How to back up GitHub (and restore deleted data)

In short: To back up GitHub, connect ProBackup to your GitHub account via OAuth, choose the repositories to protect, and the first snapshot runs within 24 hours. Repositories, branches and commits are then copied every day to independent AWS storage. Issues, projects and discussions are not yet covered, and GitHub recovery is currently view-and-export rather than one-click restore.

ProBackup is a SaaS backup service that takes automated daily snapshots of your cloud app data and lets you restore individual records, files or whole projects back to the original account. For GitHub, that means an independent, versioned copy of your source history that survives a deleted repository, a force-push or a departing admin.

Why GitHub's built-in recovery is not a backup

GitHub is a version control host, and git itself keeps history well. But "history exists somewhere in a clone" is not the same as a backup you control. GitHub's own recovery paths are narrow and time-boxed (all checked 2026-09-16):

Two things stand out. First, only the repository has a real undo, and it expires after 90 days. Second, restoring via GitHub Support is reserved for paid plans, so a free organisation has only the self-service path.

None of these paths help when the problem is not deletion but corruption: a bad rebase pushed to main, a script that rewrote history, or an AI coding agent that ran git push --force at machine speed. A daily snapshot you own is the only way to answer "what did this repository look like on Tuesday?"

How to back up GitHub with ProBackup (step by step)

Setup takes about three minutes and needs no server, script or cron job.

1. Create your ProBackup account. Go to app.probackup.io/onboarding. The 7-day trial needs no credit card. Pick the AWS region where your snapshots will live; nine regions are available and the choice is yours at signup (changing it after the first backup requires support assistance).
2. Connect GitHub via OAuth. Choose GitHub from the platform list and authorise ProBackup in GitHub. ProBackup never sees your password; access tokens are stored encrypted with AES-256.
3. Choose the scope. Select the organisation and repositories you want included. [verify: exact scope-picker behaviour for GitHub in the current app]
4. Wait for the first snapshot. It starts automatically and completes within 24 hours, then repeats every 24 hours with no scheduling on your side.
5. Browse the vault. Open the backup in ProBackup to see each repository, its branches and commit history as of every snapshot date, and export what you need.

Everything is stored in AWS S3 with AES-256 encryption at rest and TLS in transit. ProBackup has been SOC 2 Type II certified since May 2025 and is GDPR compliant.

What is (and is not) backed up for GitHub

ProBackup backs up all data the GitHub API exposes within its current scope:

• Repositories
• Branches
• Commits
• Repository snapshots (a point-in-time copy of the repository content) [verify: format of the snapshot artefact]

Not backed up today:

• Issues
• Projects
• Discussions

These three are not currently included in the backup scope; ProBackup plans to add them. Until then, if issue history matters to your team, keep a separate export of issues and treat the ProBackup snapshot as protection for the code itself.

Version history depends on your plan: Plus keeps 6 months of snapshots, Pro keeps 2 years and Premium keeps an unlimited history.

How to restore deleted GitHub data

Be clear-eyed here: ProBackup cannot yet push data back into GitHub. Restore functionality for GitHub is planned but not live. On platforms where restore is available, ProBackup offers two modes (create new duplicate records, or overwrite existing records field by field); neither is wired up for GitHub today.

What you can do, and what teams do in practice:

1. Open the GitHub backup in ProBackup and pick the snapshot from before the deletion or bad push.
2. View the repository, branch and commit data as it stood on that date.
3. Export the repository snapshot from ProBackup.
4. Recreate the repository in GitHub (or recover it natively if you are inside the 90-day window) and push the exported history back with git.

This is slower than a one-click restore, but it is deterministic and it works after GitHub's 90-day window has closed, after a fork-network block, and after a force-push that no clone survived.

FAQ

How long does GitHub keep a deleted repository?

Ninety days, if you restore it yourself from the account or organisation settings (docs.github.com, checked 2026-09-16). Repositories that belonged to a fork network cannot be restored unless every other member of the network is deleted or detached, and team permissions are not restored with it.

Does ProBackup back up GitHub issues, pull requests or Actions?

Not yet. The current scope is repositories, branches, commits and repository snapshots. Issues, projects and discussions are excluded and on the roadmap. Anything not on the backed-up list above is outside scope today.

Can I restore a GitHub repository from ProBackup?

Not with one click yet. You can open any daily snapshot, view the repository history and export it, then push it back to GitHub yourself. Restore-to-GitHub is planned. Plans start at $25 per month, billed yearly, with 6 months of version history on Plus, 2 years on Pro and unlimited on Premium.

Start backing up GitHub today

Connect GitHub in three minutes and get your first snapshot within 24 hours. No credit card, no scripts to maintain, and a copy of your repositories that outlives GitHub's 90-day window.

Start your free 7-day trial