243 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
243 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
---
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type: reference, howto
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stage: Manage
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group: Import
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info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
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---
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# Import your project from GitHub to GitLab **(FREE)**
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You can import your GitHub repositories:
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- From either GitHub.com or GitHub Enterprise.
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- To either GitLab.com or a self-managed GitLab instance.
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This process does not migrate or import any types of groups or organizations from GitHub to GitLab.
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The namespace is a user or group in GitLab, such as `gitlab.com/sidney-jones` or
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`gitlab.com/customer-success`. You can use bulk actions in the rails console to move projects to
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different namespaces.
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If you are importing to a self-managed GitLab instance, you can use the
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[GitHub Rake task](../../../administration/raketasks/github_import.md) instead. This allows you to import projects
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without the constraints of a [Sidekiq](../../../development/sidekiq/index.md) worker.
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If you are importing from GitHub Enterprise to a self-managed GitLab instance:
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- You must first enable [GitHub integration](../../../integration/github.md).
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- To import projects from GitHub Enterprise to GitLab.com, use the [Import API](../../../api/import.md).
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- If GitLab is behind a HTTP/HTTPS proxy, you must populate the [allowlist for local requests](../../../security/webhooks.md#allowlist-for-local-requests)
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with `github.com` and `api.github.com` to solve the hostname. For more information, read the issue
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[Importing a GitHub project requires DNS resolution even when behind a proxy](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/37941).
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If you are importing from GitHub.com to a self-managed GitLab instance:
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- Setting up GitHub integration is not required.
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- You can use the [Import API](../../../api/import.md).
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When importing projects:
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- If a user referenced in the project is not found in the GitLab database, the project creator is set as the author and
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assignee. The project creator is usually the user that initiated the import process. A note on the issue mentioning the
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original GitHub author is added.
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- The importer creates any new namespaces (or groups) if they do not exist, or, if the namespace is taken, the
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repository is imported under the namespace of the user who initiated the import process. The namespace or repository
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name can also be edited, with the proper permissions.
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- The importer also imports branches on forks of projects related to open pull requests. These branches are
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imported with a naming scheme similar to `GH-SHA-username/pull-request-number/fork-name/branch`. This may lead to
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a discrepancy in branches compared to those of the GitHub repository.
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For additional technical details, refer to the [GitHub Importer](../../../development/github_importer.md)
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developer documentation.
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For an overview of the import process, see the video [Migrating from GitHub to GitLab](https://youtu.be/VYOXuOg9tQI).
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## Prerequisites
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When issues and pull requests are being imported, the importer attempts to find
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their GitHub authors and assignees in the database of the GitLab instance. Pull requests are called _merge requests_ in
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GitLab.
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For this association to succeed, each GitHub author and assignee in the repository
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must meet one of the following conditions prior to the import:
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- Have previously logged in to a GitLab account using the GitHub icon.
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- Have a GitHub account with a [public-facing email address](https://docs.github.com/en/account-and-profile/setting-up-and-managing-your-github-user-account/managing-email-preferences/setting-your-commit-email-address)
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that matches their GitLab account's email address.
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GitLab content imports that use GitHub accounts require that the GitHub public-facing email address is populated. This means
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all comments and contributions are properly mapped to the same user in GitLab. GitHub Enterprise does not require this
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field to be populated so you may have to add it on existing accounts.
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## Import your GitHub repository into GitLab
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### Use the GitHub integration
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Before you begin, ensure that any GitHub users who you want to map to GitLab users have either:
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- A GitLab account that has logged in using the GitHub icon.
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- A GitLab account with an email address that matches the [publicly visible email address](https://docs.github.com/en/rest/reference/users#get-a-user) in the profile of the GitHub user
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If you are importing to GitLab.com, you can alternatively import GitHub repositories using a [personal access token](#use-a-github-token).
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We do not recommend this method, as it does not associate all user activity (such as issues and pull requests) with matching GitLab users.
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User-matching attempts occur in that order, and if a user is not identified either way, the activity is associated with
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the user account that is performing the import.
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NOTE:
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If you are using a self-managed GitLab instance or if you are importing from GitHub Enterprise, this process requires that you have configured
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[GitHub integration](../../../integration/github.md).
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1. From the top navigation bar, select **+** and select **New project**.
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1. Select the **Import project** tab and then select **GitHub**.
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1. Select the first button to **List your GitHub repositories**. You are redirected to a page on [GitHub](https://github.com) to authorize the GitLab application.
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1. Select **Authorize GitlabHQ**. You are redirected back to the GitLab Import page and all of your GitHub repositories are listed.
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1. Continue on to [selecting which repositories to import](#select-which-repositories-to-import).
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### Use a GitHub token
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NOTE:
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Using a personal access token to import projects is not recommended. If you are a GitLab.com user,
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you can use a personal access token to import your project from GitHub, but this method cannot
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associate all user activity (such as issues and pull requests) with matching GitLab users.
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If you are an administrator of a self-managed GitLab instance or if you are importing from
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GitHub Enterprise, you cannot use a personal access token.
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The [GitHub integration method (above)](#use-the-github-integration) is recommended for all users.
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If you are not using the GitHub integration, you can still perform an authorization with GitHub to grant GitLab access your repositories:
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1. Go to <https://github.com/settings/tokens/new>
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1. Enter a token description.
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1. Select the repository scope.
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1. Select **Generate token**.
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1. Copy the token hash.
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1. Go back to GitLab and provide the token to the GitHub importer.
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1. Hit the **List Your GitHub Repositories** button and wait while GitLab reads your repositories' information.
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Once done, you are taken to the importer page to select the repositories to import.
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To use a newer personal access token in imports after previously performing these steps, sign out of
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your GitLab account and sign in again, or revoke the older personal access token in GitHub.
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### Select which repositories to import
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After you have authorized access to your GitHub repositories, you are redirected to the GitHub importer page and
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your GitHub repositories are listed.
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1. By default, the proposed repository namespaces match the names as they exist in GitHub, but based on your permissions,
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you can choose to edit these names before you proceed to import any of them.
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1. Select the **Import** button next to any number of repositories, or select **Import all repositories**. Additionally,
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you can filter projects by name. If filter is applied, **Import all repositories** only imports matched repositories.
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1. The **Status** column shows the import status of each repository. You can choose to leave the page open and it will
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update in real-time or you can return to it later.
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1. Once a repository has been imported, select its GitLab path to open its GitLab URL.
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## Mirror a repository and share pipeline status **(PREMIUM)**
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Depending on your GitLab tier, [repository mirroring](../repository/mirror/index.md) can be set up to keep
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your imported repository in sync with its GitHub copy.
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Additionally, you can configure GitLab to send pipeline status updates back to GitHub with the
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[GitHub Project Integration](../integrations/github.md).
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If you import your project using [CI/CD for external repository](../../../ci/ci_cd_for_external_repos/index.md), then both
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of the above are automatically configured.
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NOTE:
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Mirroring does not sync any new or updated pull requests from your GitHub project.
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## Improve the speed of imports on self-managed instances
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Administrator access on the GitLab server is required for this process.
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For large projects it may take a while to import all data. To reduce the time necessary, you can increase the number of
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Sidekiq workers that process the following queues:
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- `github_importer`
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- `github_importer_advance_stage`
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For an optimal experience, it's recommended having at least 4 Sidekiq processes (each running a number of threads equal
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to the number of CPU cores) that *only* process these queues. It's also recommended that these processes run on separate
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servers. For 4 servers with 8 cores this means you can import up to 32 objects (for example, issues) in parallel.
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Reducing the time spent in cloning a repository can be done by increasing network throughput, CPU capacity, and disk
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performance (by using high performance SSDs, for example) of the disks that store the Git repositories (for your GitLab instance).
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Increasing the number of Sidekiq workers does *not* reduce the time spent cloning repositories.
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## Imported data
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The following items of a project are imported:
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- Repository description.
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- Git repository data.
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- Issues.
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- Pull requests.
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- Wiki pages.
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- Milestones.
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- Labels.
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- Release note descriptions.
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- Pull request review comments.
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- Regular issue and pull request comments.
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- [Git Large File Storage (LFS) Objects](../../../topics/git/lfs/index.md).
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- Pull request reviews (GitLab.com and GitLab 13.7 and later).
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- Pull request "merged by" information (GitLab.com and GitLab 13.7 and later).
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- Pull request comments replies in discussions ([GitLab.com and GitLab 14.5 and later](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/336596)).
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- Diff Notes suggestions ([GitLab.com and GitLab 14.7 and later](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/340624)).
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References to pull requests and issues are preserved. Each imported repository maintains visibility level unless that
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[visibility level is restricted](../../public_access.md#restrict-use-of-public-or-internal-projects), in which case it
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defaults to the default project visibility.
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## Alternative way to import notes and diff notes
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When GitHub Importer runs on extremely large projects not all notes & diff notes can be imported due to GitHub API `issues_comments` & `pull_requests_comments` endpoints limitation.
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Not all pages can be fetched due to the following error coming from GitHub API: `In order to keep the API fast for everyone, pagination is limited for this resource. Check the rel=last link relation in the Link response header to see how far back you can traverse.`.
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An alternative approach for importing notes and diff notes is available behind a feature flag.
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Instead of using `issues_comments` and `pull_requests_comments`, use individual resources `issue_comments` and `pull_request_comments` instead to pull notes from one object at a time.
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This allows us to carry over any missing comments, however it increases the number of network requests required to perform the import, which means its execution takes a longer time.
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To use the alternative way of importing notes, the `github_importer_single_endpoint_notes_import` feature flag must be enabled on the group project is being imported into.
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Start a [Rails console](../../../administration/operations/rails_console.md#starting-a-rails-console-session).
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```ruby
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group = Group.find_by_full_path('my/group/fullpath')
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# Enable
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Feature.enable(:github_importer_single_endpoint_notes_import, group)
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# Disable
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Feature.disable(:github_importer_single_endpoint_notes_import, group)
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```
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## Reduce GitHub API request objects per page
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Some GitHub API endpoints may return a 500 or 502 error for project imports from large repositories.
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To reduce the chance of such errors, you can enable the feature flag
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`github_importer_lower_per_page_limit` in the group project importing the data. This reduces the
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page size from 100 to 50.
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To enable this feature flag, start a [Rails console](../../../administration/operations/rails_console.md#starting-a-rails-console-session)
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and run the following `enable` command:
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```ruby
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group = Group.find_by_full_path('my/group/fullpath')
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# Enable
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Feature.enable(:github_importer_lower_per_page_limit, group)
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```
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To disable the feature, run this command:
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```ruby
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# Disable
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Feature.disable(:github_importer_lower_per_page_limit, group)
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```
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## Automate group and project import **(PREMIUM)**
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For information on automating user, group, and project import API calls, see
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[Automate group and project import](index.md#automate-group-and-project-import).
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