diff --git a/config/routes/repository.rb b/config/routes/repository.rb
index 2ba16035ece..57b7c55423d 100644
--- a/config/routes/repository.rb
+++ b/config/routes/repository.rb
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@
 resource :repository, only: [:create] do
   member do
     get ':ref/archive', constraints: { format: Gitlab::PathRegex.archive_formats_regex, ref: /.+/ }, action: 'archive', as: 'archive'
+    
+    # deprecated since GitLab 9.5
+    get 'archive', constraints: { format: Gitlab::PathRegex.archive_formats_regex }, as: 'archive_alternative'
   end
 end