SYNOPSIS
--------
[verse]
-'git-http-backend'
+'git http-backend'
DESCRIPTION
-----------
A simple CGI program to serve the contents of a Git repository to Git
clients accessing the repository over http:// and https:// protocols.
-The program supports clients fetching using both the smart HTTP protcol
+The program supports clients fetching using both the smart HTTP protocol
and the backwards-compatible dumb HTTP protocol, as well as clients
pushing using the smart HTTP protocol.
+It verifies that the directory has the magic file
+"git-daemon-export-ok", and it will refuse to export any Git directory
+that hasn't explicitly been marked for export this way (unless the
+GIT_HTTP_EXPORT_ALL environmental variable is set).
+
By default, only the `upload-pack` service is enabled, which serves
-'git-fetch-pack' and 'git-ls-remote' clients, which are invoked from
-'git-fetch', 'git-pull', and 'git-clone'. If the client is authenticated,
-the `receive-pack` service is enabled, which serves 'git-send-pack'
-clients, which is invoked from 'git-push'.
+'git fetch-pack' and 'git ls-remote' clients, which are invoked from
+'git fetch', 'git pull', and 'git clone'. If the client is authenticated,
+the `receive-pack` service is enabled, which serves 'git send-pack'
+clients, which is invoked from 'git push'.
SERVICES
--------
configuration file:
http.getanyfile::
- This serves older Git clients which are unable to use the
+ This serves Git clients older than version 1.6.6 that are unable to use the
upload pack service. When enabled, clients are able to read
any file within the repository, including objects that are
no longer reachable from a branch but are still present.
by setting this configuration item to `false`.
http.uploadpack::
- This serves 'git-fetch-pack' and 'git-ls-remote' clients.
+ This serves 'git fetch-pack' and 'git ls-remote' clients.
It is enabled by default, but a repository can disable it
by setting this configuration item to `false`.
http.receivepack::
- This serves 'git-send-pack' clients, allowing push. It is
+ This serves 'git send-pack' clients, allowing push. It is
disabled by default for anonymous users, and enabled by
default for users authenticated by the web server. It can be
disabled by setting this item to `false`, or enabled for all
URL TRANSLATION
---------------
-To determine the location of the repository on disk, 'git-http-backend'
+To determine the location of the repository on disk, 'git http-backend'
concatenates the environment variables PATH_INFO, which is set
automatically by the web server, and GIT_PROJECT_ROOT, which must be set
manually in the web server configuration. If GIT_PROJECT_ROOT is not
-set, 'git-http-backend' reads PATH_TRANSLATED, which is also set
+set, 'git http-backend' reads PATH_TRANSLATED, which is also set
automatically by the web server.
EXAMPLES
+
----------------------------------------------------------------
SetEnv GIT_PROJECT_ROOT /var/www/git
+SetEnv GIT_HTTP_EXPORT_ALL
ScriptAlias /git/ /usr/libexec/git-core/git-http-backend/
----------------------------------------------------------------
+
To enable anonymous read access but authenticated write access,
-require authorization with a LocationMatch directive:
+require authorization for both the initial ref advertisement (which we
+detect as a push via the service parameter in the query string), and the
+receive-pack invocation itself:
++
+----------------------------------------------------------------
+RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} service=git-receive-pack [OR]
+RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} /git-receive-pack$
+RewriteRule ^/git/ - [E=AUTHREQUIRED:yes]
+
+<LocationMatch "^/git/">
+ Order Deny,Allow
+ Deny from env=AUTHREQUIRED
+
+ AuthType Basic
+ AuthName "Git Access"
+ Require group committers
+ Satisfy Any
+ ...
+</LocationMatch>
+----------------------------------------------------------------
++
+If you do not have `mod_rewrite` available to match against the query
+string, it is sufficient to just protect `git-receive-pack` itself,
+like:
+
----------------------------------------------------------------
<LocationMatch "^/git/.*/git-receive-pack$">
</LocationMatch>
----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+In this mode, the server will not request authentication until the
+client actually starts the object negotiation phase of the push, rather
+than during the initial contact. For this reason, you must also enable
+the `http.receivepack` config option in any repositories that should
+accept a push. The default behavior, if `http.receivepack` is not set,
+is to reject any pushes by unauthenticated users; the initial request
+will therefore report `403 Forbidden` to the client, without even giving
+an opportunity for authentication.
++
To require authentication for both reads and writes, use a Location
directive around the repository, or one of its parent directories:
+
----------------------------------------------------------------
+
To serve gitweb at the same url, use a ScriptAliasMatch to only
-those URLs that 'git-http-backend' can handle, and forward the
+those URLs that 'git http-backend' can handle, and forward the
rest to gitweb:
+
----------------------------------------------------------------
ScriptAlias /git/ /var/www/cgi-bin/gitweb.cgi/
----------------------------------------------------------------
++
+To serve multiple repositories from different linkgit:gitnamespaces[7] in a
+single repository:
++
+----------------------------------------------------------------
+SetEnvIf Request_URI "^/git/([^/]*)" GIT_NAMESPACE=$1
+ScriptAliasMatch ^/git/[^/]*(.*) /usr/libexec/git-core/git-http-backend/storage.git$1
+----------------------------------------------------------------
Accelerated static Apache 2.x::
Similar to the above, but Apache can be used to return static
ScriptAlias /git/ /var/www/cgi-bin/gitweb.cgi/
----------------------------------------------------------------
+Lighttpd::
+ Ensure that `mod_cgi`, `mod_alias`, `mod_auth`, `mod_setenv` are
+ loaded, then set `GIT_PROJECT_ROOT` appropriately and redirect
+ all requests to the CGI:
++
+----------------------------------------------------------------
+alias.url += ( "/git" => "/usr/lib/git-core/git-http-backend" )
+$HTTP["url"] =~ "^/git" {
+ cgi.assign = ("" => "")
+ setenv.add-environment = (
+ "GIT_PROJECT_ROOT" => "/var/www/git",
+ "GIT_HTTP_EXPORT_ALL" => ""
+ )
+}
+----------------------------------------------------------------
++
+To enable anonymous read access but authenticated write access:
++
+----------------------------------------------------------------
+$HTTP["querystring"] =~ "service=git-receive-pack" {
+ include "git-auth.conf"
+}
+$HTTP["url"] =~ "^/git/.*/git-receive-pack$" {
+ include "git-auth.conf"
+}
+----------------------------------------------------------------
++
+where `git-auth.conf` looks something like:
++
+----------------------------------------------------------------
+auth.require = (
+ "/" => (
+ "method" => "basic",
+ "realm" => "Git Access",
+ "require" => "valid-user"
+ )
+)
+# ...and set up auth.backend here
+----------------------------------------------------------------
++
+To require authentication for both reads and writes:
++
+----------------------------------------------------------------
+$HTTP["url"] =~ "^/git/private" {
+ include "git-auth.conf"
+}
+----------------------------------------------------------------
+
ENVIRONMENT
-----------
-'git-http-backend' relies upon the CGI environment variables set
+'git http-backend' relies upon the CGI environment variables set
by the invoking web server, including:
* PATH_INFO (if GIT_PROJECT_ROOT is set, otherwise PATH_TRANSLATED)
* QUERY_STRING
* REQUEST_METHOD
+The GIT_HTTP_EXPORT_ALL environmental variable may be passed to
+'git-http-backend' to bypass the check for the "git-daemon-export-ok"
+file in each repository before allowing export of that repository.
+
The backend process sets GIT_COMMITTER_NAME to '$REMOTE_USER' and
GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL to '$\{REMOTE_USER}@http.$\{REMOTE_ADDR\}',
ensuring that any reflogs created by 'git-receive-pack' contain some
All CGI environment variables are available to each of the hooks
invoked by the 'git-receive-pack'.
-Author
-------
-Written by Shawn O. Pearce <spearce@spearce.org>.
-
-Documentation
---------------
-Documentation by Shawn O. Pearce <spearce@spearce.org>.
-
GIT
---
Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite