Does AvePoint Back Up GitHub?

Yes, AvePoint backs up GitHub. AvePoint provides automated, full-fidelity backup for repositories plus the metadata GitHub’s own tools leave exposed, issues, pull requests, releases, project boards, wikis, labels, milestones, and attachments, with non-destructive restore into a new repository. This closes gaps in GitHub’s native recovery, which has no recycle bin for repositories and no supported way to restore metadata at all.

Key Takeaways

• AvePoint backs up GitHub. Repositories, issues, pull requests, releases, project boards, wikis, labels, milestones, and attachments, with non-destructive restore.
• GitHub has no self service recycle bin for repositories and no supported way to restore metadata like issues or pull requests.
• The June 2024 Gitloker campaign wiped repositories across dozens of GitHub accounts and left victims with no self-service recovery path.
• AvePoint’s retention defaults to seven years. Adjustable to your compliance needs.
• GitHub rarely runs alone. AvePoint backs it up alongside Jira, Confluence, Microsoft 365, and Google Workspace under one platform.
• AI coding assistants act on issue and pull request history. A backup gap can degrade the context that AI coding assistants rely on, affecting the quality of what they help generate.
• Test your restore process before an incident forces you to test it live.

Why Does GitHub Need Independent Backup?

GitHub needs independent backup because it has no recycle bin for repositories, offers no supported way to restore metadata like issues and pull requests at all, and leaves scheduling and retention entirely up to manual scripts.

GitHub itself has been the direct target of repository-wiping attacks. In June 2024, the Gitloker extortion campaign hit dozens of GitHub accounts: attackers used stolen credentials to sign in, wiped the contents of victims’ repositories, renamed them, and left behind a single README.md pointing victims to a Telegram channel to negotiate for a “backup” the attackers claimed to hold. Native GitHub offered no self-service path to recover the deleted repositories, and victims were left were left dependent on GitHub support’s recovery options after repository deletion. Gitloker isn’t an isolated event: GitHub logged 124 incidents in 2024 (26 with major impact and 134 hours of disruption) and saw a 58% year-over-year increase in incidents in the first half of 2025. Repository deletion remains an operational risk organizations should plan for.

• No recycle bin. GitHub does not offer a recycle bin for repositories; once an owner deletes one, it’s gone unless you can manually restore from a previous commit or GitHub support can recover it within a narrow window, and that isn’t guaranteed.
• No metadata coverage. Basic scripts and clones recover code, but critical automation pipelines, issues, pull requests, releases, project boards, and configuration metadata are lost, leaving teams with a false sense of coverage.
• No restore path for what’s excluded. There is no supported, documented way to restore issues, pull requests, releases, or project boards once they’re gone.
• Manual, unscheduled backup. Protecting anything beyond a clone requires developer-maintained Git CLI scripts with no automated scheduling.

How Does AvePoint Back Up GitHub?

AvePoint backs up GitHub with full-fidelity, automated protection covering repositories and the metadata native tools exclude entirely – issues, pull requests, releases, project boards, wikis, labels, milestones, and attachments – restoring into a new repository without overwriting active work.

• What’s protected: Native GitHub excludes repositories plus critical metadata (issues, pull requests, releases, project boards, wiki, labels, milestones) and associated attachments.
• Restore: Full, non-destructive repository creates a new repository to restore data, including all metadata, so nothing currently live gets overwritten.
• Backup frequency: Automated, running up to four times a day for a low recovery point objective (RPO), instead of relying on developer-maintained Git command line interface (CLI) scripts.
• Retention: Defaults to seven years and can be adjusted up or down to match compliance needs, versus retention that natively lasts only as long as the code stays on the remote server.
• Granularity: Restore at the repository-level that exports the latest backup supported.

Here’s How AvePoint’s GitHub Backup Compares to Native Recovery?

AvePoint’s GitHub backup differs from native recovery most on metadata coverage and scheduling: native GitHub excludes issues, pull requests, and project boards entirely and requires manual scripts to back up anything, while AvePoint protects that metadata automatically and restores it non-destructively.

What Does This Mean for GitHub Alongside Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace?

GitHub rarely runs in isolation from the rest of a company’s SaaS stack. Engineering teams still depend on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace for docs, email, and project coordination, and both carry native-recovery gaps of their own. AvePoint backs up GitHub alongside Jira, Confluence, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and other SaaS applications under one platform, instead of one retention policy and restore process per tool.

The same principle that applies to Confluence and Jira applies here: a code-hosting platform doesn’t get a pass just because it’s built for engineers. When a repo-wipe attack lands, restore has to already exist; building it after the fact isn’t an option.

How Do AI Coding Assistants Change the Stakes of GitHub Data Loss?

As AI coding assistants read issue history, pull request context, and commit history to suggest code and summarize changes, losing that metadata doesn’t just erase a record, it silently degrades what those assistants can act on and cite.

A backup gap in GitHub used to be an engineering-continuity problem. Once AI coding assistants depend on the same issues, pull requests, and history to do their job well, it’s also a code-quality problem for everything those assistants help generate afterward.
 

GitHub Backup Maturity Tiers
 

AvePoint backs up GitHub alongside Jira, Confluence, Microsoft 365, and Google Workspace under one platform, with repository-level restore and retention set by your organization, not a native default. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Does AvePoint back up GitHub?

Yes. AvePoint provides automated, full-fidelity backup for GitHub, covering repositories, issues, pull requests, releases, project boards, wikis, labels, milestones, and attachments, with non-destructive restore into a new repository.

Does GitHub have a recycle bin for deleted repositories?

No. GitHub does not offer a recycle bin for repositories; once an owner deletes one, recovery depends on GitHub support within a narrow window that isn’t guaranteed.

Does AvePoint have a solution for us who also use Azure DevOps in conjunction with Github?

Yes. AvePoint backs up many other tools critical to developers throughout the SDLC. We protect Azure DevOps, Github, JIRA, Confluence, Salesforce Metadata, Microsoft Power Platform and much more.

What happens after we deploy to production?

Your production and standby environments are just as important as the code that built them. AvePoint protects your entire investment including the Cloud Infrastructure like VMs, Disks, Databases but also Platform as a Service protection for CosmosDB, BigQuery, and much more.

Can GitHub restore deleted issues or pull requests?

No. GitHub provides no supported, documented way to restore issues, pull requests, releases, or project boards once they’re deleted.

What was the Gitloker campaign, and what does it mean for GitHub backup?

In June 2024, attackers used stolen credentials to compromise dozens of GitHub accounts, wipe the contents of victims’ repositories, and leave a single README.md instructing victims to negotiate on Telegram for a “backup” the attackers claimed to hold. Native GitHub offered no self-service recovery, leaving victims dependent on GitHub support’s narrow, non-guaranteed window — or the attacker.

How long does AvePoint retain GitHub backups?

AvePoint’s GitHub backup defaults to seven years of retention and can be adjusted up or down to match an organization’s compliance requirements.

Does AvePoint’s GitHub backup replace native recovery or work alongside it?

AvePoint’s GitHub backup works alongside GitHub’s native tools, closing the metadata, scheduling, and retention gaps native recovery leaves open rather than replacing GitHub’s own platform.

What does GitHub backup mean for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace recovery?

Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace carry native-recovery limitations of their own. AvePoint backs up all three under one platform, so recovery isn’t managed separately per application.

How often should I test a GitHub restore?

Test a GitHub restore at least quarterly, and align the schedule to an organization’s audit or compliance review cycle so recovery evidence stays current. 

Related Questions

→  What is the 3-2-1 backup rule?
→  What is RTO and RPO in SaaS backup?
→  What is the shared responsibility model for SaaS data?