Import API

Import repository from GitHub

Import your projects from GitHub to GitLab using the API. 

POST /import/github
Attribute Type Required Description
personal_access_token string yes GitHub personal access token
repo_id integer yes GitHub repository ID
new_name string no New repository name
target_namespace string yes Namespace to import repository into. Supports subgroups like /namespace/subgroup
github_hostname string no Custom GitHub Enterprise hostname. Do not set for GitHub.com.
optional_stages object no Additional items to import. Introduced in GitLab 15.5 
curl --request POST \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/import/github" \
  --header "content-type: application/json" \
  --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
  --data '{
    "personal_access_token": "aBc123abC12aBc123abC12abC123+_A/c123",
    "repo_id": "12345",
    "target_namespace": "group/subgroup",
    "new_name": "NEW-NAME",
    "github_hostname": "https://github.example.com",
    "optional_stages": {
      "single_endpoint_issue_events_import": true,
      "single_endpoint_notes_import": true,
      "attachments_import": true
    }
}'

The following keys are available for optional_stages:

  • single_endpoint_issue_events_import, for issue and pull request events import.
  • single_endpoint_notes_import, for an alternative and more thorough comments import.
  • attachments_import, for Markdown attachments import.

For more information, see Select additional items to import.

Example response: 

{
    "id": 27,
    "name": "my-repo",
    "full_path": "/root/my-repo",
    "full_name": "Administrator / my-repo"
}

Import a public project through the API using a group access token

Introduced in GitLab 15.7, projects are not imported into a bot user’s namespace in any circumstances. Projects imported into a bot user’s namespace could not be deleted by users with valid tokens, which represented a security risk.

When you import a project from GitHub to GitLab through the API using a group access token:

  • The GitLab project inherits the original project’s visibility settings. As a result, the project is publicly accessible if the original project is public.
  • If the path or target_namespace does not exist, the project import fails.

Cancel GitHub project import

Introduced in GitLab 15.5.

Cancel an in-progress GitHub project import using the API. 

POST /import/github/cancel
Attribute Type Required Description
project_id integer yes GitLab project ID 
curl --request POST \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/import/github/cancel" \
  --header "content-type: application/json" \
  --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
  --data '{
    "project_id": 12345
}'

Example response: 

{
    "id": 160,
    "name": "my-repo",
    "full_path": "/root/my-repo",
    "full_name": "Administrator / my-repo",
    "import_source": "source/source-repo",
    "import_status": "canceled",
    "human_import_status_name": "canceled",
    "provider_link": "/source/source-repo"
}

Returns the following status codes:

  • 200 OK: the project import is being canceled.
  • 400 Bad Request: the project import cannot be canceled.
  • 404 Not Found: the project associated with project_id does not exist.

Import repository from Bitbucket Server

Import your projects from Bitbucket Server to GitLab via the API.

note
The Bitbucket Project Key is only used for finding the repository in Bitbucket. You must specify a target_namespace if you want to import the repository to a GitLab group. If you do not specify target_namespace, the project imports to your personal user namespace.
POST /import/bitbucket_server
Attribute Type Required Description
bitbucket_server_url string yes Bitbucket Server URL
bitbucket_server_username string yes Bitbucket Server Username
personal_access_token string yes Bitbucket Server personal access token/password
bitbucket_server_project string yes Bitbucket Project Key
bitbucket_server_repo string yes Bitbucket Repository Name
new_name string no New repository name
target_namespace string no Namespace to import repository into. Supports subgroups like /namespace/subgroup 
curl --request POST \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/import/bitbucket_server" \
  --header "content-type: application/json" \
  --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
  --data '{
    "bitbucket_server_url": "http://bitbucket.example.com",
    "bitbucket_server_username": "root",
    "personal_access_token": "Nzk4MDcxODY4MDAyOiP8y410zF3tGAyLnHRv/E0+3xYs",
    "bitbucket_server_project": "NEW",
    "bitbucket_server_repo": "my-repo"
}'

Automate group and project import

For information on automating user, group, and project import API calls, see Automate group and project import.