GitLab Sync

A GitHub Action for automatically mirroring your GitHub repository to GitLab.

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Overview

GitLab Sync pushes your repository to GitLab on every push. It handles the full checkout, validation, and push — including full git history and optional Git LFS objects.

Features:

• Full history sync (fetch-depth: 0)
• Optional Git LFS support
• Optional force push
• Clear error messages for misconfigured secrets

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Quick Start

1. Add Secrets

In your GitHub repository go to Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions and add:

Secret	Description
GITLAB_URL	Full HTTPS URL of your GitLab repo — e.g. https://gitlab.com/user/repo.git
USERNAME	Your GitLab username
GITLAB_PAT	A GitLab Personal Access Token with write_repository scope

Tip: Generate a GitLab PAT at User Settings > Access Tokens. Minimum required scope is write_repository.

2. Add a Workflow

Create .github/workflows/sync-to-gitlab.yml in your repository:

name: Sync to GitLab

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  sync:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Sync to GitLab
        uses: kujov/gitlab-sync@main
        with:
          gitlab_url: ${{ secrets.GITLAB_URL }}
          username: ${{ secrets.USERNAME }}
          gitlab_pat: ${{ secrets.GITLAB_PAT }}

That's it, every push to main will mirror to your GitLab repository.

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Configuration

Inputs

Input	Description	Required	Default
gitlab_url	HTTPS URL of the target GitLab repository	Yes	—
username	Your GitLab username	Yes	—
gitlab_pat	GitLab PAT with write_repository scope	Yes	—
force_push	Force push to GitLab, overwriting remote history	No	false
git_lfs	Also push Git LFS objects to GitLab	No	false

Sync all branches

Change the trigger to sync on pushes to any branch:

on:
  push

Force push

Use with caution — this overwrites the GitLab repository history:

      - uses: kujov/gitlab-sync@main
        with:
          gitlab_url: ${{ secrets.GITLAB_URL }}
          username: ${{ secrets.USERNAME }}
          gitlab_pat: ${{ secrets.GITLAB_PAT }}
          force_push: true

Git LFS

To also sync LFS objects, enable git_lfs. Make sure LFS is enabled on your GitLab repository before using this.

      - uses: kujov/gitlab-sync@main
        with:
          gitlab_url: ${{ secrets.GITLAB_URL }}
          username: ${{ secrets.USERNAME }}
          gitlab_pat: ${{ secrets.GITLAB_PAT }}
          git_lfs: true

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Troubleshooting

Authentication failed Verify GITLAB_PAT is valid and has write_repository scope. Tokens expire — check User Settings > Access Tokens on GitLab.

Push rejected (non-fast-forward) The GitLab repository has commits not in GitHub. Use force_push: true to overwrite, or manually reconcile histories.

LFS objects not syncing Ensure Git LFS is enabled on the GitLab repository (Settings > General > Visibility > Git LFS) and that git_lfs: true is set.

Invalid gitlab_url format The URL must be a full HTTPS URL ending in .git, e.g. https://gitlab.com/user/repo.git.

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Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. If this action is useful to you, consider starring the repository.