This was meant for the Pain Points list, but the workflow is chaotic here.

Please explain in the Docs the logical model for data management, and good practice for deploying with data.

This material is assumed in almost every Guide and support post, but not apparently explained anywhere in a clear and simple manner.

For example:

* the data in a Strapi instance is inseparable from its schema, which is mainly stored in files and folder structures (src/api ??). Both must be kept in sync when backing up / exporting and importing. What is the definitive checklist?

* The Export / Import process does not always work. Common reasons may include:

- mismatch of schemas

- mismatch of database architecture (e.g. sqlite vs MySQL, if not set up _precisely_ as per some invisible spec)

(I have never been able to get it to work from dev to prod machines - it's too complex and the docs are patchy for this to begin with)

* Is there a 'first principles' process that can be implemented by local CI/CD tooling? e.g. if we are restricted to a desired-state framework like Ansible, or have written our own in Python :{

Happy to correspond for clarification.