Behance project ID stability during Adobe ID migration for portfolio synchronization

Answer the exact question first

Because the Behance API does not expose a permanent key, the only reliable way to deduplicate projects across an Adobe ID migration is to build a composite key from fields that stay unchanged when the owner’s Adobe ID changes. The combination of owner.id, created_on, and a content fingerprint (hash of title, description, or first image URL) provides a stable identifier that can be matched before and after the migration.

Likely explanation for the unstable id field

When an individual account is merged into an enterprise account, Adobe re‑generates internal numeric IDs for each project. The REST API returns the new numbers, so the old id values are no longer valid. No documented field links the old and new IDs.

Confirmed facts from the API

• created_on is a UTC timestamp that never changes after the project is first published.
• owner.id reflects the current Adobe ID; it changes to the new enterprise ID after migration.
• There is no exposed field that directly maps pre‑ and post‑migration project IDs.
• The slug may persist but is not globally unique across users.

Practical steps for this migration window

1. Pre‑migration snapshot
   • Run a full sync of all projects and persist for each project:
     • id, created_on, owner.id, title, description_hash, slug
2. Post‑migration sync
   • For each returned project, query the local table for rows with the same owner.id and a created_on within ±5 minutes of the stored value.
   • From the candidate set, compare the description_hash (or another chosen fingerprint). A match indicates the same creative work; update the stored record. A mismatch means a new project—insert it.
   • If no candidate exists, insert the project as new.
3. Dry‑run verification
   • Run the above logic against a copy of the database and log matched pairs.
   • Check that no duplicate id values are inserted and that every project has a unique composite key.
4. Final migration
   • Execute the same logic in production, respecting API rate limits and pagination.
   • After the cutover, run an audit that flags any projects whose created_on or fingerprint differs from the pre‑migration snapshot.

One missing diagnostic detail that could change the recommendation

Will any projects be edited (title, description, or first image) after the Adobe ID migration? If edits are expected, consider adding a checksum of the full project payload to reduce false negatives.