I have been using the Debian fasttrack packages during years. However, I think that I have to migrate tot gitlab-ce.
I have a backup and I would like to restore it in a gitlab ce version. It is possible?
Thanks in advance,
Leopold
Backups can only be restored to the same version of Gitlab that they were backed up on. This is clear in Gitlab’s documentation.
For example an Omnibus backup can only be restored to an Omnibus version of Gitlab. The docker Gitlab backup can only be restored to the docker Gitlab version. The source installation of Gitlab can only be restored to the source Gitlab version.
Never heard of the Debian fast track version, but from the link I found it seems to be nothing like the Omnibus version or any of the other official versions that Gitlab provides. You’ll have to manually migrate your data to a new server.
Ref(Unofficial, unsupported installation methods)
They were sponsored by (Gitlab inc) AFAIK, but the project ended. I have to admit that comparing versions, I prefer by size and less complexity the fasttrack version, but the main problem is the maintenance. In any case, now it is only maintained by volunteers and if it is critical for you, you need to check alternatives.
In any case, you have mentioned to manually migrate the data. Please, could you point me to some documentation or steps that I should to make it?
So, I understand that my instance must be running, right? And then, move groups and projects. But, if the groups and the users come from a ldap?
Yes, since you cannot do a normal backup/restore, you will have to make a new server with an official Gitlab version installed and use the import procedures linked to move everything across from your old server. The Gitlab documentation also does explain how to configure LDAP, so you’ll have to do the same as you configured your old instance.
Anything else related to Gitlab you can find in the documentation related to what you are trying to achieve.
@iwalker just a question. I’m having a lot of problems trying to bring up my gitlab instance from fasttrack. However, I have the files, the configuration, etc.
Can I import in some way that data in a new instance that I create from your packages of gitlab, in some way?. It is obvious that it has to be some manual process, but it is possible?
I only know of the methods in the documentation, so you most likely need to be using one of them. If your Gitlab server from fasttrack isn’t running and doesn’t allow you to use the methods shown in the Gitlab documentation for importing a project, etc, then I think you are going to find it extremely difficult indeed.
If you have all repositories cloned somewhere, then you can probably push them to the new server, but you don’t have any issues, merge requests, wiki, or anything else like that. Only the repository data.
Good luck.
I have installed gitlab using the linux debian bookworm packages fron Gitlab Inc in a clean box.
I have configured gitlab to check our ldap server and gitlab-rake check the ldap server and works.
I have imported all my repos and are ok.
However, I have these errors with gitlab-rake check:
GitLab Shell: … GitLab Shell version >= 14.40.0 ? … FAIL. Please update gitlab-shell to 14.40.0 from Unknown
Running /usr/share/gitlab-shell/bin/gitlab-shell-check
gitlab-shell self-check failed
Try fixing it:
Make sure GitLab is running;
Check the gitlab-shell configuration file:
sudo -u gitlab -H editor /usr/share/gitlab-shell/config.yml
Please fix the error above and rerun the checks.
…
Sidekiq: … Running? … no
Try fixing it:
sudo -u gitlab -H RAILS_ENV=production bin/background_jobs start
For more information see:
doc/install/installation.md in section “Install Init Script”
see log/sidekiq.log for possible errors
Please fix the error above and rerun the checks.
…
I have configured redis to use the system installed version.
I have configured gitlab to run with the gitlab user and set manage_accounts[‘enable’] = false.
I have added gitlab to the group redis. But, gitlab-rake complains:
Redis version >= 6.2.14? … Exception: Permission denied - connect(2) for /run/redis/redis-server.sock (unix:///run/redis/redis-server.sock)
If I execute:
sudo -u gitlab redis-cli -s /run/redis/redis-server.sock ping
I got PONG
But:
sudo -u gitlab gitlab-redis-cli -s /run/redis/redis-server.sock ping
Nothing.
Also, I got this error:
/var/log/gitlab/gitlab-workhorse/current <==
{“correlation_id”:“”,“duration_ms”:0,“error”:“badgateway: failed to receive response: dial unix /run/gitlab/gitlab.socket: connect: connection refused”,“level”:“error”,“method”:“GET”,“msg”:“”,“time”:“2025-03-11T19:22:22+01:00”,“uri”:“”}
That exists with gitlab:gitlab owner.
ls -la /run/gitlab/gitlab.socket
srwxrwxrwx 1 gitlab gitlab 0 Mar 11 19:22 /run/gitlab/gitlab.socket
Really, I don’t know what more to do. Any idea?
I solved it. Just, permisions of the files.
Yes, you can restore your backup from Debian FastTrack’s GitLab to GitLab CE. Ensure the GitLab CE version matches or is newer than your backup version. Follow these steps:
- Install GitLab CE.
- Place your backup file in
/var/opt/gitlab/backups/. - Run:
gitlab-backup restore BACKUP=your_backup_file - Reconfigure GitLab:
gitlab-ctl reconfigure
Check official GitLab docs for compatibility and detailed steps.
To restore a backup from another instance, transfer the backup file to the target system and use the appropriate restore command or too Ensure configurations match and dependencies are installed to avoid compatibility issues.