diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 800b67f..b820807 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@ This tool comes with some inputs that allow users to override the default behavi
 | Configuration File  | -cf, --config-file  | N            | Configuration file, in JSON format, containing all options to be overridded, note that if provided all other CLI options will be ignored                                        |             |
 | Auth          | -a, --auth           | N            | Git access/authorization token, if provided all token env variables will be ignored. See [auth token](#authorization-token) section for more details | ""          |
 | Folder        | -f, --folder         | N            | Local folder full name of the repository that will be checked out, e.g., /tmp/folder                                                                                     | {cwd}/bp    |
+| Git Client       | --git-client        | N            | Git client type <github|gitlab|codeberg>, if not set it is infered from pull-request
 | Git User       | -gu, --git-user        | N            | Local git user name                                                       | "GitHub"       |
 | Git Email       | -ge, --git-email        | N            | Local git user email                                                       | "noreply@github.com"       |
 | Title       | --title        | N            | Backporting pull request title                                                       | "{original-pr-title}"       |
diff --git a/action.yml b/action.yml
index 04c4626..d7b5281 100644
--- a/action.yml
+++ b/action.yml
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@ inputs:
     description: "GITHUB_TOKEN or a `repo` scoped Personal Access Token (PAT), if not provided will look for existing env variables like GITHUB_TOKEN"
     default: ${{ github.token }}
     required: false
+  git-client:
+    description: "Git client type <github|gitlab|codeberg>, if not set it is infered from pull-request"
+    required: false
   git-user:
     description: "Local git user name"
     default: "GitHub"
diff --git a/dist/cli/index.js b/dist/cli/index.js
index 9d3a9d1..a3f1819 100755
--- a/dist/cli/index.js
+++ b/dist/cli/index.js
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ class ArgsParser {
             dryRun: this.getOrDefault(args.dryRun, false),
             auth: this.getOrDefault(args.auth),
             folder: this.getOrDefault(args.folder),
+            gitClient: this.getOrDefault(args.gitClient),
             gitUser: this.getOrDefault(args.gitUser),
             gitEmail: this.getOrDefault(args.gitEmail),
             title: this.getOrDefault(args.title),
@@ -183,6 +184,7 @@ class CLIArgsParser extends args_parser_1.default {
             .option("-pr, --pull-request <pr-url>", "pull request url, e.g., https://github.com/kiegroup/git-backporting/pull/1")
             .option("-d, --dry-run", "if enabled the tool does not create any pull request nor push anything remotely")
             .option("-a, --auth <auth>", "git authentication string, if not provided fallback by looking for existing env variables like GITHUB_TOKEN")
+            .option("--git-client <github|gitlab|codeberg>", "git client type, if not set it is infered from --pull-request")
             .option("-gu, --git-user <git-user>", "local git user name, default is 'GitHub'")
             .option("-ge, --git-email <git-email>", "local git user email, default is 'noreply@github.com'")
             .option("-f, --folder <folder>", "local folder where the repo will be checked out, e.g., /tmp/folder")
@@ -217,6 +219,7 @@ class CLIArgsParser extends args_parser_1.default {
                 pullRequest: opts.pullRequest,
                 targetBranch: opts.targetBranch,
                 folder: opts.folder,
+                gitClient: opts.gitClient,
                 gitUser: opts.gitUser,
                 gitEmail: opts.gitEmail,
                 title: opts.title,
@@ -1343,7 +1346,13 @@ class Runner {
             this.logger.warn("Dry run enabled");
         }
         // 2. init git service
-        const gitClientType = (0, git_util_1.inferGitClient)(args.pullRequest);
+        let gitClientType;
+        if (args.gitClient === undefined) {
+            gitClientType = (0, git_util_1.inferGitClient)(args.pullRequest);
+        }
+        else {
+            gitClientType = args.gitClient;
+        }
         // the api version is ignored in case of github
         const apiUrl = (0, git_util_1.inferGitApiUrl)(args.pullRequest, gitClientType === git_types_1.GitClientType.CODEBERG ? "v1" : undefined);
         const token = this.fetchToken(args, gitClientType);
diff --git a/dist/gha/index.js b/dist/gha/index.js
index 529a401..21cc4e7 100755
--- a/dist/gha/index.js
+++ b/dist/gha/index.js
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ class ArgsParser {
             dryRun: this.getOrDefault(args.dryRun, false),
             auth: this.getOrDefault(args.auth),
             folder: this.getOrDefault(args.folder),
+            gitClient: this.getOrDefault(args.gitClient),
             gitUser: this.getOrDefault(args.gitUser),
             gitEmail: this.getOrDefault(args.gitEmail),
             title: this.getOrDefault(args.title),
@@ -187,6 +188,7 @@ class GHAArgsParser extends args_parser_1.default {
                 pullRequest: (0, core_1.getInput)("pull-request"),
                 targetBranch: (0, core_1.getInput)("target-branch"),
                 folder: (0, args_utils_1.getOrUndefined)((0, core_1.getInput)("folder")),
+                gitClient: (0, args_utils_1.getOrUndefined)((0, core_1.getInput)("git-client")),
                 gitUser: (0, args_utils_1.getOrUndefined)((0, core_1.getInput)("git-user")),
                 gitEmail: (0, args_utils_1.getOrUndefined)((0, core_1.getInput)("git-email")),
                 title: (0, args_utils_1.getOrUndefined)((0, core_1.getInput)("title")),
@@ -1313,7 +1315,13 @@ class Runner {
             this.logger.warn("Dry run enabled");
         }
         // 2. init git service
-        const gitClientType = (0, git_util_1.inferGitClient)(args.pullRequest);
+        let gitClientType;
+        if (args.gitClient === undefined) {
+            gitClientType = (0, git_util_1.inferGitClient)(args.pullRequest);
+        }
+        else {
+            gitClientType = args.gitClient;
+        }
         // the api version is ignored in case of github
         const apiUrl = (0, git_util_1.inferGitApiUrl)(args.pullRequest, gitClientType === git_types_1.GitClientType.CODEBERG ? "v1" : undefined);
         const token = this.fetchToken(args, gitClientType);
diff --git a/src/service/args/args-parser.ts b/src/service/args/args-parser.ts
index 1c8cb51..bc71810 100644
--- a/src/service/args/args-parser.ts
+++ b/src/service/args/args-parser.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ export default abstract class ArgsParser {
       dryRun: this.getOrDefault(args.dryRun, false),
       auth: this.getOrDefault(args.auth),
       folder: this.getOrDefault(args.folder),
+      gitClient: this.getOrDefault(args.gitClient),
       gitUser: this.getOrDefault(args.gitUser),
       gitEmail: this.getOrDefault(args.gitEmail),
       title: this.getOrDefault(args.title),
diff --git a/src/service/args/args.types.ts b/src/service/args/args.types.ts
index 1a38562..2e34064 100644
--- a/src/service/args/args.types.ts
+++ b/src/service/args/args.types.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ export interface Args {
   dryRun?: boolean, // if enabled do not push anything remotely
   auth?: string, // git service auth, like github token
   folder?: string, // local folder where the repositories should be cloned
+  gitClient?: string, // git client
   gitUser?: string, // local git user, default 'GitHub'
   gitEmail?: string, // local git email, default 'noreply@github.com'
   title?: string, // backport pr title, default original pr title prefixed by target branch
diff --git a/src/service/args/cli/cli-args-parser.ts b/src/service/args/cli/cli-args-parser.ts
index c8ebc92..f96cb55 100644
--- a/src/service/args/cli/cli-args-parser.ts
+++ b/src/service/args/cli/cli-args-parser.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ export default class CLIArgsParser extends ArgsParser {
       .option("-pr, --pull-request <pr-url>", "pull request url, e.g., https://github.com/kiegroup/git-backporting/pull/1")
       .option("-d, --dry-run", "if enabled the tool does not create any pull request nor push anything remotely")
       .option("-a, --auth <auth>", "git authentication string, if not provided fallback by looking for existing env variables like GITHUB_TOKEN")
+      .option("--git-client <github|gitlab|codeberg>", "git client type, if not set it is infered from --pull-request")
       .option("-gu, --git-user <git-user>", "local git user name, default is 'GitHub'")
       .option("-ge, --git-email <git-email>", "local git user email, default is 'noreply@github.com'")
       .option("-f, --folder <folder>", "local folder where the repo will be checked out, e.g., /tmp/folder")
@@ -49,6 +50,7 @@ export default class CLIArgsParser extends ArgsParser {
         pullRequest: opts.pullRequest,
         targetBranch: opts.targetBranch,
         folder: opts.folder,
+        gitClient: opts.gitClient,
         gitUser: opts.gitUser,
         gitEmail: opts.gitEmail,
         title: opts.title,
diff --git a/src/service/args/gha/gha-args-parser.ts b/src/service/args/gha/gha-args-parser.ts
index 29580ab..9d0b04e 100644
--- a/src/service/args/gha/gha-args-parser.ts
+++ b/src/service/args/gha/gha-args-parser.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ export default class GHAArgsParser extends ArgsParser {
         pullRequest: getInput("pull-request"),
         targetBranch: getInput("target-branch"),
         folder: getOrUndefined(getInput("folder")),
+        gitClient: getOrUndefined(getInput("git-client")),
         gitUser: getOrUndefined(getInput("git-user")),
         gitEmail: getOrUndefined(getInput("git-email")),
         title: getOrUndefined(getInput("title")),
diff --git a/src/service/runner/runner.ts b/src/service/runner/runner.ts
index 1e48193..e7db1b9 100644
--- a/src/service/runner/runner.ts
+++ b/src/service/runner/runner.ts
@@ -60,7 +60,12 @@ export default class Runner {
     }
 
     // 2. init git service
-    const gitClientType: GitClientType = inferGitClient(args.pullRequest);
+    let gitClientType: GitClientType;
+    if (args.gitClient === undefined) {
+      gitClientType = inferGitClient(args.pullRequest);
+    } else {
+      gitClientType = args.gitClient as GitClientType;
+    }
     // the api version is ignored in case of github
     const apiUrl = inferGitApiUrl(args.pullRequest, gitClientType === GitClientType.CODEBERG ? "v1" : undefined);
     const token = this.fetchToken(args, gitClientType);
diff --git a/test/service/args/cli/cli-args-parser.test.ts b/test/service/args/cli/cli-args-parser.test.ts
index bf82586..c8b462d 100644
--- a/test/service/args/cli/cli-args-parser.test.ts
+++ b/test/service/args/cli/cli-args-parser.test.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ const RANDOM_CONFIG_FILE_CONTENT = {
   "targetBranch": "target-branch-name",
   "pullRequest": "https://github.com/user/repo/pull/123",
   "folder": "/path/to/local/folder",
+  "gitClient": "codeberg",
   "gitUser": "YourGitUser",
   "gitEmail": "your-email@example.com",
   "title": "Backport: Original PR Title",
@@ -62,6 +63,7 @@ describe("cli args parser", () => {
     const args: Args = parser.parse();
     expect(args.dryRun).toEqual(false);
     expect(args.auth).toEqual(undefined);
+    expect(args.gitClient).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitUser).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitEmail).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.folder).toEqual(undefined);
@@ -90,6 +92,7 @@ describe("cli args parser", () => {
     const args: Args = parser.parse();
     expect(args.dryRun).toEqual(false);
     expect(args.auth).toEqual(undefined);
+    expect(args.gitClient).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitUser).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitEmail).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.folder).toEqual(undefined);
@@ -120,6 +123,7 @@ describe("cli args parser", () => {
     const args: Args = parser.parse();
     expect(args.dryRun).toEqual(false);
     expect(args.auth).toEqual(undefined);
+    expect(args.gitClient).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitUser).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitEmail).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.folder).toEqual(undefined);
@@ -148,6 +152,7 @@ describe("cli args parser", () => {
     const args: Args = parser.parse();
     expect(args.dryRun).toEqual(false);
     expect(args.auth).toEqual(undefined);
+    expect(args.gitClient).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitUser).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitEmail).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.folder).toEqual(undefined);
@@ -185,6 +190,7 @@ describe("cli args parser", () => {
     const args: Args = parser.parse();
     expect(args.dryRun).toEqual(true);
     expect(args.auth).toEqual("bearer-token");
+    expect(args.gitClient).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitUser).toEqual("Me");
     expect(args.gitEmail).toEqual("me@email.com");
     expect(args.folder).toEqual(undefined);
@@ -213,6 +219,8 @@ describe("cli args parser", () => {
       "target",
       "--pull-request",
       "https://localhost/whatever/pulls/1",
+      "--git-client",
+      "codeberg",
       "--git-user",
       "Me",
       "--git-email",
@@ -238,6 +246,7 @@ describe("cli args parser", () => {
     const args: Args = parser.parse();
     expect(args.dryRun).toEqual(true);
     expect(args.auth).toEqual("bearer-token");
+    expect(args.gitClient).toEqual("codeberg");
     expect(args.gitUser).toEqual("Me");
     expect(args.gitEmail).toEqual("me@email.com");
     expect(args.folder).toEqual(undefined);
@@ -266,6 +275,7 @@ describe("cli args parser", () => {
     const args: Args = parser.parse();
     expect(args.dryRun).toEqual(true);
     expect(args.auth).toEqual("your-git-service-auth-token");
+    expect(args.gitClient).toEqual("codeberg");
     expect(args.gitUser).toEqual("YourGitUser");
     expect(args.gitEmail).toEqual("your-email@example.com");
     expect(args.folder).toEqual("/path/to/local/folder");
@@ -296,6 +306,8 @@ describe("cli args parser", () => {
       "target",
       "--pull-request",
       "https://localhost/whatever/pulls/1",
+      "--git-client",
+      "github",
       "--git-user",
       "Me",
       "--git-email",
@@ -321,6 +333,7 @@ describe("cli args parser", () => {
     const args: Args = parser.parse();
     expect(args.dryRun).toEqual(true);
     expect(args.auth).toEqual("your-git-service-auth-token");
+    expect(args.gitClient).toEqual("codeberg");
     expect(args.gitUser).toEqual("YourGitUser");
     expect(args.gitEmail).toEqual("your-email@example.com");
     expect(args.folder).toEqual("/path/to/local/folder");
@@ -352,6 +365,7 @@ describe("cli args parser", () => {
     const args: Args = parser.parse();
     expect(args.dryRun).toEqual(false);
     expect(args.auth).toEqual(undefined);
+    expect(args.gitClient).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitUser).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitEmail).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.folder).toEqual(undefined);
@@ -384,6 +398,7 @@ describe("cli args parser", () => {
     const args: Args = parser.parse();
     expect(args.dryRun).toEqual(false);
     expect(args.auth).toEqual(undefined);
+    expect(args.gitClient).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitUser).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitEmail).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.folder).toEqual(undefined);
@@ -416,6 +431,7 @@ describe("cli args parser", () => {
     const args: Args = parser.parse();
     expect(args.dryRun).toEqual(false);
     expect(args.auth).toEqual(undefined);
+    expect(args.gitClient).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitUser).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitEmail).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.folder).toEqual(undefined);
@@ -445,6 +461,7 @@ describe("cli args parser", () => {
     const args: Args = parser.parse();
     expect(args.dryRun).toEqual(false);
     expect(args.auth).toEqual(undefined);
+    expect(args.gitClient).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitUser).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.gitEmail).toEqual(undefined);
     expect(args.folder).toEqual(undefined);
diff --git a/test/service/runner/gha-github-runner.test.ts b/test/service/runner/gha-github-runner.test.ts
index 7976a9d..dfdf902 100644
--- a/test/service/runner/gha-github-runner.test.ts
+++ b/test/service/runner/gha-github-runner.test.ts
@@ -768,4 +768,23 @@ describe("gha runner", () => {
     });
     expect(GitHubClient.prototype.createPullRequest).toReturnTimes(3);
   });
+
+  test("explicitly set git client", async () => {
+    spyGetInput({
+      "target-branch": "target",
+      "pull-request": "https://api.github.com/repos/owner/reponame/pulls/2368",
+      "git-client": "codeberg",
+    });
+
+    await runner.execute();
+
+    const cwd = process.cwd() + "/bp";
+
+    expect(GitClientFactory.getOrCreate).toBeCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(GitClientFactory.getOrCreate).toBeCalledWith(GitClientType.CODEBERG, undefined, "https://api.github.com");
+
+    expect(GitCLIService.prototype.clone).toBeCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(GitCLIService.prototype.clone).toBeCalledWith("https://github.com/owner/reponame.git", cwd, "target");
+  });
+
 });
\ No newline at end of file