2019-08-12 03:36:32 -04:00
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---
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type: concepts
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---
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# Migrating from TFVC to Git
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Team Foundation Server (TFS), renamed [Azure DevOps Server](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/devops/server/)
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in 2019, is a set of tools developed by Microsoft which also includes
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2020-06-04 17:08:11 -04:00
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[Team Foundation Version Control](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/repos/tfvc/what-is-tfvc?view=azure-devops)
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2019-08-12 03:36:32 -04:00
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(TFVC), a centralized version control system similar to Git.
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In this document, we focus on the TFVC to Git migration.
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## TFVC vs Git
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The main differences between TFVC and Git are:
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- **Git is distributed:** While TFVC is centralized using a client-server architecture,
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Git is distributed. This translates to Git having a more flexible workflow since
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you work with a copy of the entire repository. This allows you to quickly
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switch branches or merge, for example, without needing to communicate with a remote server.
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- **Storage:** Changes in a centralized version control system are per file (changeset),
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while in Git a committed file is stored in its entirety (snapshot). That means that it is
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very easy to revert or undo a whole change in Git.
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For more information, see:
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- Microsoft's [comparison of Git and TFVC](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/repos/tfvc/comparison-git-tfvc?view=azure-devops).
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- The Wikipedia [comparison of version control software](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_version_control_software).
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## Why migrate
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Advantages of migrating to Git/GitLab:
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- **No licensing costs:** Git is open source, while TFVC is proprietary.
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- **Shorter learning curve:** Git has a big community and a vast number of
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tutorials to get you started (see our [Git topic](../../../topics/git/index.md)).
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- **Integration with modern tools:** After migrating to Git and GitLab, you will have
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an open source, end-to-end software development platform with built-in version
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control, issue tracking, code review, CI/CD, and more.
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## How to migrate
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The best option to migrate from TFVC to Git is to use the [`git-tfs`](https://github.com/git-tfs/git-tfs)
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tool. Read the [Migrate TFS to Git](https://github.com/git-tfs/git-tfs/blob/master/doc/usecases/migrate_tfs_to_git.md)
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guide for more details.
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