---
layout: ../../layouts/UseCaseLayout.astro
title: "Preserve GitHub History Forever"
description: "Archive commits, issues, releases, and LFS assets into Gitea so hobby projects survive account removals or repo deletions."
canonical: "https://gitea-mirror.com/use-cases/preserve-github-history/"
---

## Keep the entire story, not just the code

GitHub accounts get banned, repos go private, and owners rage-delete history. If you care about the full timeline—issues, releases, wiki—Gitea Mirror snapshots everything on a schedule so the story survives in your homelab.

## Requirements

- Running Gitea Mirror (follow the [backup playbook](../backup-github-repositories/))
- GitHub PAT with metadata scopes (`repo`, `read:org`)
- Destination Gitea with enough disk for cloned repos + attachments
- Optional: object storage or snapshots for long-term archiving of the mirror volume

## Step-by-step

### 1. Set archival-friendly defaults

In the admin UI under **Settings → Mirror Options**:

- Enable **Mirror metadata**.
- Enable **Mirror releases** and **Mirror wiki**.
- Turn on **Include attachments** so release assets and issue uploads copy across.

### 2. Create an "Archive" organization in Gitea

1. In Gitea, create an org like `github-archive` with read-only members.
2. Back in Gitea Mirror, edit each owner and set the destination to the archive org.
3. Enable **Lock mirrors** so accidental edits on the archive side are blocked.

### 3. Choose retention & cadence

- Set the global interval to `1h` for active projects or `12h` for dormant ones.
- Configure **Snapshot retention** (for example `keep last 30`) so old mirror runs remain inspectable.
- Schedule a weekly full sync window during off-hours to re-check metadata drift.

### 4. Record provenance

- Tag each archived repo in Gitea with the upstream URL and the first mirrored date.
- Enable **Mirror webhooks** to push sync summaries into Matrix/Discord for auditing.
- Export a CSV of repos quarterly as part of your homelab documentation.

### 5. Back up the backup

- Snapshots: Use ZFS/BTRFS or Proxmox backups on the mirror’s data volume.
- Offsite: `restic`/`rclone` the `data/` directory to a NAS or object store.
- Test: Restore to a test Gitea instance and spot-check history every few months.

## Verify the archive

1. Delete a draft issue on GitHub.
2. Wait for the next sync; open the issue in Gitea—you should still see the original content.
3. Compare `git tag -l` in both remotes to ensure releases match.
4. Use `git lfs ls-files` to confirm large assets made it across.

## Maintenance checklist

- Rotate tokens annually and document the rotation date in the repo README.
- Monitor disk growth; configure `persistence.size` if you run the Helm chart.
- Log anomalies—failed runs, conflicts—in your homelab journal to track trends.

## Related playbooks

- [Automate GitHub Backups](../github-backup-automation/)
- [Build a Starred Repo Collection](../starred-repos-collection/)