[Git] Migrating a Git Repository to a New GitHub account - Case 1

When you work on a repository, one day you may need to migrate your Git repository to a new GitHub account for various reasons, such as collaborating with new team members or changing affiliations. The process of migrating a Git repository can be challenging, especially if you want to preserve the repository's history and selectively migrate only the necessary files. I will focus on a specific scenario today and share how I migrate a Git repository to a new GitHub account. 

In this scenario, I am at a closing point of my current private project, and I need to collaborate with team members. From now on, I will work on a new repository under my team account, while keeping the original repository as an archive. I also want to selectively migrate only the main, up-do-date files, so I need to clean up the inactive scripts.

Step 1: Create an archive of the original repository

Before you begin the migration process, it is essential to create an archive of the original Git repository to ensure that you have a backup of all the files and the repository's history. To create an archive, you can simply copy the original repository to a new directory and rename it to indicate that it is an archive. You can then compress the archive directory to save space and store it in a safe online location.

Step 2: Use the original repository for migration 

Once you have created the archive of the original Git repository, you can start work on the original repository where you will perform the migration. 

Step 3: Remove unnecessary files from the repository 

To selectively migrate only the necessary files to the new GitHub address, I use the 'git rm' command in the terminal (Windows Powershell or Pycharm terminal). You can also use the file manager to delete the files, then you need to 'git commit' about the removal. 

Note that by following this process, the repository will no longer contain the deleted files, but it will keep track of what was removed. You can view the entire file from the local or GitHub history. This is useful if you need to refer back to the deleted files at a later point in time. However, if you do not want these old scripts to be tracked at all (in other words, you want them to disappear entirely), it is difficult to achieve this goal without affecting the history of other files that you want to keep. I don't know exactly how to do that.

Step 4: Create a new repository with Github address.

You need to create a new repository on the new group (company, institute, team, etc.) on GitHub and find the url address.

Step 5: Update the Git remote URL.

After you have removed the unnecessary files, you need to update the Git remote URL to the new GitHub http address. You can do this by using the 'git remote set-url' command in the terminal or by using the Git settings in your IDE. I use Pycharm because it already have the permissions and log in set up and it is ready to push the repository to the new address.

By following the steps outlined above, you should keep refreshing your Github webpage to make sure things are going smoothly. Next time, I will discuss a more complicated scenario and how to migrate the repository in that case.