# Connecting an existing (legacy) community

> Built a community on the classic ESTAGE platform? Import the project into Genesis and keep it — members, content, and all.

Source: https://support.estage.com/community-legacy-import
Part of the ESTAGE Support help center (https://support.estage.com). Full knowledge base: https://support.estage.com/llms-full.txt

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If you already run a community on the classic ESTAGE platform, **don't create a new one** —
you'd be starting from zero. Import the legacy project into Genesis instead: the existing
community stays exactly as it is, and Genesis builds around it.

You start the import from your Genesis dashboard, with **Import → Legacy Estage**.

## Before you start

- Sign in to Genesis with the **same ESTAGE account** that owns the legacy project — a project
  belonging to another account is rejected.
- Have the **Legacy project ID** ready: the numeric ID shown in the classic platform's URL when the
  project is open.
- The imported project counts toward your plan's project limit, so you need a free project slot.

> **Caution**
>
> **Never create a fresh project for this.** A new project gets a new ID and its own empty
> community, and the real one stays unreachable from it.

## What importing does

Importing creates a Genesis project **linked to your existing ESTAGE project** — same project
identity upstream, same community, same members, same content. Genesis doesn't copy or
recreate anything; it adopts what's there.

You get the full Genesis experience on top: the AI builder for the website, publishing,
custom domains — while the community keeps running untouched.

## How to import

1. On your Genesis dashboard, click **Import → Legacy Estage** ("Attach an existing Estage
   project by id"). The modal is *"Import Legacy Project (Community, CRM, etc)"*.
2. Enter the **Legacy project ID** — the numeric ID of the project (you can see it in the
   classic platform's URL when the project is open).
3. Under **Starter content**, keep **Blank** or pick one of your Genesis projects to copy
   starter site files from — useful if you've already built a site style you want to begin
   with.
4. Click **Import**.

Genesis verifies the project is **yours** (you must be signed in with the same ESTAGE
account), then the imported project appears at the top of your dashboard and opens.

The imported project keeps **the same ID** as the legacy one — that's what keeps the existing
community and CRM attached.

## After importing

- **Settings → Overview** shows the Community card as **On** with the **Open community ↗**
  link — no "Add community" needed; it found the existing one.
- Build the site with the AI as usual and publish.
- Put the community on your own domain — see
  [Community on your domain](https://support.estage.com/community-custom-domain) — e.g. move it from its legacy
  address to `community.mysite.com`.

## Things worth knowing

- **Don't click "Add community" on an imported project** — the community already exists;
  the module reflects it.
- Members and their content are untouched by the import — nothing to announce, no migration
  window.
- **The legacy front-end site is not migrated.** The community, CRM and other hub modules come
  along; the website is rebuilt in Genesis.
- A project ID that Genesis already tracks can't be imported twice — open it from the
  dashboard instead.
- **Typed the wrong ID?** You're no longer stuck with it — the project can be
  [re-bound to the correct ESTAGE project](https://support.estage.com/project-settings-general#re-bind-to-another-estage-project),
  files, pages, chat history and settings included.