RepoSync

RepoSync is a powerful command-line tool written in Go for securely cloning all repositories from a GitLab group or GitHub organization, including nested subgroups (GitLab) with zero-touch authentication configuration.

Features

• Secure token storage - Credentials saved in user home directory
• Clone all repositories from GitLab groups (with subgroups) or GitHub organizations
• HTTPS/SSH cloning support
• Automatic directory structure mirroring
• Configuration wizard for easy setup
• Skipping of existing cloned repositories

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Directory Structure Example (After Using RepoSync)

GitLab Group Clone

my-group/                   # Parent group
├── backend/                # Subgroup
│   ├── auth-service/       # Repository
│   └── payment-service/
├── frontend/
│   ├── web-app/
│   └── mobile-app/
└── tools/                  # Root group repositories
    ├── ci-cd-templates/
    └── monitoring-system/

Structure Key:

• 📁 Groups/Subgroups mirror GitLab's hierarchy

• 📂 Repositories cloned as individual directories

• 🔄 Existing directories are automatically skipped

• 🔐 SSH/HTTPS only affects clone URLs, not structure

GitHub Organization Clone

my-org/                    # Organization root
├── docs-website/          # Repository
├── api-gateway/
├── user-management/
└── infrastructure-as-code/

This structure matches your GitLab/GitHub organization layout exactly, making it ideal for:

1. Local development mirroring

my-group/
└── frontend/
    └── web-app/  # Matches GitLab's "my-group > frontend > web-app"

• Instant Context: Paths are identical to GitLab/GitHub web interface

• Multi-Repo Workflows:

# Work on related repos simultaneously
cd my-group/frontend/web-app && npm run dev
cd ../shared-components && npm link ../web-app

2. Backup/archiving

backup-2024/
├── my-group/                  # Full hierarchy preserved
│   └── infrastructure/
└── my-org/                    # GitHub repos in flat structure

• Disaster Recovery: Restore exact group/repo relationships

• Version Snapshots: Combine with git bundle for offline backups

• Audit Compliance: Maintain organizational structure for compliance checks

3. CI/CD pipeline setups

ci-scripts/
├── deploy-frontend.sh         # Relies on consistent paths:
│                              # "my-group/frontend/web-app"
└── security-scan.sh           # Scans all "my-group/backend/*" repos

• Path-Based Automation:

# Scan all backend services
for repo in my-group/backend/*; do
  trivy config "$repo"
done

• Docker/K8s Integration:

COPY ./my-group/backend/auth-service /app # Predictable source paths

4. IDE workspace configuration

.code-workspace (VS Code)
{
  "folders": [
    {"path": "my-group/frontend/web-app"},
    {"path": "my-group/backend/auth-service"}
  ]
}

• Persistent Contexts: Workspace files remain valid across re-clones

• Cross-Repo Navigation:

• • JetBrains IDEs: Ctrl+Click between ../shared-components and ../web-app.
• • VS Code Multi-Root: Edit related repos in single window

Installation

Prerequisites

• Git (Download Git)
• Go 1.20+ (Download Go)

Install RepoSync

go install github.com/itszeeshan/reposync@latest

(Optional) Make it globally accessible

Move the binary to /usr/local/bin so it can be used system-wide:

sudo mv $(go env GOPATH)/bin/reposync /usr/local/bin/

Now you can run reposync from anywhere. 🚀

Configuration

1. Configure your credentials (first-time setup):

reposync config

Follow the prompts to enter your GitLab and GitHub personal access tokens

2. Verify configuration:

cat ~/.reposync/config.json

Usage

# Basic syntax
reposync -p <gitlab|github> -g <GROUP_ID|ORG_NAME> [-m <https|ssh>]

# Examples
reposync -p gitlab -g 123456          # Clone GitLab group with HTTPS
reposync -p github -g your-org -m ssh # Clone GitHub org with SSH

Arguments

Argument	Description
-p	Provider: gitlab or github (required)
-g	Group ID (GitLab) or Organization ID (GitHub)
-m	Clone method: https (default) or ssh

Examples

Clone all repositories from a GitHub organization/Gitlab groups using HTTPS

reposync -p github -g your-org

Clone all repositories from a Github organization/GitLab group using SSH

reposync -p gitlab -t glpat_yourtoken -g 123456 -m ssh

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Troubleshooting

Authentication Issues

# If receiving permission errors:
reposync config # Update stored credentials

Token Management

• Rotate tokens: Re-run reposync config

• Delete credentials: rm ~/.reposync/config.json

Cloning Errors

• Ensure git is installed: git --version
• Ensure you have network access to GitHub/GitLab.

Common Errors

1. Ensure tokens have required scopes:

• GitHub: repo scope

• GitLab: read_api scope

2. SSH cloning requires:

• SSH key added to your account

• ssh-agent running

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Tool Workflow

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Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! If you encounter issues, feel free to open an issue on GitHub.

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License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.