docs/03_faq.mkd - gitblit - Git at Google

 ## Troubleshooting

 ### Eclipse/Egit/JGit 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. Gitblit GO's default self-signed certificate is bound to *localhost* and you are trying to clone/push between machines.
     1. Review the contents of `makekeystore.cmd`
     2. Set *your hostname* in the *HOSTNAME* variable.
     3. Execute the script.<br/>This will generate a new certificate and keystore for *your hostname* protected by *server.storePassword*.
 3. The repository is clone-restricted and you don't have access.
 4. The repository is clone-restricted and your password changed.
 5. A regression in Gitblit.  :(

 ### Why can't I access Gitblit GO from another machine?
 1. Please check *server.httpBindInterface* and *server.httpsBindInterface* in `gitblit.properties`, you may be only be serving on *localhost*.
 2. Please see the above answer about "**can't open upload pack**".
 3. Ensure that any firewall you may have running on the Gitblit server either has an exception for your specified ports or for the running process.

 ### 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).

 ### Gitblit GO does not list my repositories?!
 1. Confirm that the value *git.repositoriesFolder* in `gitblit.properties` actually points to your repositories folder.
 2. Confirm that the Gitblit GO process has full read-write-execute permissions to your *git.repositoriesFolder*.

 ### Gitblit WAR does not list my repositories?!
 1. Confirm that the &lt;context-param&gt; *git.repositoriesFolder* value in your `web.xml` file actually points to your repositories folder.
 2. Confirm that the servlet container process has full read-write-execute permissions to your *git.repositoriesFolder*.

 ### Gitblit WAR will not authenticate any users?!
 Confirm that the &lt;context-param&gt; *realm.userService* value in your `web.xml` file actually points to a `users.properties` file.

 ### Gitblit won't open my grouped repository (/group/myrepo.git) or browse my branch/tag/ref?!
 This is likely an url encoding/decoding problem related to your servlet container's security.  There are two possible workarounds for this issue.  In `gitblit.properties` or `web.xml`:

 1. try setting *web.mountParameters* to *false*.<br/>This changes the url scheme from mounted (*/commit/myrepo.git/abcdef*) to parameterized (*/commit/?r=myrepo.git&h=abcdef*).
 2. try changing *web.forwardSlashCharacter* to an asterisk or a **!**

 ## 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 when there is Git and Gitweb?
 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.

 Additionally, Git and Gitweb do not offer repository creation or user management.

 ### Do I need real Git?
 No (mostly).  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 (except Java) is either bundled in the distribution file or automatically downloaded on execution.

 **mostly**<br/>
 JGit does not fully support the git-gc featureset (garbage collection) so you may want native Git to periodically run git-gc until [JGit][jgit] fully supports this feature.

 ### 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:**<br/>Care must be taken to preserve the relationship between user roles and repository names.<br/>Please see the *User Roles* section of 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 user service is pluggable.  You may write your own user service by implementing the *com.gitblit.IUserService* interface.  Set the fully qualified classname as the *realm.userService* 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.

 ### Why did you call the setting federation.N.frequency instead of federation.N.period?!

 Yes, yes I know that you are really specifying the period, but Frequency sounds better to me.  :)

 ### 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"
	## Troubleshooting

	### Eclipse/Egit/JGit 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. Gitblit GO's default self-signed certificate is bound to localhost and you are trying to clone/push between machines.
	1. Review the contents of `makekeystore.cmd`
	2. Set your hostname in the HOSTNAME variable.
	3. Execute the script.<br/>This will generate a new certificate and keystore for your hostname protected by server.storePassword.
	3. The repository is clone-restricted and you don't have access.
	4. The repository is clone-restricted and your password changed.
	5. A regression in Gitblit. :(

	### Why can't I access Gitblit GO from another machine?
	1. Please check server.httpBindInterface and server.httpsBindInterface in `gitblit.properties`, you may be only be serving on localhost.
	2. Please see the above answer about "can't open upload pack".
	3. Ensure that any firewall you may have running on the Gitblit server either has an exception for your specified ports or for the running process.

	### 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).

	### Gitblit GO does not list my repositories?!
	1. Confirm that the value git.repositoriesFolder in `gitblit.properties` actually points to your repositories folder.
	2. Confirm that the Gitblit GO process has full read-write-execute permissions to your git.repositoriesFolder.

	### Gitblit WAR does not list my repositories?!
	1. Confirm that the <context-param> git.repositoriesFolder value in your `web.xml` file actually points to your repositories folder.
	2. Confirm that the servlet container process has full read-write-execute permissions to your git.repositoriesFolder.

	### Gitblit WAR will not authenticate any users?!
	Confirm that the <context-param> realm.userService value in your `web.xml` file actually points to a `users.properties` file.

	### Gitblit won't open my grouped repository (/group/myrepo.git) or browse my branch/tag/ref?!
	This is likely an url encoding/decoding problem related to your servlet container's security. There are two possible workarounds for this issue. In `gitblit.properties` or `web.xml`:

	1. try setting web.mountParameters to false.<br/>This changes the url scheme from mounted (/commit/myrepo.git/abcdef) to parameterized (/commit/?r=myrepo.git&h=abcdef).
	2. try changing web.forwardSlashCharacter to an asterisk or a !

	## 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 when there is Git and Gitweb?
	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.

	Additionally, Git and Gitweb do not offer repository creation or user management.

	### Do I need real Git?
	No (mostly). 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 (except Java) is either bundled in the distribution file or automatically downloaded on execution.

	mostly<br/>
	JGit does not fully support the git-gc featureset (garbage collection) so you may want native Git to periodically run git-gc until [JGit][jgit] fully supports this feature.

	### 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:<br/>Care must be taken to preserve the relationship between user roles and repository names.<br/>Please see the User Roles section of 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 user service is pluggable. You may write your own user service by implementing the com.gitblit.IUserService interface. Set the fully qualified classname as the realm.userService 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.

	### Why did you call the setting federation.N.frequency instead of federation.N.period?!

	Yes, yes I know that you are really specifying the period, but Frequency sounds better to me. :)

	### 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"