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Open Source Research Project Hosting and GitHub Migration

Researchers benefit from centralized open source project hosting on institutional GitLab infrastructure, enabling seamless GitHub migration, enhanced security controls, and improved collaboration while supporting open science initiatives.

Idea
Plan
Prototype
Pilot
Live

Overview

Value: Researchers benefit from centralized open source project hosting on institutional GitLab infrastructure, enabling seamless GitHub migration, enhanced security controls, and improved collaboration while supporting open science initiatives.

Problem: Research projects hosted on external platforms like GitHub lack institutional oversight, may have security vulnerabilities, and don't integrate with university authentication systems, limiting collaboration and compliance with institutional policies.

Solution: Provide managed GitLab platform for hosting open source research projects with migration tools from GitHub, institutional authentication integration, and comprehensive collaboration features supporting transparent research development.

Who Benefits

Primary

  • Research Scientists
    • Institutional hosting security
    • Integrated authentication
    • Professional project management
    • Migration support from external platforms
  • Open Source Contributors
    • Professional collaboration tools
    • Transparent development process
    • Quality assurance integration
    • Sustainable project hosting

Secondary

  • External Collaborators
    • Accessible contribution workflows
    • Clear project documentation
    • Professional development environment
  • Institution
    • Enhanced research visibility
    • Compliance with open science policies
    • Centralized project oversight

When to Use

  • Open source research software
  • Migration from external platforms
  • Multi-contributor projects
  • Institutional compliance requirements
  • Long-term project sustainability needs

When Not to Use

  • Proprietary research projects
  • Simple personal scripts
  • Projects without collaborative needs
  • Commercial software development

Process

  1. Assess current project hosting and migration requirements
  2. Export project from GitHub or other platforms using migration tools
  3. Import project to institutional GitLab with proper access controls
  4. Configure CI/CD pipelines for automated testing and deployment
  5. Establish contributor workflows and documentation standards
  6. Maintain project with institutional support and infrastructure

Requirements

People

  • Research Software Developers
  • Project Maintainers
  • Open Source Contributors
  • Platform Support Team

Data Inputs

  • Source code repositories
  • Documentation
  • Issue histories
  • Contributor information

Tools & Systems

  • GitLab instance
  • GitHub import tools
  • CI/CD infrastructure
  • Institutional authentication
  • Backup and archival systems

Policies & Compliance

  • Open source licensing requirements
  • Institutional data governance
  • Research software policies
  • Export control regulations

Risks & Mitigations

  • Data loss during migration from external platforms

    • Comprehensive migration testing
    • Backup verification
    • Staged migration approach
    • Rollback procedures

  • Loss of external contributor community

    • Clear communication about migration
    • Maintained external visibility
    • Contributor onboarding support
    • Community engagement strategies

  • Licensing and compliance issues

    • Legal review of projects
    • License compatibility checking
    • Automated compliance scanning
    • Clear governance policies

Getting Started

To implement this use case, you need GitLab with import capabilities, institutional authentication, and established policies for open source project hosting.

  1. Set up GitLab instance with GitHub import functionality and authentication
  2. Develop open source project hosting policies and procedures
  3. Create migration workflow and testing procedures
  4. Establish CI/CD templates for open source projects
  5. Implement community engagement and contributor onboarding processes

Resources

FAQ

How complete is the migration from GitHub?

GitLab's import functionality transfers repositories, issues, merge requests, and other metadata, though some platform-specific features may require manual reconfiguration.

Can external contributors still participate?

Yes, institutional GitLab instances can be configured to allow external contributions while maintaining appropriate security controls.

What happens to existing GitHub repositories?

Original repositories can be archived with redirection notices, or maintained as mirrors depending on community needs and project requirements.

Glossary

GitHub Import
GitLab feature for migrating repositories, issues, and other data from GitHub to GitLab
Open Science
Movement to make scientific research and data accessible to all levels of society
Research Software
Software created to support research activities and scientific discovery
Institutional Repository
Digital archive managed by an institution to preserve and provide access to research outputs