A method, apparatus, and computer implemented instructions for the automatic migration of applications and their associated data and configuration files from a source data processing system to a destination data processing system. A data store containing meta data regarding files associated with the application is queried in which the data store includes meta data describing the files accessed by the application. A result is received in response to querying the data store in which the associations are maintained. Copying of the files from the source data processing system to the destination data processing system using the result is initiated.