Migrating from Gitea or Forgejo

If you are coming from Gitea, Forgejo, or another Git-based forge, here is how to think about FossilRepo.

Key Differences

Fossil is not Git. Some things that will feel different:

• Single file repos -- Each project is one .fossil SQLite file. No bare git repos, no hooks directory, no pack files.
• Built-in features -- Wiki, tickets, forum, and technotes are part of the repo itself. No need for separate databases or services.
• No branches by default -- Fossil uses "trunk" instead of "main". Branches exist but the culture favors trunk-based development.
• Autosync -- By default, fossil push/pull happens automatically on commit. This keeps everyone in sync.

Importing Git History

FossilRepo can import your Git history:

git fast-export --all | fossil import --git project.fossil

This preserves all commits, branches, and tags. Wiki and issues will need to be migrated separately.

Git Mirror

FossilRepo includes a sync bridge that mirrors your Fossil repos to GitHub or GitLab. Fossil remains the source of truth while your existing CI/CD and GitHub workflows continue to work.

Questions?

Post here if you need help with migration. We are happy to assist.