How to mirror a Git repository

# Create mirror clone
git clone --mirror https://github.com/user/original-repo.git

# This creates original-repo.git directory
cd original-repo.git

# Push mirror to new location
git push --mirror https://github.com/user/new-repo.git

# Clone from private repository
git clone --mirror https://username:[email protected]/user/repo.git

# Or use SSH
git clone --mirror [email protected]:user/repo.git

# Push to new location
cd repo.git
git push --mirror [email protected]:user/repo.git

# In mirror directory
cd original-repo.git

# Fetch all changes from original
git fetch --prune origin

# Push updates to mirror
git push --mirror https://github.com/user/mirror-repo.git

# Or create script for automation

#!/bin/bash
# sync-mirror.sh

MIRROR_DIR="/path/to/mirror/repo.git"
SOURCE_URL="https://github.com/user/source-repo.git"
MIRROR_URL="https://github.com/user/mirror-repo.git"

cd "$MIRROR_DIR" || exit 1

echo "Fetching from source..."
git fetch --prune origin

echo "Pushing to mirror..."
git push --mirror "$MIRROR_URL"

echo "Mirror synchronized: $(date)"

#!/bin/bash
# mirror-repos.sh

REPOS=(
  "repo1"
  "repo2"
  "repo3"
)

MIRROR_BASE="/path/to/mirrors"
SOURCE_ORG="github.com/source-org"
MIRROR_ORG="gitlab.com/mirror-org"

for repo in "${REPOS[@]}"; do
  echo "Mirroring $repo..."

  # Create mirror if doesn't exist
  if [ ! -d "$MIRROR_BASE/$repo.git" ]; then
    git clone --mirror "https://$SOURCE_ORG/$repo.git" "$MIRROR_BASE/$repo.git"
  fi

  cd "$MIRROR_BASE/$repo.git"

  # Sync
  git fetch --prune origin
  git push --mirror "https://$MIRROR_ORG/$repo.git"
done

# Clone mirror as regular repo
git clone /path/to/mirror/repo.git regular-repo

cd regular-repo

# Set up remote
git remote rename origin upstream
git remote add origin https://github.com/user/new-repo.git

# Push to new remote
git push -u origin main

# Clone as bare repository
git clone --bare https://github.com/user/repo.git repo.git

# Bare vs Mirror:
# --bare: Creates bare repo without remote configuration
# --mirror: Creates bare repo WITH remote configuration for push

# Convert bare to mirror
cd repo.git
git config --bool core.bare true
git config --add remote.origin.mirror true

#!/bin/bash
# backup-repositories.sh

BACKUP_DIR="/backups/git-repos"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)
BACKUP_PATH="$BACKUP_DIR/$DATE"

mkdir -p "$BACKUP_PATH"

REPOS=(
  "https://github.com/user/repo1.git"
  "https://github.com/user/repo2.git"
)

for repo in "${REPOS[@]}"; do
  repo_name=$(basename "$repo" .git)
  echo "Backing up $repo_name..."

  git clone --mirror "$repo" "$BACKUP_PATH/$repo_name.git"

  # Create tarball
  cd "$BACKUP_PATH"
  tar -czf "$repo_name.tar.gz" "$repo_name.git"
  rm -rf "$repo_name.git"
done

echo "Backup completed: $BACKUP_PATH"

# Migrate from GitHub to GitLab

# 1. Mirror clone
git clone --mirror https://github.com/user/repo.git

cd repo.git

# 2. Push to new platform
git push --mirror https://gitlab.com/user/repo.git

# 3. Update local clones
# On developer machines:
git remote set-url origin https://gitlab.com/user/repo.git
git fetch origin

# Cron job for continuous sync
# crontab -e
# 0 * * * * /path/to/sync-mirror.sh >> /var/log/git-mirror.log 2>&1

#!/bin/bash
# sync-mirror.sh

MIRROR_DIR="/mirrors/repo.git"
LOCK_FILE="/tmp/mirror-sync.lock"

# Prevent concurrent runs
if [ -f "$LOCK_FILE" ]; then
  echo "Sync already running"
  exit 1
fi

touch "$LOCK_FILE"

cd "$MIRROR_DIR" || exit 1

# Fetch updates
git fetch --prune origin || {
  echo "Fetch failed"
  rm "$LOCK_FILE"
  exit 1
}

# Push to mirrors
git push --mirror mirror1 || echo "Mirror1 push failed"
git push --mirror mirror2 || echo "Mirror2 push failed"

rm "$LOCK_FILE"
echo "Sync completed: $(date)"