fixup links again, due to redirect taking over!

[gitolite-doc.git] / docs / basic-admin.mkd

# basic administration

----

<span class="green box-r">If you really, really, really want to manage
gitolite directly on the server, i.e., without cloning the gitolite-admin
repo, you can -- [here's how][ssa].  This is likely to be of interest mainly
to puppet/chef type installations.</span>

[ssa]: odds-and-ends/#administering-gitolite-directly-on-the-server

Day-to-day management of a gitolite site is done by cloning the special
'gitolite-admin' repo, making appropriate changes to it, and pushing it back
to the server.  The [concepts and terminology](concepts) page has a section
with some details on what happens after the push.

<span class="red">In other words, do **NOT** add new repos or users manually on the
server!</span>

# clone the gitolite-admin repo

To clone the admin repo, go to the workstation where the public key used in
'setup' came from, and run this:

    git clone git@host:gitolite-admin

NOTE that (1) you must not include the `repositories/` part (gitolite handles
that internally), and (2) you may include the ".git" at the end but it is
optional.

If this step fails, be sure to look at the two pages linked from the [[ssh]]
page before asking for help.  A very basic first step is to run the `info`
command (`ssh git@host info`); [this][info] page tells you what to expect.

[info]: user/#the-info-command

# add/remove users

<span class="gray">NOTE: This section only applies to ssh mode.  If you've installed
gitolite in http mode, adding and removing users is outside the scope of
gitolite.</span>

Strictly speaking, gitolite doesn't know where users come from.  (If that
surprises you, go back to the [[concepts]] page and read the section on
"authentication and authorisation"). However, gitolite does help with
ssh-based authentication, by making it easy to add and remove users from
`~/.ssh/authorized_keys`.

To add or remove users, you have to clone the gitolite-admin repository, then
add or remove ssh pubkey files from the "keydir/" directory in the clone.
Then commit those changes and push.

Here's how to add users to gitolite.  "alice" is the administrator and is
adding "bob" and "carol".

![](ba01.png)

All this is done from the admin (Alice)'s workstation.  The steps are:

1.  Run `git clone git@server:gitolite-admin`.

2.  Obtain pubkeys from each user; email, USB, DHL, pigeon post, owl mail, any
    method you like.

    Rename each received file to the name of the user, add a ".pub" at the
    end, copy it into `keydir/` in the gitolite-admin repo you cloned.

3.  Run `git add keydir`, then `git commit`, then `git push`.

You do NOT need to add Carol or Bob as *real* (Unix) users.  You do NOT add
their keys directly anywhere on the server, and you most definitely do NOT
fiddle with the authorized\_keys file on the server directly!

To **remove** a user, `git rm keydir/alice.pub`.

Commit and push the changes.  On receiving the push, gitolite will carry out
the changes specified.

**NOTE**: your users' public key is typically
`$HOME/.ssh/id_rsa.pub` on her workstation.  Please make sure it is in
openssh's default format.

## multiple keys per user

You can put pubkeys in subdirectories within "keydir/", because the user name
is simply the *base name* of the public key file name.  That is,
'keydir/alice.pub', 'keydir/home/alice.pub', 'keydir/laptop/alice.pub', (or
even 'keydir/work/desktop/alice.pub' -- any number of subdirectory levels are
OK) all resolve to user "alice".

This is the simplest and most understandable way to allow multiple keys per
user.

Please see appendix 2 at the bottom of this document for an older way that
will continue to be supported but has proved hard to explain!

# add, remove, and rename repos

[existing]: basic-admin/#appendix-1-bringing-existing-repos-into-gitolite

!!! warning ""

    Note: this page describes how to add **new** repos.  To bring already
    existing repos under gitolite's control, click [here][existing].

To **add** a new repo, you have to clone the gitolite-admin repository, then
edit the [`conf/gitolite.conf`](conf) file. In that file, add the repo, along
with at least one user with some permissions.

You can add the new repo in its own paragraph,

```gitolite
repo bar
    RW+     =   alice
```

or you can add it to an existing repo line, if the new repo is intended to
have the same access rules:

```gitolite
repo foo bar
    RW+     =   alice
```

Either way, commit and push the changes.  Gitolite will create a bare, empty,
repo on the server that is ready to be cloned and pushed to.

----

As you can see, the "repo" line can have any number of repo names or repo
group names in it. However, it can only be one line; this will not work:

```gitolite
repo foo
repo bar    # WRONG; 'foo' is now forgotten
    RW+     =   alice
```

If you have too many to fit on one line comfortably, you can create and use a
[repo group][groups]:

[groups]: conf/#group-definitions

```gitolite
@myrepos    =   foo
@myrepos    =   bar
    .
    .
    .
@myrepos    =   zzq

repo @myrepos
    RW+     =   alice
```

## removing/renaming a repo

Removing a repo is not so straightforward.  You certainly must remove the
appropriate lines from the `conf/gitolite.conf` file, but gitolite will not
automatically delete the repo from the server.  You have to log on to the
server and do the dirty deed yourself :-)

It is best to make the change in the conf file, push it, and *then* go to the
server and do what you need to.

Renaming a repo is also not automatic.  Here's what you do (and the order is
important):

  * Go to the server and rename the repo at the Unix command line.  Don't
    forget to retain the ".git" extension on the directory name.
  * Change the name in the conf/gitolite.conf file in your gitolite-admin repo
    clone, and add/commit/push.

# appendix 1: bringing existing repos into gitolite

!!! danger "Warning!"

    Gitolite **will clobber** any existing `update` hook in your repos when
    you do this.  Please see either the [[cookbook]] or the [[non-core]] page
    for information on how to make your existing update hook work with
    gitolite.

    Gitolite *may clobber* any existing "git-daemon-export-ok" file in your
    repo; see the page on [allowing access to gitweb and
    git-daemon](gitweb-daemon) for how to enable that via gitolite.

With that out of the way, here's how to do this:

First, on the server:

  * Move the repos to `$HOME/repositories`.

  * Make sure that:

      * They are all *bare* repos.
      * All the repo names end in ".git".
      * All the files and directories are owned and writable by the gitolite
        [hosting user][hu] (especially true if you copied them as root).
      * There are no symbolic links left over from wherever the files were
        brought from.

  * Run `gitolite setup`.  **If you forget this step, you can also forget
    about write access control!**

[hu]: concepts/#the-hosting-user

Then, back on your workstation:

  * If the repos are normal repos, add them to the `conf/gitolite.conf` in
    your clone of the admin repo, then commit and push the change.

    If the repos are [wildcard](wild) repos that already match some repo regex
    in the conf file, you need to manually create the gl-creator file, like
    so:

        echo username > ~/repositories/path/to/repo.git/gl-creator

    I haven't yet found this to be common enough to bother wrapping it in a
    nice interface or command.

# appendix 2: old style multi-keys

There is another way that involves creating key files like `alice@home.pub`
and `alice@laptop.pub`, but there is a complication because gitolite also
allows *full email addresses* as user names.  (i.e., `sitaramc@gmail.com.pub`
denotes the user called `sitaramc@gmail.com`).

This older method of enabling multi-keys was developed to deal with that.  It
will continue to work and be supported in *code*, simply because I prefer it.
But I will not accept questions or doc patches for it, because it seems it is
too difficult to understand for a lot of people.  This table of sample pubkey
filenames and the corresponding derived usernames is all you get:

  * plain username, no multikey

        sitaramc.pub                            sitaramc

  * plain username, with multikeys

        sitaramc@laptop.pub                     sitaramc
        sitaramc@desktop.pub                    sitaramc

  * email address as username, no multikey

        sitaramc@gmail.com.pub                  sitaramc@gmail.com

  * email address as username, with multikeys

        sitaramc@gmail.com@laptop.pub           sitaramc@gmail.com
        sitaramc@gmail.com@desktop.pub          sitaramc@gmail.com