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Migrating from Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC) to Git can unlock modern workflows, distributed collaboration, and more flexible branching strategies. In this guide, we’ll walk through a branch-by-branch import, compare migration scopes, and highlight the top benefits of moving your codebase to Git.

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Branch-Level Migration

A phased, branch-level approach lets you validate each import before proceeding, minimizing risk:
  1. Select a single TFVC branch to import.
  2. Use the Azure DevOps Git import feature or a tool like Git-TFS.
# Example: Import a TFVC branch into a new Git repo via Git-TFS
git tfs clone https://tfs-server:8080/tfs/DefaultCollection $/Project/Main --branches=all
Start with a non-critical branch (e.g., development) to verify the process before importing protected or release branches.
The image illustrates the process of transitioning from TFVC to Git, highlighting branch-level migration and showing an interface for importing a repository from TFVC.
Once the import is successful, repeat for each remaining branch until your entire TFVC repository resides in Git.

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Migration Scopes: Tip vs. Full History

Choose the right migration scope based on your needs:
StrategyDescriptionWhen to Use
Tip MigrationOnly the latest revision (“tip”) is moved to Git.Rapid cutover with minimal setup
Full History MigrationEvery TFVC changeset is converted into a Git commit, preserving complete history.Full audit trail and compliance needs
A full-history migration can take significantly longer and may require careful mapping of authors and commit dates. Plan for additional time and storage.
  • Tip Migration: Keeps TFVC history archived on the original server for quick switch-over.
  • Full History: Ensures end-to-end traceability by importing all historical changesets.

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Benefits of Moving to Git

Adopting Git from TFVC delivers several improvements in workflow and performance:
FeatureTFVC ModelGit Model
History TrackingChangesets stored centrallyFilesystem snapshots, enabling flexible diffs
BranchingBranches as foldersLightweight pointers, quick create/delete
CollaborationCentralized checkout/lock modelDistributed clones for offline work
The image outlines advantages of transitioning from TFVC to Git, highlighting streamlined migration and differences in branching methods.
  • Distributed Workflow: Team members can work independently and sync changes asynchronously.
  • Rich Ecosystem: Leverage integrations with CI/CD pipelines, code review tools, and platform-agnostic hosting.

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