# Code imports #### IMPORTANT This document has been migrated from help.launchpad.net as is, and has not yet been revised. The content might be outdated, links and images could be broken. We are aware and will fix any issues as soon as possible. There’s a lot of free software code available in Git repositories that aren’t hosted on Launchpad. Sometimes you’re going to want to have this code available on Launchpad. Perhaps you want to have closer integration between bug tracking and your source code. Or perhaps you want to make use of Launchpad’s build recipe features to automatically build on multiple processor architectures when you push new changes. If this is striking a chord, then you probably want to know about Launchpad’s code import system. Launchpad provides a free service which imports the trunk of a project from Git repositories to Git, and then keeps that import up to date. This allows you to make your own branches from the project trunk, and keep them up to date by merging from trunk over time as you develop your feature. ## Trunk imports Launchpad supports the import of code from a remote repository. A good example is the snapd project. Launchpad imports snapd’s main branch as its [“trunk” series](https://launchpad.net/snapd/trunk) in Launchpad. As you can see, there’s a Git branch of snapd’s code. Launchpad updates that branch regularly by importing the latest changes from snapd’s GitHub repository. It works just like any other branch in Launchpad - you can see the latest commits, create your own branch of it, and then upload it back to Launchpad. ## Requesting an import To request an import, please: - Make sure the project is [registered in Launchpad](https://launchpad.net/products), or register it yourself. - Then visit the [page for requesting a code import](https://code.launchpad.net/+code-imports/+new) and fill out the details. This will: * Create an empty repository (for Git) to contain the imported code. * Subscribe you to it so that you will be notified both when the initial import completes and subsequent updates import new revisions. * Notify the import operators who will check that the import location exists and approve the import. Importing to a Git repository allows you to import repositories with submodules and signed commits. ### Import precision The initial import process is not an exact science, but Git mostly records enough information for a deterministic import. This wasn’t always the case with imports from other VCS repositories that were previously supported on Launchpad such as CVS and SVN. In most cases, where the CVS and SVN repositories had not been manually edited or altered, it was possible to infer the information that was required for the import to proceed smoothly. Git, however, keeps track of renames and every commit is treated as an [atomic commit](https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/computer-networks/atomic-commit-protocol-in-distributed-system/), capturing the state of the entire project at that point. ### Making your request An import will not lose data - the result of a checkout of the Git branch is identical to a checkout of the CVS branch. But getting it to that point may require inspection and custom work. For this reason, there is no automated process for the import. Instead, you [request a code import](https://code.launchpad.net/+code-imports/+new) and it’s added to the queue. Putting the import together can take anywhere from one hour to several days. In some few cases, it’s not possible to get all the history exactly right, but the systems and processes used behind the scenes are being constantly improved. The initial import can take a long time; up to several days, depending on the number of revisions that need to be converted. Once the import is established, it will be updated from the CVS or Subversion branch every 6-12 hours, although an import can be requested at any time by clicking the “Import Now” button on the import page. ## More information Informal support happens in many different places in the free software world. Launchpad aims to bring bug tracker-like qualities to giving and asking for help. Let’s look at [Launchpad Answers](https://ubuntu.com/docs/launchpad/user/explanation/answers/answer-tracker/index.html.md#launchpad-answer-tracker).