diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index cd63188..e8c7bb2 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -42,3 +42,6 @@ gitbackup
 dist/
 
 testdata/**expected
+
+# Integration test secrets
+test/.env
diff --git a/client.go b/client.go
index 2b0c8c8..bb72025 100644
--- a/client.go
+++ b/client.go
@@ -206,6 +206,7 @@ func newForgejoClient(gitHostURLParsed *url.URL) *forgejo.Client {
 	}
 
 	gitHostToken = forgejoToken
+
 	log.Println("Creating forgejo client", url)
 	client, err := forgejo.NewClient(url, forgejo.SetToken(forgejoToken), forgejo.SetForgejoVersion(""))
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/test/.env.example b/test/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cb330c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# Copy this file to test/.env and fill in your tokens.
+# See test/INTEGRATION_TESTING.md for setup instructions.
+
+GITHUB_TOKEN=
+GITLAB_TOKEN=
+BITBUCKET_USERNAME=
+BITBUCKET_TOKEN=
+FORGEJO_TOKEN=
diff --git a/test/INTEGRATION_TESTING.md b/test/INTEGRATION_TESTING.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7520a0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/INTEGRATION_TESTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+# Integration Testing
+
+Manual integration test script for verifying gitbackup works end-to-end against real git hosting services before releases.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- Go toolchain
+- Git
+- SSH keys configured for the services you want to test (unless testing HTTPS-only)
+
+## Test Account Setup
+
+Each contributor creates their own test accounts. The script expects a standard set of repos on each service.
+
+### GitHub
+
+1. Create a [personal access token](https://github.com/settings/tokens) with `repo` scope
+2. Create two repositories:
+   - `gitbackup-test-public` (public)
+   - `gitbackup-test-private` (private)
+
+### GitLab
+
+1. Create a [personal access token](https://gitlab.com/-/user_settings/personal_access_tokens) with `read_api` scope
+2. Create two projects:
+   - `gitbackup-test-public` (public)
+   - `gitbackup-test-private` (private)
+
+### Bitbucket
+
+1. Create an [API token](https://bitbucket.org/account/settings/app-passwords/) with `read:user:bitbucket`, `read:workspace:bitbucket`, and `read:repository:bitbucket` scopes
+2. Create a workspace and two repositories:
+   - `gitbackup-test-public` (public)
+   - `gitbackup-test-private` (private)
+
+### Forgejo (Codeberg)
+
+1. Create an [access token](https://codeberg.org/user/settings/applications) with `read:repository` permission
+2. Create two repositories:
+   - `gitbackup-test-public` (public)
+   - `gitbackup-test-private` (private)
+
+## Environment Setup
+
+```
+cp test/.env.example test/.env
+```
+
+Fill in your tokens in `test/.env`.
+
+## Running the Tests
+
+From the repository root:
+
+```
+bash test/integration-test.sh
+```
+
+Any services with missing environment variables will be skipped automatically.
diff --git a/test/integration-test.sh b/test/integration-test.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..b95a351
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/integration-test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,248 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd)"
+BINARY="$REPO_ROOT/gitbackup"
+
+# Load env vars
+if [[ -f "$SCRIPT_DIR/.env" ]]; then
+    set -a
+    source "$SCRIPT_DIR/.env"
+    set +a
+fi
+
+VERBOSE=false
+SERVICES=()
+
+for arg in "$@"; do
+    case "$arg" in
+        -v|--verbose) VERBOSE=true ;;
+        *) SERVICES+=("$arg") ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+if [[ ${#SERVICES[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
+    SERVICES=(github gitlab bitbucket forgejo)
+fi
+
+# Expected repo names (same across all services)
+EXPECTED_REPOS="gitbackup-test-public gitbackup-test-private"
+
+# --- Helpers ---
+
+pass() {
+    echo "  PASS: $1"
+    RESULTS+=("PASS: $1")
+    PASSED=$((PASSED + 1))
+}
+
+fail() {
+    echo "  FAIL: $1"
+    RESULTS+=("FAIL: $1")
+    FAILED=$((FAILED + 1))
+}
+
+check_env() {
+    local service="$1"
+    shift
+    for var in "$@"; do
+        if [[ -z "${!var:-}" ]]; then
+            echo "Skipping $service: $var is not set"
+            return 1
+        fi
+    done
+    return 0
+}
+
+is_git_repo() {
+    git -C "$1" rev-parse 2>/dev/null
+}
+
+is_bare_repo() {
+    [[ "$(git -C "$1" rev-parse --is-bare-repository 2>/dev/null)" == "true" ]]
+}
+
+# Check that a repo with the given name exists under the backup dir and is a valid git repo
+check_repo_exists() {
+    local backup_dir="$1"
+    local repo_name="$2"
+    local dir
+    dir=$(find "$backup_dir" -type d -name "$repo_name" -maxdepth 4 2>/dev/null | head -1)
+    [[ -n "$dir" ]] && is_git_repo "$dir"
+}
+
+# Check that a bare repo with the given name exists under the backup dir
+check_bare_repo_exists() {
+    local backup_dir="$1"
+    local repo_name="$2"
+    local dir
+    dir=$(find "$backup_dir" -type d -name "${repo_name}.git" -maxdepth 4 2>/dev/null | head -1)
+    [[ -n "$dir" ]] && is_bare_repo "$dir"
+}
+
+run_gitbackup() {
+    if $VERBOSE; then
+        $BINARY "$@" 2>&1
+    else
+        $BINARY "$@" >/dev/null 2>&1
+    fi
+}
+
+run_service_tests() {
+    local service="$1"
+    local label="$2"
+    local extra_flags="${3:-}"
+    local tmpdir
+
+    echo ""
+    echo "=== $service ($label) ==="
+
+    # Test 1: Fresh clone
+    tmpdir=$(mktemp -d)
+    trap "rm -rf $tmpdir" RETURN
+
+    echo "  Running fresh clone..."
+    if run_gitbackup -service "$service" -backupdir "$tmpdir" $extra_flags; then
+        all_found=true
+        for repo_name in $EXPECTED_REPOS; do
+            if check_repo_exists "$tmpdir" "$repo_name"; then
+                echo "    Found $repo_name"
+            else
+                echo "    Missing $repo_name"
+                all_found=false
+            fi
+        done
+        if $all_found; then
+            pass "$service ($label): fresh clone"
+        else
+            fail "$service ($label): fresh clone — expected repos not found"
+        fi
+    else
+        fail "$service ($label): fresh clone — gitbackup exited with error"
+    fi
+
+    # Test 2: Update (run again into same directory)
+    echo "  Running update..."
+    if run_gitbackup -service "$service" -backupdir "$tmpdir" $extra_flags; then
+        all_found=true
+        for repo_name in $EXPECTED_REPOS; do
+            if ! check_repo_exists "$tmpdir" "$repo_name"; then
+                all_found=false
+            fi
+        done
+        if $all_found; then
+            pass "$service ($label): update"
+        else
+            fail "$service ($label): update — repos missing after update"
+        fi
+    else
+        fail "$service ($label): update — gitbackup exited with error"
+    fi
+
+    rm -rf "$tmpdir"
+
+    # Test 3: Bare clone
+    tmpdir=$(mktemp -d)
+
+    echo "  Running bare clone..."
+    if run_gitbackup -service "$service" -backupdir "$tmpdir" -bare $extra_flags; then
+        all_found=true
+        for repo_name in $EXPECTED_REPOS; do
+            if check_bare_repo_exists "$tmpdir" "$repo_name"; then
+                echo "    Found ${repo_name}.git (bare)"
+            else
+                echo "    Missing ${repo_name}.git (bare)"
+                all_found=false
+            fi
+        done
+        if $all_found; then
+            pass "$service ($label): bare clone"
+        else
+            fail "$service ($label): bare clone — expected bare repos not found"
+        fi
+    else
+        fail "$service ($label): bare clone — gitbackup exited with error"
+    fi
+
+    rm -rf "$tmpdir"
+
+    # Test 4: Ignore private
+    tmpdir=$(mktemp -d)
+
+    echo "  Running ignore-private clone..."
+    if run_gitbackup -service "$service" -backupdir "$tmpdir" -ignore-private $extra_flags; then
+        if check_repo_exists "$tmpdir" "gitbackup-test-public"; then
+            echo "    Found gitbackup-test-public"
+        else
+            echo "    Missing gitbackup-test-public"
+            fail "$service ($label): ignore-private — public repo not found"
+            rm -rf "$tmpdir"
+            trap - RETURN
+            return
+        fi
+        if check_repo_exists "$tmpdir" "gitbackup-test-private"; then
+            echo "    Found gitbackup-test-private (unexpected)"
+            fail "$service ($label): ignore-private — private repo should have been skipped"
+        else
+            echo "    Correctly skipped gitbackup-test-private"
+            pass "$service ($label): ignore-private"
+        fi
+    else
+        fail "$service ($label): ignore-private — gitbackup exited with error"
+    fi
+
+    rm -rf "$tmpdir"
+    trap - RETURN
+}
+
+# --- Main ---
+
+PASSED=0
+FAILED=0
+RESULTS=()
+
+echo "Building gitbackup..."
+(cd "$REPO_ROOT" && go build -o "$BINARY" .)
+
+for service in "${SERVICES[@]}"; do
+    case "$service" in
+        github)
+            check_env github GITHUB_TOKEN || continue
+            run_service_tests github "SSH"
+            run_service_tests github "HTTPS" "-use-https-clone"
+            ;;
+        gitlab)
+            check_env gitlab GITLAB_TOKEN || continue
+            run_service_tests gitlab "SSH" "-gitlab.projectVisibility all -gitlab.projectMembershipType owner"
+            run_service_tests gitlab "HTTPS" "-gitlab.projectVisibility all -gitlab.projectMembershipType owner -use-https-clone"
+            ;;
+        bitbucket)
+            check_env bitbucket BITBUCKET_USERNAME BITBUCKET_TOKEN || continue
+            run_service_tests bitbucket "SSH"
+            run_service_tests bitbucket "HTTPS" "-use-https-clone"
+            ;;
+        forgejo)
+            check_env forgejo FORGEJO_TOKEN || continue
+            run_service_tests forgejo "SSH" "-githost.url https://codeberg.org"
+            run_service_tests forgejo "HTTPS" "-githost.url https://codeberg.org -use-https-clone"
+            ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+# --- Summary (verbose only) ---
+
+if $VERBOSE; then
+    echo ""
+    echo "=============================="
+    echo "Results: $PASSED passed, $FAILED failed"
+    echo ""
+    for r in "${RESULTS[@]}"; do
+        echo "  $r"
+    done
+    echo "=============================="
+fi
+
+if [[ $FAILED -gt 0 ]]; then
+    exit 1
+fi