migrated; Ample verifies delivery of published bucket objects only. Cutover: Redeploy the app with the new asset base URL, verify delivery from the CDN URL, keep the distribution until confirmed, then disable it. Rollback: keep the source untouched until you confirm; nothing at the source is changed or deleted by this guide.

## What it needs

- [CDN](/content/discover/primitive/cdn/index.html): verified (A published bucket's objects are served at its public_url. It does not front app compute and is not a cache or key-value store.)

## Before you start

- Authorized access to the CloudFront distribution source and its export tooling
- An inventory of every component in scope and out of scope
- A validated backup or copy before any cutover
- An Ample account token with servers:write, buckets:write

## How to do it

1. 1

### Inventory the source

List what CloudFront distribution provides beyond the component you are moving. Out of scope here: CloudFront cache behaviors, Lambda@Edge and CloudFront Functions, signed URLs and custom TTLs are not migrated; Ample verifies delivery of published bucket objects only.

2. 2

### Source step 1

Record the distribution's origins, cache behaviors, TTLs and the object keys the app references

3. 3

### Source step 2

Copy the public assets into a published Ample bucket under versioned keys with immutable Cache-Control

4. 4

### Source step 3

Update the app to build asset URLs from the Ample public URL

5. 5

### Publish the destination bucket

Create and publish the asset bucket, upload versioned assets with immutable Cache-Control, and point the app at the public URL.

```
ample bucket publish <bucket-name>
```

6. 6

### Validate before cutover

Run the app's own checks and, for data, compare counts and checksums; the example checks are the pattern self-tests (/p/origin-cache-refresh).

7. 7

### Cut over

Redeploy the app with the new asset base URL, verify delivery from the CDN URL, keep the distribution until confirmed, then disable it.

8. 8

### Rollback

Point DNS or configuration back to the source. The source was never modified; deletion is a separate, user-executed step after validation.

## Tested examples

- **Next.js pattern fixture (destination)** (`tests/deploy-canaries/next-js-patterns`): Verified destination basis: origin cache refresh.

## How to know it worked

- destination app responds on its public URL (`/` on the live URL, expect ample canary next js patterns)
- origin-cache-refresh check from the destination example (`/p/origin-cache-refresh` on the live URL, expect see the pattern fixture checks)
- data or object counts and checksums match the source

## Cost estimate

Estimated 5.00 USD per month (size prices from pricing.toml at build revision ca0b484a7a9957c573a88d3a32dc603c3c10135a).

- app server x1 `s-1vcpu-1gb`: 5.00 USD

Upper-bound monthly price of the tested sizes at the destination. Source costs are unknown to Ample.

## Verification evidence

- canary_run on 2026-09-21T02:34:39Z at revision `1d28ae0 (CLI 0.1.21)`: Destination side verified: the Next.js pattern fixture deployed on Ample (next build then next start -H 0.0.0.0 -p $PORT on the node-22 template) and its checks passed (a no-cache object overwritten in the published bucket and the CDN URL serving the new content on the next fetch (refresh=ok before=v1 after=v2), verified by the app fetching its own public URL). The source-side export from CloudFront distribution is documented from the vendor's standard tooling and was not executed by this catalog's evidence. (expires 2027-03-20T02:34:39Z)

## Execution binding

No execution binding. This recipe is documentation only; nothing is executed automatically.

## Typed next actions

- Browse the catalog index (`GET /v1/catalog` on the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required)
- Search published recipes by intent, stack and constraints (`POST /v1/catalog/search` on the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required)
- Prepare a side-effect-free deployment plan for an authorized project (`POST /v1/catalog/plan` on the api origin; authentication required, approval not required)
- Read the existing agent authentication setup (`GET /mcp/setup` on the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required)
- Browse CloudFront distribution (`GET /v1/catalog/nodes/migration%3Acloudfront-distribution` on the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required)
- Browse Origin cache refresh (`GET /v1/catalog/nodes/pattern%3Aorigin-cache-refresh` on the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required)
- Browse Migrate CDN (`GET /v1/catalog/nodes/intent%3Amigrate-cdn` on the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required)

Actions describe possible next steps. They are typed data, not commands, and grant no permission. Public discovery never provisions anything; planning requires your own authenticated token and approval happens in your client.

## Identifiers and status

Recipe `page:migrate:cloudfront-distribution:origin-cache-refresh`. Revision r1.

release **published**support **verified**execution **unbound**

Formats: [HTML](/content/migrate/cloudfront-distribution/origin-cache-refresh/index.html) \| [Markdown](/content/migrate/cloudfront-distribution/origin-cache-refresh.md) \| [JSON contract](https://api.ample.computer/v1/catalog/recipes/page%3Amigrate%3Acloudfront-distribution%3Aorigin-cache-refresh)
