Time to migrate from Subversion to Git?
Many teams are still using Subversion. It used to be somewhat of a standard version control system at the beginning of the millennium. Git has been around since 2005 and started to gain good traction around 2010. However, not everyone needed to be in the forefront of the version control revolution. Migration was not always easy, especially for mature projects with a lot of tooling bound to Subversion. Git was not ubiquitous and most people did not know how to use it efficiently, if at all!
The New Normal
Fast forward to 2024. During the 15 years or so Git has become the de facto version control system. New developers know nothing of other tools at all. All modern tooling is bound to Git. We even have concepts like GitOps, where your deployment flows are controlled through commits to Git!
To Migrate or Not?
So should you finally migrate your old projects from Subversion to Git? The answer is “probably yes”. Although there are cases where the extra effort does not pay off (e.g. when almost no further development is done), the downsides of sticking with Subversion are getting bigger and more dire. There are no modern hosting services. Security considerations arise. New generations of developers don’t know how to work efficiently with Subversion. Contemporary development workflows are designed to work only with Git.
Let’s Go!
So what’s still keeping so many projects from migrating? Lack of time, resources and understanding of the potential benefits seem to be the big barriers. The most important thing to start with is to do an honest evaluation of the current situation. It might be a good idea to consult someone with experience on the subject. Then decide on the targets and make a plan on what to migrate, how, training needs, etc. Don’t be afraid! It’s almost guaranteed that in the end your organization will be better equipped for future challenges! This we have witnessed time after time!
Aleksi Aalto started using Git accidentally for his masters thesis when Git was still in puberty. Since then he has taught Git and helped numerous organizations to migrate to Git, improving their workflows and most importantly developer happiness! If you’d like to chat about your situation, please contact us info@omoroi.fi!
