Ever worried GitHub might go down? Or your team’s repo suddenly disappears? Maybe you’re just trying to meet compliance requirements. Whatever the reason, having offline backups of your Git repositories, issues, and wikis can bring peace of mind. In this article, we’ll look at tools that make this process easy.
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TLDR
If you want an offline backup of your code, issues, and wiki, there are tools that can help. This list highlights the top 4 utilities developers use to export full Git repos along with their metadata. These tools are perfect for creating reliable offline snapshots for compliance, record-keeping, or doomsday prepping. Keep reading to choose the best one for your needs!
1. GitHub Backup Utils – The Official One
Let’s start with the official solution. GitHub Backup Utilities is a command-line toolkit from GitHub itself. It was designed to help enterprises archive essential data from their GitHub organizations.
- What it backs up: Repos (code & history), issues, pull requests, discussions, wikis, actions, team permissions
- Best for: Large teams or compliance-heavy environments
- Runs on: Linux (and Linux environments like WSL or Docker)
This tool is scriptable and works via a command-line interface. You schedule it as a cron job or run it manually. The output is a set of JSON and tar files that include your entire GitHub org data.
Why developers love it:
- Made by GitHub = reliable
- Covers everything, not just repos
- Good documentation
Downside: It’s overkill for solo devs or small projects. Also, it doesn’t have a GUI.
2. GH Archive Tools by Fastidious Devs
This is a set of community-powered Python and Bash scripts that help you export everything from a GitHub repo or organization. It doesn’t just clone the repo – it also grabs issues and wiki content.
- What it backs up: Repos, issues, pull requests, wikis, milestones, basic repo metadata
- Best for: Solo developers and teams that prefer Python scripts
- Runs on: Cross-platform (macOS, Linux, Windows with Python)
The tool grabs data from GitHub’s REST API and stores it in structured JSON. It even auto-generates HTML from markdown wiki pages, which is great for offline browsing.
Why developers love it:
- Easy to set up
- Lightweight
- Customizable via config files
Downside: It may need tweaking if GitHub API formats change. Some parts of the ecosystem are community-maintained.
3. GitLab Backup (self-hosted or cloud)
If your team uses GitLab instead of GitHub, then you’re in luck. GitLab has built-in backup tools that can export your repos, database, and wikis into a tar archive.
- What it backs up: Repos, branches, issues, merge requests, wikis, CI/CD configs, user permissions
- Best for: GitLab users, DevOps-heavy workflows
- Runs on: GitLab server via command line
It’s especially powerful if you’re running a self-hosted GitLab instance. You can schedule complete backups and restore them on the fly.
Why developers love it:
- Full-fidelity backups
- Scriptable + automatable
- Ideal for enterprise use
Downside: Mostly focused on GitLab only. Doesn’t help with GitHub or Bitbucket users. Also leans heavily on having sysadmin-level access to your server.
4. BackHub – The Plug-and-Play Option
If you don’t want to install or configure anything, BackHub is like the Dropbox of GitHub backups. It’s a hosted service that backs up your public or private GitHub repositories automatically.
- What it backs up: Repo data, issues, milestones, pull requests, wiki pages, branches, releases
- Best for: Non-technical teams or anyone who dislikes setup
- Runs on: Web – no install needed
BackHub lets you restore deleted repos with one click. It even archives daily changes, so you can download an older snapshot if needed.
Why developers love it:
- 100% hands-off
- Supports hourly backups
- Beautiful dashboard
Downside: It’s paid (but has a free tier), and only supports GitHub. Also, you rely on their servers — ironically, you’re backing up to the cloud again!
Bonus Tips
Backing up is just half the story. Here are a few tips to make your backups even better:
- Store backups in multiple places – Don’t keep it all on one hard drive.
- Use checksums (like SHA256) – Verify backups are uncorrupted.
- Automate with cron or GitHub Actions – Set and forget.
- Document restore steps – A backup is only as good as your ability to recover from it.
Which One Should You Choose?
Still unsure? Here’s a quick cheat sheet to help:
| Tool | Best For | Supports Issues & Wiki | Local or Cloud? |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Backup Utilities | Enterprise users | Yes | Local |
| GH Archive Tools | Solo / small teams | Yes | Local |
| GitLab Backup | Self-hosted GitLab users | Yes | Local |
| BackHub | Non-technical users | Yes | Cloud |
Final Thoughts
Sources like GitHub and GitLab are amazing. But they’re not invincible. Server outages, deleted repos, or policy changes can put your code at risk. That’s why smart devs build a safety net.
Whether you’re an indie hacker or part of a large team, there’s a backup utility out there for you. Set up backups the way you want—cloudy, coded, or command-linered. Because one day, you might just thank yourself for it.
Now go back up that beautiful repo. Your future self will be proud.