Restore

Learn how to restore GitHub repository backups using Cloudback, including the restore application, cross-account restore, source restrictions, and what gets restored.

Cloudback can restore your GitHub repository data from any backup archive. This includes the full Git repository, issues, pull requests, releases, labels, milestones, projects, and more. You can restore to the same account, a different account, or even from a non-GitHub backup (GitLab) via Cross-Platform Restore.

Overview

Restoring a GitHub repository involves:

Installing the Cloudback Restore Application (separate from the backup app)
Selecting the target account and repository name
Executing the restore - Cloudback creates the repository, pushes the code, and restores all metadata

Prerequisites

A successful backup archive (from GitHub or GitLab)
A target GitHub account (personal or organization) to restore into
The Cloudback Restore Application installed on the target account

Restore Application

Cloudback uses two separate GitHub Apps following the principle of least privilege:

Backup App (read-only) - installed during setup, used for daily backups
Restore App (read-write) - installed separately, only when you need to restore

Installing the Restore Application

Go to the Cloudback Restore Application installation page.
Select the target GitHub account (organization or user).
Grant the requested permissions - read and write access to code and metadata.

Security Tip: The Restore Application is only needed for the duration of the restore. Consider uninstalling it from your target account once the restore is complete.

Step-by-Step Restore Process

Step 1: Initiate Restore

Navigate to your repository in the Cloudback dashboard
Open the Backups tab and find the backup you want to restore
Click the Restore button

Alternatively, select one or more repositories on the dashboard and click Restore in the toolbar to start a Bulk Restore.

Step 2: Select Target

Enter the target GitHub account name (personal or organization)
Click Start Restore

The repository name and visibility are carried over from the backup automatically.

Step 3: Execute Restore

Click Restore to begin. The process runs in the background - you can close the page and return later. A notification will appear when the restore completes, and Cloudback emails you the result. See Email Notifications for the recipient settings.

What Gets Restored

Entity	Details
Repository	All branches, tags, refs via `git push --mirror`, plus LFS objects
Issues	Title, body, state, labels, milestone, assignee, issue types, sub-issues
Issue Comments	Body, author, dates
Pull Requests	Unmerged PRs with title, body, state, labels, milestone, branches, reviews, review comments, and requested reviewers
Commit Comments	Comments on specific commits
Milestones	Title, description, state, due date
Labels	Name, color, description
Releases	Tag, name, body, assets (uploaded files)
Projects	ProjectV2 in current backups; classic projects from older archives
Collaborators	Repository collaborator invitations
Webhooks	Webhook URLs and configuration
Repository Settings	Description, homepage, merge methods, topics

Not Restored

Merged pull requests - skipped during restore (the commits are already in the repository history)
Wiki pages - not restored
GitHub Actions workflows - restored as files in the repository, but workflow run history is not restored

Cross-Account Restore

You can restore backups to a different GitHub account than the one that created the backup. This is useful for:

Migrating repositories between organizations
Disaster recovery to a standby account
Restoring data to an account that doesn't have Cloudback installed
Restoring between GitHub Enterprise Managed User (EMU) and non-EMU accounts

The process is the same as a standard restore - just select a different target account in Step 2. The Restore Application must be installed on the target account.

Restricting Allowed Source Accounts (Optional)

By default, Cloudback allows restores from any source account. To restrict which source accounts can restore to your organization, create a GitHub Actions organization variable:

Navigate to the GitHub settings for your target organization
Go to Security > Secrets and variables > Actions
Click the Variables tab → New organization variable
Enter:
- Name: CLOUDBACK_ALLOWED_RESTORE_SOURCE
- Value: Source account name(s), each prefixed with the platform. Separate multiple entries with commas.
  - GitHub source: github:source-org-1
  - GitLab source: gitlab:source-group-1
  - Mixed example: github:source-org-1,gitlab:source-group-2
- Repository access: Can be left as "Public repositories"
Click Add variable

Note: This variable is only checked for organization targets. Personal account targets skip this check. Organization owners also bypass this check - they can restore from any source without setting the variable.

Learn More

Restoring a Backup - General restore documentation
Bulk Restore - Restoring multiple repositories at once
Cross-Platform Restore - GitHub ↔ GitLab bidirectional restore
GitHub Backup Contents - What data is in each backup
Known Issues - Troubleshooting restore errors