diff --git a/core/include/vf/SaveMigration.h b/core/include/vf/SaveMigration.h
index be2115d..30331f1 100644
--- a/core/include/vf/SaveMigration.h
+++ b/core/include/vf/SaveMigration.h
@@ -156,3 +156,104 @@ std::size_t saveTableBytes(const SaveHeader& header);
 std::size_t saveHeaderSectors(const SaveHeader& header);
 std::size_t saveDataStart(const SaveHeader& header);
 
+// Reads as many entries as the buffer actually holds; `out` may end up shorter
+// than header.chunkCount, which is itself a finding for the scanner.
+bool readSaveTable(const uint8_t* data, std::size_t size, const SaveHeader& header,
+                   std::vector<SaveTableEntry>& out);
+
+// The light plane a chunk gets when a version that has none is lifted: sky is
+// blocked by anything opaque, block light is the emission of the block itself.
+std::vector<uint8_t> defaultChunkLight(const Chunk& chunk, uint8_t skyLevel);
+bool chunkIsAllAir(const Chunk& chunk);
+
+ByteBuffer encodeChunkPayload(SaveVersion version, const SaveChunkRecord& record,
+                              bool compressBody);
+
+// Structural decode. A wrong checksum does NOT fail the decode - the scanner
+// reports it separately, and repair needs the blocks out of a record whose
+// checksum went stale.
+bool decodeChunkPayload(SaveVersion version, const uint8_t* data, std::size_t size,
+                        SaveChunkRecord& out, SavePayloadInfo* info = nullptr);
+
+// Pulls the stored checksum and the one the bytes actually hash to. False for
+// v1/v2, which carry none.
+bool verifyChunkPayloadChecksum(SaveVersion version, const uint8_t* data, std::size_t size,
+                                uint32_t& stored, uint32_t& computed);
+
+// Lays out a container from payloads that are already encoded: header, entry
+// table, then every payload back to back on sector boundaries. `coords` must
+// already be in ascending coordinate order - this is the one place that decides
+// what a canonical buffer looks like, and the writer, the compactor and the
+// backup restore all go through it so their output is comparable byte for byte.
+ByteBuffer packSaveContainer(SaveVersion version, int regionX, int regionZ, uint32_t sectorBytes,
+                             const std::vector<Vec3i>& coords,
+                             const std::vector<ByteBuffer>& payloads,
+                             std::vector<uint32_t>* sectorOffsets = nullptr);
+
+bool saveCoordLess(const Vec3i& a, const Vec3i& b);
+
+// Writes a canonical container: entries sorted by coordinate, payloads packed
+// back to back on sector boundaries, no holes, buffer ending on a sector edge.
+// Deterministic - the same container always produces the same bytes.
+ByteBuffer writeSaveContainer(const SaveContainer& container);
+bool readSaveContainer(const uint8_t* data, std::size_t size, SaveContainer& out);
+
+// Copies one chunk's payload record out verbatim, for byte-level comparison.
+bool readChunkPayloadBytes(const uint8_t* data, std::size_t size, const Vec3i& coord,
+                           ByteBuffer& out);
+
+// True when the layout matches what writeSaveContainer would produce. Backups
+// require it, because they store payloads rather than layout.
+bool isCanonicalSaveLayout(const uint8_t* data, std::size_t size);
+
+SaveContainer saveContainerFromWorld(const World& world, RegionCoord region, SaveVersion version);
+void applySaveContainerToWorld(const SaveContainer& container, World& world);
+
+struct MigrationStep {
+    SaveVersion from = SaveVersion::V1;
+    SaveVersion to = SaveVersion::V2;
+    std::string summary;
+};
+
+struct MigrationPlan {
+    SaveVersion from = currentSaveVersion;
+    SaveVersion to = currentSaveVersion;
+    std::vector<MigrationStep> steps;
+    bool possible = false;
+    std::string refusal;
+};
+
+struct MigrationResult {
+    bool ok = false;
+    SaveVersion from = currentSaveVersion;
+    SaveVersion to = currentSaveVersion;
+    std::vector<MigrationStep> applied;
+    std::size_t chunksMigrated = 0;
+    std::size_t paletteEntriesCreated = 0;
+    std::size_t lightCellsInitialized = 0;
+    std::size_t metadataRecordsCreated = 0;
+    std::string failure;
+    ByteBuffer output;
+};
+
+// Lifts a container one version at a time. Every step is a real transcode: the
+// intermediate buffer is a valid container of the intermediate version, so a
+// v1 save passes through readable v2 and v3 states on its way to v4.
+class SaveMigrator {
+public:
+    uint8_t skyLightForNewPlanes = saveDefaultSkyLight;
+    SaveChunkMeta metadataDefaults;
+    bool compressMigratedPayloads = false;
+
+    static bool peekVersion(const uint8_t* data, std::size_t size, SaveVersion& out);
+    static MigrationPlan planFor(SaveVersion from, SaveVersion to);
+
+    MigrationResult migrate(const uint8_t* data, std::size_t size, SaveVersion target) const;
+    MigrationResult migrateToCurrent(const ByteBuffer& buffer) const;
+
+private:
+    bool applyStep(const ByteBuffer& in, const MigrationStep& step, MigrationResult& result,
+                   ByteBuffer& out) const;
+};
+
+} // namespace vf