What if GitHub or GitLab goes down or our account is suspended? Do we have backup?
Developer local clones are partial backups, not full ones. Issues, PRs, wikis, secrets, releases and CI config don't live in git itself. A real repo backup includes platform metadata.
support/backups-recovery/github-gitlab-repo-backupsteps: 6
Try this first
- Inventory what's lost if the provider is gone: code (already in every clone), issues/PRs, releases, wiki, packages, GitHub Actions / GitLab CI history and runner secrets. Only the first is naturally distributed.
- For code itself: a mirror clone (git clone --mirror) to a 2nd SCM (Gitea, Bitbucket Server, a 2nd GitHub org) or a NAS is enough. Automate via cron or a scheduled job.
- For metadata: use a tool like BackHub (GitHub only), Rewind, or your own script that pulls GitHub/GitLab API into JSON on cloud storage.
- Check if your org really has only one admin account. Lose that one and you lose it all. Multiple owners and recovery codes in a password manager.
- For CI secrets: keep a controlled copy in your password manager. GitHub Actions secrets and GitLab CI variables aren't readable back, only resettable.
- Test at least yearly: can you bring a mirror up on another provider, with issues and CI? Untested is broken.
When to bring us in
Compliance-driven source-code retention (financial, defense, healthcare) or forensic audit trails on code changes needs a dedicated SCM-backup strategy with immutable storage. Get a review.
See also
- We have backups but we do not know if they workA backup that cannot be restored is not a backup. Testing matters as much as taking the backup.
- Suspected ransomware: what to do RIGHT NOWThe first 30 minutes are critical. One wrong move spreads the damage. Read before acting.
- Someone accidentally deleted an important folderUsually fine to recover. The trick: do not save anything new on that drive until you know how.
None of the above fits?
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