GitLab Migrations: What to Expect When Moving from GitHub or Bitbucket

If your team is considering a move to GitLab, you are not alone. Organizations of all sizes are making the switch to take advantage of GitLab’s unified DevSecOps platform, built-in security scanning, and AI-powered capabilities through GitLab Duo. Like any platform migration, the process requires planning, the right expertise, and a clear understanding of what is involved.

Here is what you should expect when migrating from GitHub or Bitbucket to GitLab.

Your Repositories Are Just the Starting Point

Migrating code is easy with GitLab’s import tools that handle repository migration from both GitHub and Bitbucket, bringing over your branches, tags, and commit history. Migrating your issues, pull requests, wikis, CI/CD pipelines, environment configurations, and team permissions requires careful attention to ensure nothing gets left behind.

The more complex your current environment, the more time you need to spend in the planning phase mapping out what exists today and how it translates into GitLab’s structure.

CI/CD Pipelines Will Need to Be Rewritten

This is the piece that often surprises teams. If you are coming from GitHub Actions or Bitbucket Pipelines, your existing workflow files do not port directly to GitLab CI/CD. The syntax is different, the runner model is different, and the way secrets and environments are managed is different.

The good news is that GitLab CI/CD is extremely capable, and most teams find that rewriting their pipelines gives them an opportunity to clean up technical debt and take advantage of features they did not have before, including built-in security scanning, dependency analysis, and container scanning that run automatically as part of the pipeline.

Permissions and Access Control Take Time to Get Right

GitLab organizes projects and groups differently than GitHub and Bitbucket. Mapping your existing team structure, roles, and access controls into GitLab’s group and project hierarchy is a step that requires deliberate thought. Getting this right from the start prevents access issues and keeps your security posture intact throughout the transition.

Plan for a Parallel Run Period

Do not flip the switch overnight. A parallel run period, where both platforms are active while teams migrate and validate their workflows in GitLab, significantly reduces risk. It gives developers time to get comfortable with the new environment and gives your operations team time to verify that pipelines, integrations, and access controls are all working as expected before you decommission the old platform.

Working with a GitLab Partner Makes a Difference

Managing a migration on your own is possible if your environment is small or you’re willing to accept the consequences of learning as you go. Working with a certified GitLab partner, however, means you have experts who have done this before, know where the common pitfalls are, and can help you build a migration plan that minimizes disruption to your team.

At GitSimple, we have helped commercial and public sector organizations successfully migrate to GitLab and get the most out of the platform from day one. If you are ready to make the move, let’s talk.