vcspull import gitlab¶

Import repositories from GitLab or a self-hosted GitLab instance.

Command¶

Import repositories from GitLab (gitlab.com or self-hosted).

Usage¶

usage: vcspull import gitlab [-h] [-w DIR] [-l LANG] [--topics TOPICS]
                             [--min-stars N] [--archived] [--forks]
                             [--limit N] [-f FILE] [--dry-run] [--yes]
                             [--json] [--ndjson] [--https]
                             [--color {auto,always,never}] [--token TOKEN]
                             [-m {user,org,search}] [--url URL]
                             [--flatten-groups]
                             TARGET

Positional Arguments¶

target TARGET¶

User, org name, or search query. For GitLab, supports subgroups with slash notation (e.g., parent/child).

Default: None
Required

Options¶

-w, --workspace DIR¶

Workspace root directory (REQUIRED)

Default: None

--token TOKEN¶

API token (overrides env var; prefer env var for security)

Default: None

-m, --mode¶

Import mode: user (default), org, or search

Default: user
Choices: user, org, search

--url URL¶

Base URL for self-hosted GitLab (optional)

Default: None

--flatten-groups¶

For ``--mode org``, flatten subgroup repositories into the base workspace instead of preserving subgroup paths

Default: False

Filtering¶

-l, --language LANG¶

Filter by programming language

Default: None

--topics TOPICS¶

Filter by topics (comma-separated)

Default: None

--min-stars N¶

Minimum stars (for search mode)

Default: 0
Type: int

--archived¶

Include archived repositories

Default: False

--forks¶

Include forked repositories

Default: False

--limit N¶

Maximum repositories to fetch (default: 100)

Default: 100
Type: int

Output¶

-f, --file FILE¶

Config file to write to (default: ~/.vcspull.yaml)

Default: None

--dry-run, -n¶

Preview without writing to config file

Default: False

--yes, -y¶

Skip confirmation prompt

Default: False

--json¶

Output as JSON

Default: False

--ndjson¶

Output as NDJSON (one JSON per line)

Default: False

--https¶

Use HTTPS clone URLs instead of SSH (default: SSH)

Default: False

--color¶

When to use colors (default: auto)

Default: auto
Choices: auto, always, never

Group flattening¶

When importing a GitLab group with --mode org, vcspull preserves subgroup structure as nested workspace directories by default. Use --flatten-groups to place all repositories directly in the base workspace:

$ vcspull import gl my-group \
    --mode org \
    --workspace ~/code/ \
    --flatten-groups

Authentication¶

Env vars: GITLAB_TOKEN (primary), GL_TOKEN (fallback)
Token type: Personal access token
Scope: read_api (minimum for listing projects; required for search mode)
Create at: https://gitlab.com/-/user_settings/personal_access_tokens (self-hosted: https://<instance>/-/user_settings/personal_access_tokens)

Set the token:

$ export GITLAB_TOKEN=glpat-...

Then import:

$ vcspull import gl myuser --workspace ~/code/