Importing code from an existing project

Import code using the web interface

Introduced in Bitbucket Server 4.9, you can import code and its version/branching history into Bitbucket Server from existing Git projects hosted with Bitbucket Cloud, GitHub, GitHub Enterprise, or a standalone Git repository using the web interface.

To start importing code

1. While viewing a project within Bitbucket Server click Import repository in the sidebar.
2. Select a source to import code from, provide the required information, then click Connect.
   1. For Bitbucket Cloud, include the Username and App password for the account to import from, and ensure read access for account, team, project, and repository is enabled.
   2. For GitHub, include the Username and Personal access token for the account to import from, and ensure the repo and read:org scopes are enabled.
   3. For GitHub Enterprise, provide the Server URL, Username, and Personal access token for the account to import from, and ensure the repo and read:org scopes are enabled.
   4. For a single Git repository, provide the Clone URL, and Username and Password (if required).
3. Choose which repositories to import.
   1. All repositories imports all the repositories owned by the account provided.
   2. Select repositories allows you choose specific repositories to import.
4. Click Import.

Once importing completes, you can refresh the project page to see the imported repositories.

Import code using the terminal

Import code from an existing project using the terminal by first cloning the repository to your local system and then pushing to an empty Bitbucket Server repository.

Import an existing, unversioned code project into Bitbucket Server

If you have code on your local machine that is not under source control, you can put it under source control and import it into Bitbucket Server.

Assuming you have Git installed on your local machine, then:

1. Locally, change to the root directory of your existing source.

2. Initialize the project by running the following commands in the terminal:

   git init
   git add --all
   git commit -m "Initial Commit"

3. Log into Bitbucket Server and create a new repository.
4. Locate the clone URL in the nav panel on the left (for example:  https://username@your.bitbucket.domain:7999 /yourproject/repo.git).

5. Push your files to the repository by running the following commands in the terminal (change the URL accordingly):

   git remote add origin https://username@your.bitbucket.domain:7999/yourproject/repo.git 
   git push -u origin master

6. Done! Your repository is now available in Bitbucket Server.

Import an existing Git project into Bitbucket Server

You can import your existing Git repository into an empty repository in Bitbucket Server. When you do this, Bitbucket Server maintains your commit history.

1. Check out the repository from your existing Git host. Use the --bare parameter:

   git clone --bare https://username@bitbucket.org/exampleuser/old-repository.git

2. Log into Bitbucket Server and create a new repository (we've called it repo.git in this example).

3. Locate the clone URL in the nav panel on the left (for example:  https://username@your.bitbucket.domain:7999 /yourproject/repo.git).

4. Add Bitbucket Server as another remote in your local repository:

   cd old-repository
   git remote add bitbucket https://username@your.bitbucket.domain:7999/yourproject/repo.git

5. Push all branches and tags to the new repository in Bitbucket Server:

   git push --all bitbucket
   git push --tags bitbucket

6. Remove your temporary local repository:

   cd ..
   rm -rf old-repository

Mirror an existing Git repository

You can mirror an existing repository into a repository hosted in Bitbucket Server.

1. Check out the repository from your existing Git host. Use the --mirror parameter:

   git clone --mirror https://username@bitbucket.org/exampleuser/repository-to-mirror.git

2. Log into Bitbucket Server and create a new repository (we've called it repo.git in this example).

3. Locate the clone URL in the nav panel on the left (for example:  https://username@your.bitbucket.domain:7999 /yourproject/repo.git).

4. Add Bitbucket Server as another remote in your local repository:

   git remote add bitbucket https://username@your.bitbucket.domain:7999/yourproject/repo.git

5. Then push all branches and tags to Bitbucket Server:

   git push --all bitbucket
   git push --tags bitbucket

6. Use git fetch --prune origin  ('–prune' will remove any branches that no longer exist in the remote) followed by the git push commands from step 5 to update the Bitbucket Server mirror with new changes from the upstream repository.