content/migrations/using-ghe-migrator/exporting-migration-data-from-githubcom.md

metadata

title: Exporting migration data from GitHub.com
intro: >-
  You can export migration data from an organization on {% data
  variables.product.prodname_dotcom_the_website %} by using the API to select
  repositories to migrate, then generating a migration archive that you can
  import into a {% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_server %} instance.
redirect_from:
  - /enterprise/admin/guides/migrations/exporting-migration-data-from-github-com
  - /enterprise/admin/migrations/exporting-migration-data-from-githubcom
  - /enterprise/admin/migrations/preparing-the-githubcom-source-organization
  - >-
    /enterprise/admin/migrations/exporting-the-githubcom-organizations-repositories
  - >-
    /enterprise/admin/guides/migrations/preparing-the-github-com-source-organization
  - >-
    /enterprise/admin/guides/migrations/exporting-the-github-com-organization-s-repositories
  - /enterprise/admin/user-management/exporting-migration-data-from-githubcom
  - /admin/user-management/exporting-migration-data-from-githubcom
  - >-
    /admin/user-management/migrating-data-to-and-from-your-enterprise/exporting-migration-data-from-githubcom
versions:
  fpt: '*'
  ghec: '*'
  ghes: '*'
type: how_to
topics:
  - API
  - Enterprise
  - Migration
shortTitle: Export from GitHub.com

Preparing the source organization on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}

1. Ensure that you have owner permissions on the source organization's repositories.

2. {% data reusables.enterprise_migrations.token-generation %} on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom_the_website %}.

{% data reusables.enterprise_migrations.make-a-list %}

Exporting the organization's repositories

{% data reusables.enterprise_migrations.fork-persistence %}

To export repository data from {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom_the_website %}, use the Migrations API.

The Migrations API is currently in a preview period, which means that the endpoints and parameters may change in the future.

Generating a migration archive

{% data reusables.enterprise_migrations.locking-repositories %}

1. Notify members of your organization that you'll be performing a migration. The export can take several minutes, depending on the number of repositories being exported. The full migration including import may take several hours so we recommend doing a trial run in order to determine how long the full process will take. For more information, see AUTOTITLE.

2. Start a migration by sending a POST request to the migration endpoint. You'll need:

   • Your access token for authentication.

   • A list of the repositories you want to migrate:

     curl -H "Authorization: Bearer GITHUB_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
     -X POST \
     -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
     -d'{"lock_repositories":true,"repositories":["ORG_NAME/REPO_NAME", "ORG_NAME/REPO_NAME"]}' \
     https://api.github.com/orgs/ORG_NAME/migrations
     

   • If you want to lock the repositories before migrating them, make sure lock_repositories is set to true. This is highly recommended.

   • You can exclude file attachments by passing exclude_attachments: true to the endpoint. {% data reusables.enterprise_migrations.exclude-file-attachments %} The final archive size must be less than 20 GB.

   This request returns a unique id which represents your migration. You'll need it for subsequent calls to the Migrations API.

3. Send a GET request to the migration status endpoint to fetch the status of a migration. You'll need:

   • Your access token for authentication.

   • The unique id of the migration:

     curl -H "Authorization: Bearer GITHUB_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
     -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
     https://api.github.com/orgs/ORG_NAME/migrations/ID
     

   A migration can be in one of the following states:

   • pending, which means the migration hasn't started yet.
   • exporting, which means the migration is in progress.
   • exported, which means the migration finished successfully.
   • failed, which means the migration failed.

4. After your migration has exported, download the migration archive by sending a GET request to the migration download endpoint. You'll need:

   • Your access token for authentication.

   • The unique id of the migration:

     curl -H "Authorization: Bearer GITHUB_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
     -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
     -L -o migration_archive.tar.gz \
     https://api.github.com/orgs/ORG_NAME/migrations/ID/archive
     

5. The migration archive is automatically deleted after seven days. If you would prefer to delete it sooner, you can send a DELETE request to the migration archive delete endpoint. You'll need:

   • Your access token for authentication.

   • The unique id of the migration:

     curl -H "Authorization: Bearer GITHUB_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
     -X DELETE \
     -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
     https://api.github.com/orgs/ORG_NAME/migrations/ID/archive
     

{% data reusables.enterprise_migrations.ready-to-import-migrations %}