1. Objective

This guide demonstrates how to seamlessly migrate a code repository between different platforms while preserving the complete commit history. The process is applicable to any Git-based repository platforms, such as GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket.

2. Steps

To illustrate the migration process, we’ll walk through moving a repository from GitLab (source platform) to GitHub (destination platform).

2.1 Create a new project on the destination platform

First, create a blank repository on GitHub using the same name as your source repository (though using a different name is also acceptable).

2.2 Clone the code repository from the source platform

To initiate the migration process, create a mirror copy of the source repository on your local machine using the --bare flag. This specialized clone operation creates a repository that contains all the version control data - including branches, tags, and the complete commit history - but without a working directory for file editing. This bare clone serves as an efficient intermediate step for repository migration.

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git clone https://gitlab.com/abc/xyz.git --bare

2.3 Push the code repository to the destination platform

After creating the bare clone, push all branches and objects from the source repository to the destination platform. Use the following command, replacing the URL with your destination repository’s address. This operation ensures all branches, commit history, and associated metadata are transferred completely.

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cd xyz.git
git push https://github.com/abc/xyz.git --all

2.4 Push the tags to the destination platform

To complete the migration process, transfer all tags from the local repository to the destination platform using the --tags parameter. This ensures that all version tags and release markers are preserved in the new repository.

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git push https://github.com/abc/xyz.git --tags

After completing these steps, your code repository will have been successfully migrated from the source platform to the destination platform, with all commit history, branches, and tags fully preserved. The new repository is now ready for use while maintaining its complete development history.