How to Actually Migrate from GitHub to Codeberg Without Losing Your Mind

So you've finally decided to move some repos off GitHub. Maybe it's the AI training concerns, maybe it's the principle of using a platform run by a nonprofit, or maybe you just like the idea of Forgejo. Whatever the reason, you've landed on Codeberg — and now you're staring at dozens of repositories wondering how to do this without mass-breaking everything.

I've been there. I migrated about 15 repos last month, and honestly? The actual migration is the easy part. It's everything around the migration that trips you up.

The Real Problem: It's Not the Git Part

Let's be clear about something. Moving a git repository from one remote to another is trivial. You've probably done it a hundred times:

git remote set-url origin https://codeberg.org/yourname/yourrepo.git
git push --all
git push --tags

That's it for the code. But your repo isn't just code, is it? It's issues, pull requests, CI pipelines, badges in your README, links other people have bookmarked, and contributor workflows that assume GitHub. That's where the pain lives.

Step 1: Use Codeberg's Built-In Migration Tool

Codeberg runs on Forgejo (a community fork of Gitea), and it has a surprisingly solid migration feature built right in. Go to the "+" menu in the top right, select "New Migration," and paste your GitHub repo URL.

Here's what it can pull over:

• All branches and tags (obviously)
• Issues and their comments
• Labels and milestones
• Pull requests (as issues, since the branches may not apply cleanly)
• Releases with attached assets

The important thing is to check all the boxes during migration. I skipped the issues checkbox on my first repo thinking I'd do it manually later. I did not do it manually later. Don't be me.

# If you prefer the API over the web UI, you can script it:
curl -X POST "https://codeberg.org/api/v1/repos/migrate" \
  -H "Authorization: token YOUR_CODEBERG_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "clone_addr": "https://github.com/yourname/yourrepo.git",
    "repo_name": "yourrepo",
    "repo_owner": "yourname",
    "service": "github",
    "auth_token": "YOUR_GITHUB_TOKEN",
    "mirror": false,
    "issues": true,
    "labels": true,
    "milestones": true,
    "releases": true,
    "pull_requests": true
  }'

The auth_token for GitHub is needed if you're migrating private repos or want to pull over issues. A fine-grained personal access token with read-only permissions works fine.

Step 2: The Lazy Redirect Strategy

Here's the thing most migration guides skip: you don't have to go all-in on day one. The lazy approach is to keep your GitHub repo around as a mirror that redirects people to Codeberg.

Update your GitHub repo description to something like:

⚠️ This repo has moved to https://codeberg.org/yourname/yourrepo

Then update your README:

## This project has moved

This repository is now maintained at
[codeberg.org/yourname/yourrepo](https://codeberg.org/yourname/yourrepo).

This GitHub mirror may be out of date. Please file issues and
contributions on Codeberg.

Archive the GitHub repo (Settings → Danger Zone → Archive) so it becomes read-only. This way existing links don't 404, stars and forks stay visible, and you're not maintaining two active copies.

Step 3: Fix Your CI (This Is Where It Actually Hurts)

If you were using GitHub Actions, that's the one thing that absolutely will not follow you. Codeberg supports Woodpecker CI, which is a community-maintained fork of Drone. The syntax is different but the concepts map pretty directly.

Here's a GitHub Actions workflow vs the Woodpecker equivalent:

# .woodpecker.yml — equivalent of a basic CI build
steps:
  - name: test
    image: node:20-alpine
    commands:
      - npm ci
      - npm test

  - name: lint
    image: node:20-alpine
    commands:
      - npm ci
      - npm run lint

It's simpler than GitHub Actions, which is both a blessing and a curse. No marketplace of prebuilt actions, but also no YAML spaghetti with uses: some-random-person/action@v3 and fingers crossed they haven't been compromised.

You'll need to enable CI for your repo at ci.codeberg.org. Sign in with your Codeberg account and activate the repo. Woodpecker picks up .woodpecker.yml from your repo root automatically.

Step 4: Batch Migrate Like a Reasonable Person

If you have more than a handful of repos, do NOT migrate them all at once. Seriously. I made a simple script that migrates repos one at a time with a delay, so I could sanity-check each one:

#!/bin/bash
# migrate-repos.sh — migrate a list of repos from GitHub to Codeberg

CODEBERG_TOKEN="your_codeberg_token"
GITHUB_TOKEN="your_github_token"
CODEBERG_USER="yourname"
GITHUB_USER="yourname"

# list your repos, one per line
REPOS=(
  "project-alpha"
  "dotfiles"
  "cool-library"
)

for repo in "${REPOS[@]}"; do
  echo "Migrating $repo..."
  curl -s -X POST "https://codeberg.org/api/v1/repos/migrate" \
    -H "Authorization: token $CODEBERG_TOKEN" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d "{
      \"clone_addr\": \"https://github.com/$GITHUB_USER/$repo.git\",
      \"repo_name\": \"$repo\",
      \"repo_owner\": \"$CODEBERG_USER\",
      \"service\": \"github\",
      \"auth_token\": \"$GITHUB_TOKEN\",
      \"mirror\": false,
      \"issues\": true,
      \"labels\": true,
      \"releases\": true
    }"
  echo "Done. Check https://codeberg.org/$CODEBERG_USER/$repo"
  sleep 5  # be nice to the API
done

I migrated 3-4 repos per day, verified each one, and moved on. Took about a week total for 15 repos but nothing broke.

What You'll Actually Miss

I want to be honest about the tradeoffs because pretending Codeberg is a perfect replacement helps nobody:

• GitHub Actions ecosystem — Woodpecker works but you'll rewrite CI configs and lose access to the massive actions marketplace
• Discoverability — Nobody is browsing Codeberg to find new projects. If your project depends on drive-by contributors, this matters
• GitHub Pages — Codeberg has Codeberg Pages, but the setup is different. You'll need a separate branch or repo
• Dependency graph / Dependabot — Doesn't exist on Codeberg. You'll want to set up Renovate Bot or similar yourself
• Network effects — Your contributors need Codeberg accounts. Some won't bother

On the flip side, Codeberg is fast, the Forgejo UI is clean and actively improving, and there's something genuinely nice about using a platform that's run by a nonprofit in the EU with no VC money involved.

Prevention: Set Yourself Up So the Next Migration Is Easier

The real lesson from any platform migration is to reduce lock-in going forward:

• Keep CI config minimal — The less platform-specific magic you use, the easier the next move. Prefer running shell scripts from CI rather than relying on platform-specific action plugins
• Use generic git features — Issues and PRs are the main lock-in. Consider using a CONTRIBUTING.md that works anywhere
• Mirror from the start — You can push to multiple remotes trivially. Add this to your git config and you're always one step ahead:

# Push to both GitHub and Codeberg simultaneously
git remote set-url --add --push origin https://codeberg.org/yourname/repo.git
git remote set-url --add --push origin https://github.com/yourname/repo.git

Now every git push goes to both. When you're ready to drop GitHub, just remove that URL.

The Bottom Line

Migrating to Codeberg isn't hard. It's just tedious if you have a lot of repos with active issues and CI. The lazy strategy — migrate with the built-in tool, redirect GitHub repos, fix CI gradually — works well and doesn't require a heroic weekend of DevOps.

Start with one or two less-critical repos. Get comfortable with the workflow. Then move the rest at your own pace. The repos aren't going anywhere.