docs/01_faq.mkd

## Troubleshooting

### Eclipse/Egit/Git complains that it "can't open upload pack"?
There are a few ways this can occur:

1. You are using https with a self-signed certificate and you **did not** configure *http.sslVerify=false*
    1. Window->Preferences->Team->Git->Configuration
    2. Click the *New Entry* button
    3. <pre>Key = *http.sslVerify*       
       Value = *false*</pre>
2. The repository is clone-restricted and you don't have access.
3. The repository is clone-restricted and your password changed.
4. A regression in Gitblit.  :(

### Why can't I access Gitblit-Go from another machine?
Please check *server.httpBindInterface* and *server.httpsBindInterface* in `gitblit.properties`.

### How do I run Gitblit-Go on port 80 or 443 in Linux?
Linux requires root permissions to serve on ports < 1024.<br/>
Run the server as *root* (security concern) or change the ports you are serving to 8080 (http) and/or 8443 (https). 

## General Interest Questions

### Gitblit?  What kind of name is that?
It's a phonetic play on [bitblt][bitblt] which is an image processing operation meaning *bit-block transfer*.

### Why use Gitblit?
It's a small tool that allows you to easily manage shared repositories and doesn't require alot of setup or git kung-foo.

### Who is the target user for Gitblit?
Small workgroups that require centralized repositories.

Gitblit is not meant to be a social coding resource like [Github](http://github.com) or [Bitbucket](http://bitbucket.com) with 100s or 1000s of users.  Gitblit is designed to fulfill the same function as your centralized Subversion or CVS server.

### Why does Gitblit exist?
As a Java developer I prefer that as much of my tooling as possible is Java.<br/>
Originally, I was going to use [Mercurial](http://mercurial.selenic.com) but...

- MercurialEclipse [shells to Python, writes to System.out, and captures System.in](http://mercurial.808500.n3.nabble.com/Hg4J-Mercurial-pure-Java-library-tp2693090p2694555.html)<br/>
Parsing command-line output is fragile and suboptimal.<br/>Unfortunately this is necessary because Mercurial is an application, not a library.
- Mercurial HTTP/HTTPS needs to run as CGI through Apache/IIS/etc, as mod_python through Apache, or served with a built-in http server.<br/>
This requires setup and maintenance of multiple, mixed 3rd party components.

Gitblit eliminates all that complication with its 100% Java stack and simple single configuration file.

### Do I need real Git?
No.  Gitblit is based on [JGit][jgit] which is a pure Java implementation of the [Git version control system][git].<br/>
Everything you need for Gitblit is either in the zip distribution file or automatically downloaded on execution.

### Can I run Gitblit in conjunction with my existing Git tooling?
Yes.

### Do I need a JDK or can I use a JRE?
Gitblit will run just fine with a JRE.  Gitblit can optionally use `keytool` from the JDK to generate self-signed certificates, but normally Gitblit uses [BouncyCastle][bouncycastle] for that need.

### Does Gitblit use a database to store its data?
No.  Gitblit stores its repository configuration information within the `.git/config` file and its user information in `users.properties` or whatever filename is configured in `gitblit.properties`.

### Can I manually edit users.properties, gitblit.properties, or .git/config?
Yes.  You can manually manipulate all of them and (most) changes will be immediately available to Gitblit.<br/>Exceptions to this are noted in `gitblit.properties`.

*NOTE:* Care must be taken to preserve the relationship between user roles and repository names.<br/>Please see the [setup](/setup.html) page for details.

### Can I restrict access to paths within a repository?
No.  Access restrictions apply to the repository as a whole.

Gitblit's simple authentication and authorization mechanism can be used to facilitate one or more of the [workflows outlined here](http://progit.org/book/ch5-1.html).  Should you require more fine-grained access controls you might consider using [gitolite](https://github.com/sitaramc/gitolite).

### Can I authenticate users against XYZ?
Yes.  The login service is pluggable.  You may write your own authentication module by implementing the *ILoginService* interface.  Set the fully qualified classname as the *realm.realmFile* property.

### Why doesn't Gitblit support SSH?
Gitblit could integrate [Apache Mina][mina] to provide SSH access.  However, doing so violates Gitblit's first design principle: [KISS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_principle).<br/>
SSH support requires creating, exchanging, and managing SSH keys (arguably not more complicated than managing users).  While this is possible, JGit's SmartHTTP implementation is a simpler and universal transport mechanism.

You might consider running [Gerrit](http://gerrit.googlecode.org) which does integrate [Apache Mina][mina] and supports SSH or you might consider serving [Git][git] on Linux which would offer real SSH support and also allow use of [many other compelling Git solutions](https://git.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/InterfacesFrontendsAndTools).

### What types of Search does Gitblit support?
Gitblit supports case-insensitive searches of *commit message* (default), *author*, and *committer*.<br/>

To search by *author* or *committer* use the following syntax in the search box:

    author: james
    committer: james
    
Alternatively, you could enable the search type dropdown list in your `gitblit.properties` file.

### Can Gitblit be translated?

Yes.  Most messages are localized to a standard Java properties file.

[bitblt]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_blit "Wikipedia Bitblt"
[jgit]: http://eclipse.org/jgit "Eclipse JGit Site"
[git]: http://git-scm.com "Official Git Site"
[mina]: http://mina.apache.org "Apache Mina"
[bouncycastle]: http://bouncycastle.org "The Legion of the Bouncy Castle"