# Backup your space to Github
**URL:** https://community.silverbullet.md/t/backup-your-space-to-github/798
**Category:** Guides
**Created:** [August 4, 2024, 7:26pm UTC](https://community.silverbullet.md/t/backup-your-space-to-github/798 "2024-08-04T19:26:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@zef](https://community.silverbullet.md/u/zef)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2024, 7:26pm UTC](https://community.silverbullet.md/t/backup-your-space-to-github/798/1 "2024-08-04T19:26:32Z")
Personally I use a private Github repository for backing up my space. This is how I set this up.
## Requirements
- A (free) Github account
- A private Github repository to keep your space files
## Create a token
We will authenticate with Github via HTTPS and a _personal access token_. This is relatively safe and simple to setup.
Go to your [Personal Access Tokens](https://github.com/settings/tokens) page, and Generate a new token (beta) scoped to your repository.
- Select a expiry date far in the future
- Select: “Only selected repositories” and select your private space repostiory.
- For permissions choose:
- Contents: Read & Write
Then generate the token. Save the token some place safe, you will need it later in a bit.
## Get a shell
If you’re running SilverBullet directly on your machine, you can just `cd` into your space folder and use `git` from there (if it is installed, if not, install git first).
If you’re running inside of a docker container you need to get a shell into your container.
Using docker you can do this with `docker exec`. For instance, if your container is named `silverbullet` you can run:
```shell
docker exec -it silverbullet /bin/bash
```
By default you will be `root`. It's important you perform the actions below as the same user as which silverbullet is running, to check which user this is, in the docker shell run:
```bash
ps aux
```
Look for a line that looks like this:
```auto
14 silverbu 0:00 /silverbullet
```
This will either list a user (second column) named `silverbu` (don't mind that it's truncated) or `root`. If it's `silverbu`, `su` into this user before continuing:
```bash
su silverbullet
```
## Configure the git repository
In your shell:
```shell
# Change to the space folder, in docker this is always /space
cd /space
# Initialize it as a git repo
git init
# Configure your name and email
git config user.name "Your Name"
git config user.email "your@email.com"
# Set rebasing to false (or true if you prefer)
git config pull.rebase false
# Add the Github repository you created as a remote, replace GITHUBTOKEN with the token you received earlier
git remote add origin https://GITHUBTOKEN@github.com/username/repo.git
```
## Empty repository
If you created a fresh Github repository with no content yet, you can do the following:
```shell
# Set the branch to main
git branch -m main
# Configure the default upstream
git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/main main
# Add all existing files
git add *.md
# Commit the first version
git commit -m "Initial commit"
# Push the first version
git push origin main
```
## Existing content
If your repository already has content, first clean out the auto generated files ([index.md](http://index.md) and [CONFIG.md](http://CONFIG.md)), then checkout the remote branch:
```shell
# Fetch all branches from the remote repostiroy
git fetch
# Clean out the auto generated pages
rm index.md SETTINGS.md
# Checkout your main branch from the repository
git checkout main
```
## Installing the Git library
Open the SilverBullet Library Manager with the `Library: Manager` command, look for the "Git" library, and click "Install" to install it.
This will give you some useful `Git: *` commands. Click on the link for the Git library in the "Installed Libraries" section for more information on how to use the integration.
Enjoy!
---
### Author:  [@vuau](https://community.silverbullet.md/u/vuau)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2024, 3:39am UTC](https://community.silverbullet.md/t/backup-your-space-to-github/798/2 "2024-08-30T03:39:20Z")
I deployed SilverBullet to [fly.io](http://fly.io) then I used the git plug to backup my space to Github. The problem is that I can sync it manually but the autoSync and autoCommit feature seem not working. Is that a limitation of [fly.io](http://fly.io) or did I do something wrong?
---
### Author:  [@zef](https://community.silverbullet.md/u/zef)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2024, 4:03am UTC](https://community.silverbullet.md/t/backup-your-space-to-github/798/3 "2024-08-30T04:03:41Z")
I think it works only if you keep your fly machine active. Fly stops machines after a few minutes of inactivity, and then the auto commit stuff also won’t run.
---
### Author:  [@vuau](https://community.silverbullet.md/u/vuau)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2024, 8:27am UTC](https://community.silverbullet.md/t/backup-your-space-to-github/798/4 "2024-08-30T08:27:26Z")
I worked around it by using space-script to call git.syncCommand whenever a page is saved
---
### Author:  [@Matt](https://community.silverbullet.md/u/Matt)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2024, 5:42pm UTC](https://community.silverbullet.md/t/backup-your-space-to-github/798/5 "2024-09-25T17:42:27Z")
I also assume it’s a good idea to include a .gitignore with the below contents. @zef, could you confirm this is correct and if any others are suggested?
```auto
.silverbullet.db*
_plug/
Library/
```
I noticed Library/Personal/\* is recommended for storing templates/library edits, so this should be included in git, correct?
---
### Author:  [@zef](https://community.silverbullet.md/u/zef)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2024, 6:48pm UTC](https://community.silverbullet.md/t/backup-your-space-to-github/798/6 "2024-09-25T18:48:58Z")
Yes, this is roughly the .gitignore I use as well, except that I just commit the Library folder as well because… why not 🙂 Excluding .silverbullet.db\* and \_plug is indeed a good idea.
---
### Author:  [@bearded-papa](https://community.silverbullet.md/u/bearded-papa)
#### Post date: [November 4, 2024, 8:43pm UTC](https://community.silverbullet.md/t/backup-your-space-to-github/798/7 "2024-11-04T20:43:36Z")
I have tried to follow this to the letter but keep getting this everytime I try the first commit
```auto
remote: Support for password authentication was removed on August 13, 2021.
remote: Please see https://docs.github.com/get-started/getting-started-with-git/about-remote-repositories#cloning-with-https-urls for information on currently recommended modes of authentication.
```
---
### Author:  [@zef](https://community.silverbullet.md/u/zef)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2025, 8:24pm UTC](https://community.silverbullet.md/t/backup-your-space-to-github/798/8 "2025-11-27T20:24:04Z")
## Updates
(updated in original post)
- 2025-11-27: Updated to use the Git library instead of plug, added `su` instructions since docker images may switch user
---
### Author:  [@Sam](https://community.silverbullet.md/u/Sam)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2026, 10:29pm UTC](https://community.silverbullet.md/t/backup-your-space-to-github/798/9 "2026-05-18T22:29:15Z")
I just wanted to mention, that your Git lib also works fine with Forgejo, where i created a personal access token and used that one for auth. In other words: a Github repository is not a strong requirement here.
---
### Author:  [@patxque](https://community.silverbullet.md/u/patxque)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2026, 11:38pm UTC](https://community.silverbullet.md/t/backup-your-space-to-github/798/10 "2026-05-22T23:38:23Z")
As someone who does not use Git often I will add that GitHub desktop works just fine as well.