Tutorial: Convert a personal namespace into a group (FREE SAAS)

If you've started out on GitLab with a personal namespace, but now find that you've outgrown its capabilities and its limitations hinder the collaboration on your projects, you might want to switch to a group namespace instead. A group namespace allows you to create multiple subgroups, and manage their members and permissions.

You don't have to start from scratch - you can create a new group and move your existing projects to the group to get the added benefits. To find out how, see Tutorial: Move your personal project to a group.

But you can go one step further and convert your personal namespace into a group namespace, so you get to keep the existing username and URL. For example, if your username is alex, you can continue using the https://gitlab.example.com/alex URL for your group.

This tutorial shows you how to convert your personal namespace into a group namespace using the following steps:

1. Create a group.
2. Transfer projects from the personal namespace to the group.
3. Rename the original username.
4. Rename the new group namespace to the original username.

For example, if your username for a personal namespace is alex, first create a group namespace named alex-group. Then, move all projects from the alex to the alex-group namespace. Finally, rename the alex namespace to alex-user, and alex-group namespace to the now available alex username.

Create a group

1. On the left sidebar, at the top, select Create new ({plus}) and New group.
2. In Group name, enter a name for the group.
3. In Group URL, enter a path for the group, which is used as the namespace. Don't worry about the actual path, this is only temporary. You'll change this URL to the username of the personal namespace in the final step.
4. Choose the visibility level.
5. Optional. Fill in information to personalize your experience.
6. Select Create group.

Transfer projects from the personal namespace to the group

Next, you must transfer your projects from the personal namespace to the new group. You can transfer only one project at a time, so if you want to transfer multiple projects, you must perform the steps below for each project.

Before you start the transfer process, make sure you:

• Have the Owner role for the project.
• Remove container images. You can't transfer a project that contains container images.
• Remove npm packages. You can't update the root namespace of a project that contains npm packages.

To transfer a project to a group:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
2. Select Settings > General.
3. Expand Advanced.
4. Under Transfer project, choose the group to transfer the project to.
5. Select Transfer project.
6. Enter the project's name and select Confirm.

Rename the original username

Next, rename the original username of the personal namespace, so that the username becomes available for the new group namespace. You can keep on using the personal namespace for other personal projects, or delete that user account

From the moment you rename the personal namespace, the username becomes available, so it's possible that someone else registers an account with it. To avoid this, you should rename the new group as soon as possible.

To change a user's username:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Edit profile.
3. On the left sidebar, select Account.
4. In the Change username section, enter a new username as the path.
5. Select Update username.

Rename the new group namespace to the original username

Finally, rename the new group's URL to the username of the original personal namespace.

To change your group path (group URL):

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your group.
2. Select Settings > General.
3. Expand the Advanced section.
4. Under Change group URL, enter the user's original username.
5. Select Change group URL.

That's it! You have now converted a personal namespace into a group, which opens up new possibilities of working on projects and collaborating with more members.