Dear friends,
For developers and technical professionals, source code repositories and development platforms represent years of intellectual work, collaborative projects, and technical legacy. These platforms contain not just code, but documentation, project history, and often substantial business or community value that extends beyond any individual contributor.
The challenge with technical platforms is that they often contain critical infrastructure, active projects with dependencies, or community resources that others rely upon. Sudden loss of access can disrupt projects, break dependencies, and leave communities without maintainers.
Key obstacles include project transfer requires active account and owner permissions, group ownership requires top-level owner role for succession, and self-hosted instances require server access for administration. These barriers affect not just personal projects, but potentially thousands of users who depend on your code, documentation, or infrastructure.
DeathNote enables you to document repository ownership, API credentials, deployment configurations, and succession plans for critical projects. You can designate technical successors, provide infrastructure access details, and ensure continuity for projects that matter to the broader technical community.
Consider documenting not just access credentials, but also project context: what services depend on your code, who should take over maintenance, and how to gracefully deprecate or transfer ownership of projects you maintain. This planning ensures your technical contributions continue serving their purpose even after you're gone.
Platform Overview
Primary Use
DevOps platform, CI/CD pipelines, container registry, project management
Account Types
Free, Premium, Ultimate (SaaS and Self-Managed)
Data Types
Git repositories, CI/CD pipelines, container images, packages, wikis, issues, merge requests
Access Challenges
- Project transfer requires active account and owner permissions
- Group ownership requires top-level owner role for succession
- Self-hosted instances require server access for administration
- CI/CD variables and secrets cannot be exported or viewed
- Container registry access requires authentication tokens
- Kubernetes integrations break without credential renewal
- Personal access tokens expire and cannot be recovered
- Two-factor authentication blocks unauthorized access
- GitLab Runner registration tokens are instance-specific
Inheritance Guidance
Step undefined:
Step undefined:
Step undefined:
Step undefined:
Step undefined:
Related Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my team access GitLab projects after I die?
Project access depends on group ownership and permissions. Personal projects become inaccessible without credentials. Group projects with multiple owners remain accessible. Document all projects, transfer them to group namespaces, and add trusted owners. For critical projects, configure group-level ownership to ensure continuity.
What happens to CI/CD pipelines and deployment secrets?
Pipelines continue running if the repository remains accessible, but secrets expire with account access. CI/CD variables cannot be exported or viewed by other users. Document variable names, integration credentials, and deployment procedures separately. Migrate critical pipelines to group-level variables with multiple administrators.
How do I hand off a self-hosted GitLab instance?
Self-hosted instances require server access and administrative credentials. Document server locations, SSH keys, root passwords, backup procedures, and license details. Configure multiple administrator accounts and document instance upgrade procedures. Consider migrating to GitLab SaaS for simplified succession.
What happens to container images and package registries?
Container and package registries remain accessible if the project is accessible. Personal registries become inaccessible without credentials. Document registry URLs, pull credentials, and artifact dependencies. Transfer critical images to group registries with multiple owners. Configure registry cleanup policies to manage storage costs.