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---
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stage: Enablement
group: Distribution
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info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
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---
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# Project import/export administration **(FREE SELF)**
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> - [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/issues/3050) in GitLab 8.9.
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> - From GitLab 11.3, import/export can use object storage automatically.
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GitLab provides Rake tasks relating to project import and export. For more information, see:
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- [Project import/export documentation ](../../user/project/settings/import_export.md ).
- [Project import/export API ](../../api/project_import_export.md ).
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- [Developer documentation: project import/export ](../../development/import_export.md )
## Project import status
You can query an import through the [Project import/export API ](../../api/project_import_export.md#import-status ).
As described in the API documentation, the query may return an import error or exceptions.
## Import large projects
If you have a larger project, consider using a Rake task, as described in our [developer documentation ](../../development/import_project.md#importing-via-a-rake-task ).
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## Import/export tasks
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The GitLab import/export version can be checked by using the following command:
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```shell
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# Omnibus installations
sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:import_export:version
# Installations from source
bundle exec rake gitlab:import_export:version RAILS_ENV=production
```
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The current list of DB tables to export can be listed by using the following command:
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```shell
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# Omnibus installations
sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:import_export:data
# Installations from source
bundle exec rake gitlab:import_export:data RAILS_ENV=production
```
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Note the following:
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- Importing is only possible if the version of the import and export GitLab instances are
compatible as described in the [Version history ](../../user/project/settings/import_export.md#version-history ).
- The project import option must be enabled in
application settings (`/admin/application_settings/general`) under **Import sources** , which is available
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under **Admin Area > Settings > Visibility and access controls** .
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- The exports are stored in a temporary [shared directory ](../../development/shared_files.md )
and are deleted every 24 hours by a specific worker.