Migrating from Bitbucket to GitHub

Also update: README links, CI/CD secrets, webhooks, documentation.

Method 1: Via GitHub Desktop

1. Open GitHub Desktop: File → Clone Repository → URL
2. Paste the Bitbucket repository HTTPS URL → Clone
3. After cloning, click Publish repository
4. Choose a name, Public/Private → Publish Repository

Method 2: Git Mirror via Command Line

# 1. Clone from Bitbucket
git clone --bare https://bitbucket.org/username/repo.git

# 2. Mirror push to GitHub
cd repo.git
git push --mirror https://github.com/username/repo.git

# 3. Remove the temporary folder and clone from GitHub
cd ..
rm -rf repo.git
git clone https://github.com/username/repo.git

--bare — Git data only. --mirror — copies all branches, tags, and full history.

Method 3: GitHub Import

1. Go to github.com/new/import
2. Paste the Bitbucket URL
3. If needed, enter credentials (App Password for Bitbucket with 2FA)
4. Choose a repository name, Public/Private → Begin import

What Transfers

After Migration

Set up GitHub Actions (replacing Bitbucket Pipelines):

# .github/workflows/ci.yml
name: CI
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - name: Run tests
        run: npm test

Update the remote for team members:

git remote set-url origin https://github.com/username/repo.git
git fetch

Also update: README links, CI/CD secrets, webhooks, documentation.

Platform Comparison

Common Issues

Authentication failed with 2FA: use an App Password instead of your regular password (Bitbucket → Personal Settings → App Passwords).

Large repository (> 1 GB): remove large files with git filter-branch or BFG Repo-Cleaner before migrating.